We are retired professionals living in Mexico who have just adopted two goldens. They are rescue dogs who were abandoned 11 months ago in Mexico City. They are 2 years old.

The male is a doll, very sweet, but has a hip displasia problem we are trying to solve with glucosamine chondroitin and mavicam 7.5 mg. This dog is low energy and a lover. Very gentle.

His sister is another story.She is a whirlwind of energy. Stealing my things, peeing where she shoudn't and generally very obstinate which is not typical for the breed. I'm a bit at a loss as to what to do here. We are perhaps a bit old to have taken on this project, however really weren't given much information.

Is it time to hire a trainer for the girl?

Hi, welcome to you.

Thank you for adopting! Both of my Goldens are adopted, my girl from a GR Rescue and I found my boy at my County Humane Society. My girl was a former puppy mill momma, she lived her entire first two years in a kennel, had never touched the ground or been inside a house. Needless to say, she was not potty trained. I spent a few days working with her, taking her outside, within a few days she was going out on her own. Took a full week before she stopped having accidents in the house, she was 2 at the time.

The main thing with potty training is consitency, patience, and lots of positive re-inforcement, NEVER negative. Make a huge deal out of it when she goes potty outside. My girl was not food motivated when I first got her, treats did not do it for her. Praising her, telling her what a good girl she was is what worked, she responded very well. Each dog is different, each situation is different.

Training classes are very beneficial for any dog, you both would enjoy it and benefit greatly.

Hope to see pictures of your Goldens, would love to see them.

Best of luck to you.

These dogs are beautiful, the girl is very very thin, but is now eating like a horse. She was so sad she had stopped eating for a while. It is likely she would have died had we not come along.
The potty training issue is really strange, she will be good for a few days then suddenly pee on the kitchen floor. We have already sent 3 rugs out to be cleaned.

Any ideas why she would be good, then revert back?

Trust me this girl is seriously food motivated now. Ravenous.

Has your Vet ruled out any medical problems with her?

He didn't think she had a urinary tract infection, but said she was exceptionally nervous. He did mention that if it continued he would put her on a very mild tranquilizer for a short while.

She is taking vitamin B, and moringa supplement. I just don't know. Today she has been fine and pretty quiet as well.

How long have you had them? If it's been a short time, it may be that she just needs some time to relax, settle in, and adjust. I use to work with the GR Rescue I got my girl from, some dogs take longer than others while some fit right in without any time needed. That was the case with my boy that I adopted, it was like he'd always been with us. It was not the case for my girl.

My girl had a very long journey, she was not socialized, had been abused both physically and verbally, possibly by a male as she is afraid of most men. She has come a very very long way, however, she will never be 100%, her emotional scars are too deep. It took a lot of time, patience and love to get her where she is today-she will always need to be with another dog and your girl sounds like she may need to be also. Working with a trainer and/or behaviorist would also help boost her confidence. I found a really good trainer/behaviorist to work with my girl, a female.

You said you were retired and living in MX? Are you originally from MX? The reason I ask is my husband and I have often talked about retiring to another Country such as Panama or maybe Costa Rico. The only draw back we have is the available Vet care, our dogs would definitely go with us. Outside of that concern, I think we'd already be gone.

Good morning.
Hope it is warm and sunny down south.
My boy has displasia also. You might want to try Adequan injections. They work super well and are easy to give. It's sort of like souped up glucosamine. You give them injections 2X/week for 4 weeks. You can do the injections 2X/year. It can make a huge difference. I'm paying $200 for a month of injections. Just a thought.

Thanks Carolina Mom. This girl was so filthy when they brought her by truck to Guadalajara, they had to remove most of her warm undercoat. She has definitely been abused, by whom I don't know. Her brother was shaved from halfway down his back onto his tummy.

We have had them about 10 days now, and they are pretty relaxed with us, except the girl, Kiki has lapses. Today is a good day.

Here are their pictures taken some time ago, probably when they were first found.

AdoptaUnAmigo.org - KIKI Y HARRY

Kiki is the darker one on the left. Her brother whose name is now Professor Henry Lucas, after my father, is the more feminine looking one on the right.


I am originally from Canada, and my husband from England. He has lived in Spain, Canada and now Mexico. I was always in Toronto Canada before moving here.

The vets here are phenomenal. Our vet whose name is Jesús is loved by almost all dogs. When our girl died last June, he came to the house, and put her to sleep. She is now sleeping in our garden. After her death he played my husband's guitar for an hour while we toasted Georgie girl with tequila. It helped. Georgie was his model for advertisements.

We moved here 13 years ago, and only visit Canada every few years. We love Mexico, and I'm considering becoming a citizen of this rapidly developing country. I can assure you the shopping is great, the weather is warm, and we live in a beautiful area surrounded by flowers all year long. Our kids come here to visit. Now it's the grandkids on spring break and the baby Emma now 13 lives with us for a month every summer.

It is sunny and a bit cold here today. Sweater weather.

I will definitely see if I can get Adequan. Usually the vets get it shipped down to them from the U.S.

Our new family needs to see the vet on thursday, ooop's tomorrow. Time flies. He'll come to the house since we're not sure of their behavior in the car just yet.
They will be deparasitized yet again, a $40 job, and inspected more carefully.

Poor Henry Lucas is having a rough time with the stairs here some days and is only 2 years old.

Many thanks.
raq

Kiki and Professor Henry Lucas are absolutely beautiful and in time, will be even more so. I'm sorry to hear about Kiki's past, I will never be able to understand why people are so cruel to animals. It will take some time, but she will come around. It took a very very long time for my girl to trust us, once she did, the healing began.

DH and I have been to Cancun many many times over the years but haven't been recently. You can't beat the weather in MX or the wonderful relaxed lifestyle. I learned to appreciate Siesta time very much.

Sounds like your Vet is absolutely wonderful, I got a kick out of the toasting of Georgie with Tequila. I'm so sorry for your loss of her.

I hope you'll keep us updated on Kiki's progress.