I’m listing here the issues we’ve dealt with so you know Adi’s history. These problems should remain in the past, but his new person should be aware of them so that they remain in the past and so they can be vigilant and set him up for success, so that there is no regression.
Food aggression
Details are given in the Food Aggression page. Be mindful of his history and be prepared to be patient and to set him up for success. It is better that he be overfed (initially) in his new home than that he should feel hungry or deprived of food.
He must be fed in his own area, away from other dogs/cats who might encroach on his space.
This is very important during the first weeks and even months of being in his new home.
Separation Anxiety
When we first got him, Adi wanted to be close to me all the time and would whine incessantly when I moved away. It took time and patience, but he got over it.
I think that becoming best friends with our Mastiff has helped a lot for when we are not at home. Initially, I would crate him but gradually I let him stay outside with her and he adapted to this really well.
During the integration phase in his new home I advise using a crate for when he cannot be supervised, so that he does not engage in destructive behaviour and set up precedents of this type.
Little warning / growling / body language
As mentioned in another section, he has got better and does growl to show displeasure, pain or warning. Do not tell him off for growling! It is a dog’s way of communicating and it has been a challenge to get him to do this.
Adi needs to be in a home with a person who understands dog behaviour and body language. His body language is difficult to read, as the difference between him in his customary calm and still state and being still because he is on-edge, is very subtle and hard to distinguish.
Quilt ripping
We used to have single duvets in the dog crates outside. Adi took great joy in ripping them up into shreds and spreading the stuffing all over the garden.
He would always do this when we were not around to catch him in the act and eventually, I opted to buy different bedding for the outdoor crates. Outside, he does well with these beds —- with the mesh for the warmer months and the fleece cover when it gets colder. I use the —- for the bottom of the outdoor crates and a fleece to cover it. Adi is a “nest digger” and the fleece ends up scrunched at the door end.
Indoors, we have several wicker baskets with single duvets. Adi is fine with these and spends many a night indoors, where he can roam freely. He does not damage the duvets nor anything else; there are shoes at the entrance, cushions, rugs, etc. and all is left alone and intact.
Digging
He does not dig up the garden, but he used to! We narrowed it down so that he learned there were specific places where he was allowed to dig, but he rarely does so nowadays, even in these prescribed spots.
Livestock killing
Over the years, free-roaming goats on the other side of the fence have sometimes got their horns stuck in the wires. Previously, our two dogs would just bark at them but after we adopted Adi, goats that got stuck would end up being bitten and die.
It is rare to live in a place where there are goats that just roam without a shepherd to look out for them, or where the fence holes are large enough for a goat to get their head through – so in most homes, Adi would be fine. It has been several years since this last happened and Adi does not react to the goats as they pass around the property. I can only surmise that having an animal trapped and moving around / bleating is what triggered him.
Adi has killed a number of chickens over the years, invariably because he has gained access to their enclosure because stormy weather has resulted in opening a gate, or tearing down a moveable fence. More recently, he has chewed at the netting to get into their enclosure. [See section on why we are rehoming Adi.]
If chickens are kept in a coop within a securely fenced-off area, it should be fine.
Fighting with other dogs
In the past Adi and our shepherd got into a number of fights. This happened before he was castrated. There have been no incidents of this sort for many years now.