New foster dog

[D'Elle]

New foster dog arrived from BC Rescue yesterday, a four year old female. Although I have certainly had scared dogs previously, this one is the most frightened foster dog I have had. She's too scared even to eat very much, cringes and pees at the drop of a hat, and doesn't know what a treat or a toy is (although she has started getting a little bit interested in pieces of chicken). Apparently she was badly abused physically by people in one place, and then beaten up by dogs in another place, so people and dogs all scare her.

 

Yet, she is wanting ever so badly to have a person she can trust; you can see her trying to trust me, and just hoping so much that she will be treated nicely. Poor thing.

 

She's so scared of dogs that she is badly reactive. So far I am keeping her separate from my 2 dogs, although that is not easy at all, and will require that she be crated in the house when I leave for the day (which is, fortunately, not every day).

 

I could use advice on the best ways to effect a slow and safe introduction between her and my dogs. She will be introduced to Jester first, as he's the mellow one; my female, Kit, is likely to be reactive right back at her, which will not be helpful. I intend to take it as slowly as I reasonably can.

 

Any words of wisdom will be appreciated.

[JohnLloydJones]

I could use advice on the best ways to effect a slow and safe introduction between her and my dogs. She will be introduced to Jester first, as he's the mellow one; my female, Kit, is likely to be reactive right back at her, which will not be helpful. I intend to take it as slowly as I reasonably can.

Every dog is different, but I usually let a new dog "decompress" for the first day or so. They have just gone through a major upheaval and need to absorb the changes at their own pace. Introductions are best done on neutral territory; the back yard is more neutral than inside the house, and may be sufficient. My female is the reactive one and is just plain bratty about intruders. This moderates over the first days, but she needs constant watching -- I need to be sensitive to her body language towards the newcomer and put a stop to things before they develop. In my experience, it's easy to get them to go for walks peaceably before there is a cessation of hostilities in the house. I might feed the new one in the crate a day or two, but then it's all together -- even if I have to place myself between the new one and the others to enforce peace.

 

BTW: Some photos would be nice...

[D'Elle]

Thanks, JohnLloydJones. You confirmed what I had already planned so far.....introduce in back yard (fenced), let her decompress without meeting the other dogs for a while (I plan to make this two days at least, and more if I can manage it, due to her extreme fear).

 

Your female sounds like my Kit --- just plain bratty about new dogs. Once she settles down she's as friendly as can be but that can take two weeks.

 

Here are photos. The little curled-up dog is the new foster - you can see how scared she is.

The other photo is, of course, my two. Standing is Kit, lying down is Jester.

 

 

[JohnLloydJones]

Your female sounds like my Kit --- just plain bratty about new dogs. Once she settles down she's as friendly as can be but that can take two weeks.

The tricky period is after the cessation of outright hostilities. Watch for her giving the newcomer the "eye" and be prepared to correct while it's still just posturing and body language.

[bc4ever]

Here are photos. The little curled-up dog is the new foster - you can see how scared she is.

The other photo is, of course, my two. Standing is Kit, lying down is Jester.

 

 

Wow. The pictures tell it all don't they? The frightened, withdrawn posture of your new foster, and the confident look of your other two dogs, Kit and Jester. Hopefully your love and patience will bring her around and we'll be seeing pics of all of them smiling and happy! Thank you for what you do!

[nancy in AZ]

OMG!! That's Nell. Bryan had great success helping her adjust. I know he'd be more than happy to give you some tips--I think he said she eventually was able to accept the presence of his dogs. Poor little thing. Her story is sure a heartbreaker.

[D'Elle]

OMG!! That's Nell. Bryan had great success helping her adjust. I know he'd be more than happy to give you some tips--I think he said she eventually was able to accept the presence of his dogs. Poor little thing. Her story is sure a heartbreaker.

 

Hi Nancy, yep, her name used to be Nell. I changed it as I always do if the dog comes from a bad background. Hoping that the name Joy will change her luck. I am in contact with Bryan through email, as he became attached to her in short order and wants to know how she is doing.

 

I gave her a bath today. She was certain that the bath was a Very Dangerous and Scary Thing until we got to the towelling-off part, which she realized was kinda *fun*....and then I let her back into the house and of all things.......she got the zoomies!! Somewhat subdued zoomies, admittedly, but zoomies none the less. There's a lively healthy dog in there just waiting to be let out!

[JohnLloydJones]

I gave her a bath today. She was certain that the bath was a Very Dangerous and Scary Thing ...

Yeah, I was just looking at the post-bath photos the sad, scared Rhys bach again. It took a while for him to figure out that I was OK (it turned out that he was quite fearful of some men), but now he confident and relaxed.

[Izzysdad]

Hi Nancy, yep, her name used to be Nell. I changed it as I always do if the dog comes from a bad background. Hoping that the name Joy will change her luck. I am in contact with Bryan through email, as he became attached to her in short order and wants to know how she is doing.

 

I gave her a bath today. She was certain that the bath was a Very Dangerous and Scary Thing until we got to the towelling-off part, which she realized was kinda *fun*....and then I let her back into the house and of all things.......she got the zoomies!! Somewhat subdued zoomies, admittedly, but zoomies none the less. There's a lively healthy dog in there just waiting to be let out!

 

This sounds like my new dog, Zoey. She got the zoomies a bit the other day, and it's awesome to watch Just let her have all the time she needs and let her have a safe place where she can take in her new world and the actions/smells that come along with that.

 

Sounds like she could take a month or so to really come out of her shell, keep at it, it'll all be worth it!

 

Tim

[Mariji]

A dog I recently got was just like that except not so severe. I made sure a crate was available to her all day and still is or a kennel so she could hide and have a safe place. I just spent time giving her treats and sitting with her but left her alone most so she could adjust. It has been a couple of months and she finally chases the girls around when they play but won't join in. She puts her ears up when I am in the room, she wouldn't put her ears up whenever I was within her sight and she was always cowardly but now she will stand tall with her ears up and tail up. She is extremely high drive with food because she was basically starved and she is extremely clever just needed the chance to show it. But she still needs her crate during the day but now needs the girls around too as before she wasn't too fussed with them. I would leave the introducing the dogs till later as it is a brand new environment and the poor baby is terrified. Just do some one on one trust building getting her to take treats and sit close to you. Toys may take a long time, we still have had no toy success and it wouldn't surprise me if we never did. It will take a while but you will get there. Just yesterday when I took the girls out, my foster never enjoyed walks and would run cringing along the road until she found our house or car, she had a couple of moments where she ran and bounced around. Whilst they were fleeting she did look beautiful and it was apparent she was enjoying herself. Time is a major factor, but I would like to think she will stay for as long as it takes to be completely comfortable before throwing her into a new situation with a new family.