Heeeellllllppppp..rescued dog question

We took in a dog that was rescued last night. A lady found him at a business she owns 3 weeks ago, but couldn't keep him.
She notified all necessary vets and agencies..including state police looking for the owner. He only has a pinkish red dye mark where apparently a collar had been.

He's a yellow lab, underweight, probably 1 yr or a little older. She took him to a vet a week ago, and other than being 10-15lbs underweight and fly bites on his nose and elbows, he's in good shape.

He's so loving and is following us everywhere. What I would appreciate are any crate recommendations and any other advice for taking in a needy dog. We hadn't gotten the crate down from the attic last night and it was a long miserable night. I got a whole whopping 3 1/2 hrs sleep..interrupted every 15 minutes by pacing, whimpering, and his hopping into bed to lay on my head. He saw himself in the mirror apparently for the first time and awoke me with woofing while staring at himself.

My question about the crate..since he has these issues with following us if we even turn around and obvious fear that we'll leave him, should we put the crate in our bedroom..outside our bedroom or do you think first floor would be ok? I hate to have him feel anymore anxious than he already does.

Thanks in advance..

I would recommend that you definitely put it in your bedroom, so that he will feel reassured by your presence.

Crate him in your room at night, and even then he may still be anxious. But let him in your room with you. And a big Way to Go to you for taking him in!

You posted a thread on it about a month ago. Did you get them? I thought they were uberchic. :D

better get those frames ordered soon! I'll post a pic when I get them.

It may cause some issues later with separation anxiety, but that can be dealt with after he's in better health.

I can't give any better advice than others have already given though.

You'r edoing a good thing by taking him in though, keep up the good work :). (and scratch him behind the ears and give him a snausage for me) :)

for taking in this big boy. Golden Labs are extremely affectionate animals. I doubt his neediness will change a lot...that's just the way the breed is.

My best friend had one years ago, and, when we would go sit out on the porch to smoke, he would climb all 80 lbs of himself into my lap. He was super-affectionate and loved to be with people.

Your boy will settle down when he settles in to his new home. But the fact that he's really affectionate and loves to be near you--I doubt that will change. I'd put the crate wherever you plan to keep it. Don't put it in your bedroom unless you plan to leave it there--that'd be my advice. Why get him used to being in one place and then traumatize him by moving him again later?

You're a great person. Give your boy a big hug from me. :D

all day to his bedding when you crate him. It'll make him feel more secure.

You're close and breathing the same air. And this dog, obviously, needs reassurance. I cannot comment on the crate training, since I've never done it, but I would certainly recommend keeping him in the same room as you are, at night. This dog definitely has abandonment issues, and I've been through that, since all of my dogs have been rescue. And the first week is always the worst. My beloved Sheena, whose owner had died, and she had been kept in a cage for a month, was pretty desperate. That first week she had numerous accidents, because of a change in food, two seizures, which we sure had to address, and ate two of my previous dog's toys, which scared me to death. I was feeling pretty desperate and was constantly on the phone to the animal hospital. But it never crossed my mind to give up on her. She'd just been through a really bad time, and turned out to be a very sweet dog, a great pet. Kudos to you for giving him a loving home. It just takes patience. As soon as he realizes that he's really home, he'll adjust.:-)

on edit: My dogs, Meneken and Sheena:-)

before bedtime, go on a long walk with him so he is a bite tired at bedtime. it will calm him down and accept the crate a bit more.

however, i want to say that by a year old a dog is less affable to crate training than is a pup.

Hopefully once he settles down(as much as a lab can!) and knows he's found a permanent home, we'll be able to let him sleep wherever he wants. Our previous lab always slept in bed or on the floor next to the bed.

I like the shirt idea too. That sounds like that will give him the sense we're right there with him. Several times last night, he just peered over the bed looking in my face to see if I was still there. It almost makes me cry that he's so afraid we'll leave him.

He's already such a good boy, he loved his oatmeal/botannical bath which he had to get before he stepped into the house. When we picked him up he reeked of horse pee and was nearly mud brown from all the dirt. He'd gone swimming in their pond and the lady who found him kept him in her barn with her horses the last few days after he chewed some furniture. It's been many years, but I do remember how many rolled rawhide bones and chew toys our other dog went through those first few years. He's already gone through 1/2 one since last night.

Again thanks for all the suggestions! Hopefully I'll be able to post some pics soon.

That would have been my other suggestion. This was also the first thing that I did for my dog, Sara, the most recent dog I adopted, after she was examined by my vet, my first priority. Seeing the vet is always what I do first, and this is the most important thing that you need to do, to take care of any difficulties, from the beginning. Believe me, I've been there. But what you said resonated with me, that your boy checks on you, afraid of being abandoned. I was right there, at the vet, but when I brought Sara to the groomer, she went into panic mode, would not go with them, and this ripped my heart out, as well, since I knew that she feared that she was being abandoned, yet again.;(

All of my dogs have been rescue, and Sara was found as a stray in Ohio. She was actually scheduled to be gassed in this backwards state until, at the last minute, she was recommended to join a group of 19 dogs who were being transported to animal rescue groups in NY and Vermont, where we have stricter animal protection laws, via a kind of "underground railroad." She was such a nice dog that the people who worked at the abysmal place that she ended up insisted that she was included. Anyway, she smelled very bad, so a bath was my second priority. I didn't mean to make this about Sara, but just wanted to say that the bath was a good priority, but a vet exam is also important. The best of luck with this. You are doing more than fine and I am really looking forward to the pix. This sounds like a perfect match. Kudos to you.:-)

FYI, here's my Sara: