Help with Rescue/Foster Pup

mommyoctopus · 05-13-2010

Hi everyone - I'm new here. I am currently fostering a 5-6 month old shephard/possibly chow mix. She looks like a german except she has a purple tongue. Anyways, we've had her for about a week, and we really like her and potentially wish to adopt her but I have a couple concerns.

First some background - she was picked up after running around with her brother and mother in a trailer park, so about 4-5 months of being FREE with no restraints.

She is extremely submissive - when we first got her, if you looked at her wrong, she'd wet herself. Our cat walked near her and she freaked and peed. Now she's a little better and is slowly doing better on the leash.

My concerns:

She hates her cage. We crate her at night and when we're not home (which isn't often as I'm a stay at home mom). It's like we're killing her trying to get her in the cage and she'll usually end up peeing everywhere. We've tried being patient, treats, everything and she'll just cower and pee.

She doesn't have any other accidents in the house though, so she's mostly potty trained.

Also on the leash, she'll sometimes just freeze and refuse to move. She doesn't seem to want to play or interact with us and just lays on the floor all day sleeping. My kids try to get her to play and she'll just look at them.

Any advice? She's a really great and sweet dog, and like I mentioned, we've considering adopting her to make her ours permanently, but I'm concerned about the cage and the lack of interaction. We have no other dogs, but her.

Thanks for your time.

GSDS4Life · 05-14-2010

Considering her backround and that you have only had her for a week, this will take quite some time. Could be a month or could be longer. You and the family need to work with her constantly.

I have never crated, but know others who have. And this is what I have been told. Start off slowly. You can't just put her in there. Sit by the crate with the door open and have some treats. Have her come up to you. When she does, give her a treat. Then toss a treat in the crate. If she goes in to get the treat, praise her when she comes out. You can even thow in a toy. You will need to keep repeating this. But don't force her. The next step will be closing the door. But only do this for a minute or two. This may be a slow process, but it needs to be done this way.

As for the leash, put it on her in the house and let her walk around with it on. After a while pick the leash up. You could also have some yummy treats(cheese,hotdog,raw carrots) start walking with her. You can use the treats to coax her a bit. When she is walking, praise her like crazy. The you can take her outside and do this. Again, this will also take some time. You may also want to consult a certified behaviorist to help you out.

Hope this helps. I would have loved to get into this deeper but have to head to work.

angiesample · 05-14-2010

I had a lot of problems with crating as well. So i did a couple different things. 1. I fed her her meals in her crate... i started with just putting the bowl in there a little bit and i would gradually push it back till she was completely in the crate. After doing that for a while i closed and locked the door until she was done eating and i would let her out right away. 2. I also would just randomly put treats in her crate, so she was always checking her crate bc she knew there could always be one in there.

3. Get some toys that are only for her crate. Kongs are great and Nylabones are also fantastic!

Finally i started putting her in and leaving for 10 min, id just take a walk or something and gradually increase the time.

So now everytime i kennel her up.. i grab some treats and i lay them in her crate and she goes right in.. i dont have to touch her at all! This whole process took a while but it is very much worth it.

DoggieVogue · 05-14-2010

sounds like she just needs some training. GSDS had some great advice. Pretty much took the words out of my mouth

Bringing really yummy treats along the walk can help coax her and make her keep moving. And also, making her more familiar and comfortable with the crate will help a lot. So I'd say just follow GSDS's advice as well! Good luck, I hope it works out for you adopting her!

Todd · 05-14-2010

I amy repeat what others have said but here's what I would suggest. The dog grew up free so hasn't been around other humans or animals much. Socialization is key. Make every experience with humans a positive one for positive association. Give her plenty of treats as you, friends, and family pet her. Be calm around her at first until she adjusts. Have her meet as many new people as possible. Not all at once, but gradually increase so she doesn't react negatively because of too much too soon. Be patient but persistant. Have her meet other dogs too and make the experience as calm and positive as possible with plenty of positive reinforcement and treats. Take her out on the least prompting her with treats. Have her meet new people and odogs on the walk. Have them give her a treat. Praise her. Even if you have to set up situations, do so. Make her WANT to go for qwalks. make her associate walks with a positive experience or reward. Set up situations if you have to where a friend or family member wait five minutes away from the house and when you get to him or her praise the dog and reward her with a treat and have the person she meets do so asd well. This is all a part of positive association. Work little by little and increase the walk distance day by day. Take her in the car with you, to friends houses, etc and things should gradually imporve.

As far as the crate goes, at night put it in your room by your bed. She will be able to hear you in the room so may calm down. Move the crate further and further away from your room/bed very gradually day by day until it is in its desired location. try feeding her dinner with her head inside the crate. Put treats in it, a raw meaty bobne, a kong, toys, etc.

Good luck!

mommyoctopus · 05-14-2010

Thanks everyone. She is actually doing much better today. If only we can get past the submissive urinating. She'd submit to a leaf if it came near her!

I bought a ball today and she seems to be coming out of her shell when playing with it. She'd still much rather just lay on the floor and be left alone, but we're trying to get her to interact.

Adoption day is tomorrow so I have to decide whether we are keeping her or taking her for adoption. Fostering is so hard! I always fall in love!

One more question - Should I be concerned with her being so submissive and being around other dogs? I'm worried they would harm her. She literally dropps to the ground and shows her belly in the matter of a second when she sees the cat.

gambler-girl · 05-14-2010

What she needs is alot of patience, she is just a baby and her world keeps getting turned upside down. Plus she is mostly GSD wheather they are the dog or poster variety both need pateince...lol

I would be careful with Todd's advice if you reward a dog that is upset you maybe rewarding being upset.

GG

Todd · 05-14-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommyoctopus

Thanks everyone. She is actually doing much better today. If only we can get past the submissive urinating. She'd submit to a leaf if it came near her!

I bought a ball today and she seems to be coming out of her shell when playing with it. She'd still much rather just lay on the floor and be left alone, but we're trying to get her to interact.

Adoption day is tomorrow so I have to decide whether we are keeping her or taking her for adoption. Fostering is so hard! I always fall in love!

One more question - Should I be concerned with her being so submissive and being around other dogs? I'm worried they would harm her. She literally dropps to the ground and shows her belly in the matter of a second when she sees the cat.

The submissive urination should ease up and eventually stop with the socialization techniques I listed.

There is nothing wrong with the dog otherwise having a submissive personality. Some dogs are dominant, some are very submissive, and some are in between. Every dog has his or her own personality. You can make the submissive urinating stop by making her at least fairly comfortable around other people and dogs but some dogs are just naturally submissive. Other dogs will recognize this. By laying down she is "submitting" to the other dog. This often avoids trouble to be honest because the other more dominant dog will not perceive her as a threat. If they pick on her because of the submissiveness, which shouldn't happen too often but could occasionaly be possible, a fight will generally no ensue because a submissive dog may not fight back so it will be easy to settle things.

Also, here are some natural/herbal remedies that may help ease her anxiety for the time being...

Try Rescue Remedy

Also, try this link. It will provide you with tons of great info!

Dog Anxiety Natural Remedies | Herbs and Homeopathy for Anxiety in Dogs

natural dog anxiety - Google Search

Quote:

Originally Posted by gambler-girl

What she needs is alot of patience, she is just a baby and her world keeps getting turned upside down. Plus she is mostly GSD wheather they are the dog or poster variety both need pateince...lol

I would be careful with Todd's advice if you reward a dog that is upset you maybe rewarding being upset.

GG

I'm not saying you should reward the dog for being upset, I'm saying that the treats should be used as the dog interacts with news people/dogs to make a positive mental connotation with the given situations.

GSDS4Life · 05-15-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by mommyoctopus

Thanks everyone. She is actually doing much better today. If only we can get past the submissive urinating. She'd submit to a leaf if it came near her!

I bought a ball today and she seems to be coming out of her shell when playing with it. She'd still much rather just lay on the floor and be left alone, but we're trying to get her to interact.

Adoption day is tomorrow so I have to decide whether we are keeping her or taking her for adoption. Fostering is so hard! I always fall in love!

One more question - Should I be concerned with her being so submissive and being around other dogs? I'm worried they would harm her. She literally dropps to the ground and shows her belly in the matter of a second when she sees the cat.

Well it sounds like she is opening up a bit and starting to feel comfortable. That's great.

I also think that the submissive urination should ease up and eventually stop with the socialization.

Fostering is very hard. My daughter fosters for the seeing eye dog program. Her heart breaks everytime she has to give them back.

mommyoctopus · 05-15-2010

Well, our sweet doggie got adopted this morning. When we took her up with the rest of the foster pups, she went immediately. Such a bittersweet moment. We're getting our next foster pup this afternoon, a very scared black lab. Looks like we're developing a pattern. Thanks everyone for the help.

GSDS4Life · 05-15-2010

Awwwwwww. Well I do hope the new owners understand the pups issues and will continue to work with her.

How long do you foster? What I mean is how long do you have them before you return them?

I know with me I may end up having them for as long as a couple of months. This way here I can work at fixing what issues they have.

mommyoctopus · 05-15-2010

This was our first time fostering. We picked her up last saturday. Every Saturday we have to take whatever dog we have to the local pet shop for adoption day. If they get adopted then we get placed with another foster pup. So we could have the same dog for a week or for several months. We're fostering to adopt, meaning fostering dogs until we find the perfect one for our family that we want to keep forever.

GSDS4Life · 05-15-2010

I do the same. Foster to adopt.

I have a few friends with foster failures. I say that in a good way. They end up keeping them. LOL. A close friend has 4 foster failures. She just couldn't let them go. LOL

gambler-girl · 05-15-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Todd

I'm not saying you should reward the dog for being upset, I'm saying that the treats should be used as the dog interacts with news people/dogs to make a positive mental connotation with the given situations.

I know that is what you mean, and itis a great thought. But could easily backfire and in the hands of someone with good intentions not good knowledge could put the dog inthe wrong direction. I would think if the dog is having a good time meeting a new dog or person and it is a good enough reward and that food is not needed.

GG

Yogi · 05-15-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSDS4Life

I do the same. Foster to adopt.

I have a few friends with foster failures. I say that in a good way. They end up keeping them. LOL. A close friend has 4 foster failures. She just couldn't let them go. LOL

Ironically this is how 9 of my fosters came to me. I was called in to evaluate them to see if they could be adopted out and in the case of these ones, they had issues which would have put potential new families in jeopardy so elected to keep them. They are fine here with me but can still on occasion be somewhat unpredictable with others. I would not trade them for anything.

GSDS4Life · 05-15-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yogi

Ironically this is how 9 of my fosters came to me. I was called in to evaluate them to see if they could be adopted out and in the case of these ones, they had issues which would have put potential new families in jeopardy so elected to keep them. They are fine here with me but can still on occasion be somewhat unpredictable with others. I would not trade them for anything.

Just a question. Do you not have a by-law that limits you on the amount of dogs?

I know that my friend is at her limit of 4. Since she adopted the fosters, she can't anymore.

Yogi · 05-16-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSDS4Life

Just a question. Do you not have a by-law that limits you on the amount of dogs?

I know that my friend is at her limit of 4. Since she adopted the fosters, she can't anymore.

In the states the number is based first on city and square footage of property one has for the dogs. This is generally reserved for back yard area and then it is based on the breeds or size, ie: large breeds require more space so less of them as opposed to small breeds where the same space can handle more. Counties occasionally set some rules but are similar. Outlining areas ie: rural are less strict with regards to the number but again want to be sure there is adequate space for them. I live in what is called unincorporated county. Simply put, though we have a city mailing address, it is strictly for our mail service. We are not incorporated and therefore are in no city at all. We only use the city for mail purposes. In addition, I live on a farm where this is granted. For those in the city, they purchase a kennel license, this enables them to have more than the city limit. If or when we become incorporated than I would need to purchase a kennel license which runs about $50.00 a year.

GSDS4Life · 05-16-2010

It's about the same here.