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Need assistance with my newly rescued BC


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I also attached a few photos I snapped of him on his way. Also this time he was way more focused on his food while he was eating rather than focused on what I was doing. There was almost no reaction to any of my movements while he was eating.

 

On a side note, I've got a question for everyone; what're your favorite chew toys? I think Dexter is just starting to get really comfortable in the garage and he's finding his own things to rip apart. This morning it was a tissue box. I gave him a wooden stick I bought at PetCo and give him rawhide donuts (which he goes through like nothing), but I think he's getting bored of them already.

Gotta love the smooth haired ones! He looks a lot like our girl. I may be wrong, but isn't that the look of cautious curiosity I see in his face? Looks like you're making fantastic progress!

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Comgratulations on the BIG steps forward. And since they were of his own volition, so much the better.

 

As Gloria says, take it one tiny step at a time in the beginning. To tell the truth, he sounds like once he gets on track, he will gain confidence fast.

 

Chew toys (I consider chew toys anything that can be left with the dog unsupervised, probably less than 5% of the 'toys' available) - black Kongs with good stuff smeared inside (and if you freeze them first, it takes longer to lick out the good stuff), antlers, and others with similar properties.

 

A great book to read for the owners of newly rescued dogs is by Patricia McConnell "Love Has No Age Limit". It is inexpensive (~$10 from her website) and concise and short. It introduces and addresses several of the most common issues that arise when you first get a rescue dog.

 

Keep up the good work.

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Thanks for all the suggestions! I'll have to buy new chew toys for him today.

 

So today I would like to think that we took another big step forward. I had to give him a bath today as he was covered in his own urine and dirt. I slowly got him on a lead. He was unwilling to come out from underneath the car, so I gently dragged him out. As soon as he was able to stand, he started walking towards the front yard on his own. I believe that he was trying to get away from me, but he was surprisingly obedient. When he got too far away from me, I'd do a single tug on the leash and he stopped. He would also follow the direction that I wanted him to go in. His tail never left the guard of his hind legs, but I still think this was a step forward.

 

Every time on the leash, he would act as dead weight, not wanting to move at all. He would even jump and put his front paws on the leash. This time it was like a whole other dog. I was so excited

 

Another thing I learned about him was that he is naturally submissive. A lot of times I hear about fearful aggressive dogs, but Dexter is a fearful submissive dog. This happened twice already, but sometimes when he doesn't want to be moved, he'll lie on his back, belly up. I'm not sure what this means, but it seemed like a submissive position to me. Any input on this?

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Dexter's definitely showing lots of signs of progress. That's very exciting, but don't be surprised -- or disappointed -- if he backslides. It's bound to happen but I'm sure it'll be short lived before he starts moving forward again.

 

Fearful submissive is definitely better than fear aggressive, but remember it doesn't give you license to push him too hard. On the one hand, that just wouldn't be fair to him, and on the other, even a fearful submissive dog can be pushed to the point of becoming fear aggressive if he feels too threatened. It'll be up to you learn how much you can challenge him without tipping the balance, which would be devastating for both you and for him.

 

I'm not trying to be a wet blanket at all, but think it's important to remind you to continue to take things slow and easy and let Dexter choose the pace of his recovery. I know from the shy fosters I've had how tempting it can be to keep pushing them a little more when things are going well, and then I always kick myself if I push too far and make them regress. They can be incredibly resilient, though, and unless you make a huge error in judgement, it's usually just a blip on the radar and things go back to where they were pretty quickly.

 

Dexter sounds like he's going to end up being quite a lovely dog because of your gentle patience with him. Again, I want to thank you for giving him a chance at a normal life. :D

 

Keep the updates coming, please! I, for one, want to know how he's coming along.

 

roxanne

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Thank you all for the encouragement! It makes me kind of excited about the journey.

 

This morning for breakfast, I did the same as last night and had him come to his food which was next to me. I'm happy to say that it took him SIGNIFICANTLY less time than it did last night. I also attached a few photos I snapped of him on his way. Also this time he was way more focused on his food while he was eating rather than focused on what I was doing. There was almost no reaction to any of my movements while he was eating.

 

On a side note, I've got a question for everyone; what're your favorite chew toys? I think Dexter is just starting to get really comfortable in the garage and he's finding his own things to rip apart. This morning it was a tissue box. I gave him a wooden stick I bought at PetCo and give him rawhide donuts (which he goes through like nothing), but I think he's getting bored of them already.

 

 

Im noticing his nails look well kept....?

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Im noticing his nails look well kept....?

 

Last I checked, yes, his nails looked fine.

 

Another big update. Today I'm home all day and heard some footsteps in the kitchen. I look back and there he is, wandering around inside the house. I left the door to inside the house unblocked and he finally decided to explore a bit inside. He's finally starting to warm up to the house. He's still not used to being around people as when he saw me looking at him, he made his way back to the garage. Next week, I'm going to start putting him in my room and taking him outside on a leash to use the bathroom. I'll keep you guys updated on the progress of that.

 

Today is going to be the 6th full day of being at the house and I believe he's making remarkable progress. Does anyone recommend putting a pile of treats inside the house to encourage him to come inside? Maybe letting him know that if he comes inside, he gets rewarded?

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One thing you might try is Suzanne Clothier's "Treat/Retreat" method.

 

It goes like this: You start with the dog at a distance from you (or another person, if the dog is fearful of others) at which the dog is relaxed and comfortable, not showing any signs of distress or tension. For this, you need to be able to read the dog well enough that you know even the small signs of tension or stress. You toss a treat (don't do this, of course, if the dog is afraid of something tossed in his direction). Toss the treat so that it lands only a short distance in front of the dog, between you and the dog. If he moves forward to get it, you simultaneously move the same distance backward, so that you maintain the exact same distance between you. This way, the dog can come toward you without compromising his safe distance.

 

You repeat this over and over, (by which I mean dozens of times, not three or four times), and as the dog becomes a bit more comfortable with coming toward you, you toss the treat just a smidgin closer to you than before, while still moving back an equal distance once the dog starts to move forward.

 

Eventually, you start moving a little bit less far backward.

And so on.

If you do this slowly enough, the dog learns that to come toward you only results in good things.

Very important, of course, not to try to touch or grab the dog once he gets close to you.

This technique could be used to get him interested in coming into the house.

I also like your idea of having a treat or 2 just inside the doorway to the house so that he needs to come in to get it.

 

Slowly, and tiny tiny steps.

 

No matter how fast his progress seems, please continue to work with him in tiny steps. It really is worth it.

 

You might consider investing in a large crate for him. When Kelso lived with me I never crated him even once, feeling that he had spent his whole life in a cage and I wouldn't ask him to be in one. But the wonderful people who adopted him gave him a huge (i mean huge) crate full of cushions and squeaky toys. They never made him go in or shut him in there, but he could use it as a retreat and safe cave. He loved it. Dex will want a safe cave of some sort to go to once he is in the house.

 

I can tell that you have caught the excitement of seeing a dog start to gain a little bit of trust. Isn't it just the best thing? :)

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D'Elle, as usual, has offered some excellent suggestions.

 

I think putting some treats in the kitchen to entice Dexter is a great idea. I don't think I'd put them in a pile, though. Rather scatter them in different locations so that he has to move around more to find them. Hopefully, that'll encourage him to explore more and feel more comfortable as he's doing it, finding rewards along the way.

 

I'm looking forward to Dexter's daily update, hopefully with more good news.

 

Happy New Year to you and everyone else on the Boards.

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Does anyone recommend putting a pile of treats inside the house to encourage him to come inside? Maybe letting him know that if he comes inside, he gets rewarded?

I'd recommend having some treats with you at all times. Toss a treat towards him when he comes in. If that scares him, then leave a treat or two right a few feet in front of the door way he enters through. Then transition to tossing him a treat every now and then.

 

You want him to learn as quickly as possible that you are the source of good stuff. From your description, he might be able to figure that our now. Continue to ignore him as much as you can.

 

Once he gets comfortable with the treats being tossed, you can toss them closer and closer to yourself. Eventually he'll be willing to take one from your hand.

 

Have a wonderful time with him. Like D'Elle says, there's nothing quite like winning the trust of a terrified dog.

 

Ruth and Agent Gibbs

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So I don't know what happened, but today, he won't eat his food, even when left alone. He hasn't been acting weird at all. No vomiting, peeing regularly, and the last time he pooped, it looked fine as well. He also hasn't drank much water today either. Could this be caused by him feeling uncomfortable? Again, he doesn't act weird, going to the bathroom regularly, no coughing, vomiting, nothing out of the ordinary. I even left treats out and about inside the house seeing if he would walk in looking for the treats, and I caught him coming in once. I'm not watching him 24/7 so he MAY have ingested something that's that upsets his stomach, but from what it looks like, he hasn't. There's nothing toxic out in the open. He'd have to do a bit of digging to get to something like that and there are no signs of him doing such a thing. I'm a bit concerned and any help would be appreciated.

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I don't know what to say except that it's possible this is one of those steps backwards that you (should) know to expect.

 

But please do watch him closely to see if there could be another reason. If he's spending most of his time in the garage, could there be anything like anitfreeze that he could have gotten even a few licks of? Anything like mouse or rat poison that you may have forgotten about?

 

It's quite possible that changes in elimination may take a bit longer to surface, so again, please do watch carefully. If you see anything weird or if he continues to refuse to eat, please consult a vet ASAP.

 

I hope this is just a bit of a backsliding moment, and will be watching for an update.

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just a bit further to that, if you find him "stiller" than you 're used to seeing him, or if his back bone looks more convexly curved, ie bonier pointing out, or he begins to pant or licks his teeth from acidy stuff in his mouth, you are probably looking at tummy pain - not to scare you but it might help sort it out.

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Stretching can also be an indicator of stomach pain. The first time I'd seen this was recently with my old dog who has digestive issues. It's not a full stretch like you'll see them do in the morning or after getting up from a good nap, but a shortened version of it, usually front and back.

 

A neighbor's dog who'd eaten part of their door frame and was blocked with wood chips trembled for a while before vomiting and eventually passing the chips. So there can be different manifestations of pain. Good to be on the lookout for any of them.

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Another sign of tummy discomfort is going into a downward-dog stretch and then staying there, in a bowing position, for several seconds.

 

How is he today? Any better?

 

If he is not actually sick from something he ate or other causes, in other words if this is behavioral, don't worry. it's just one of those steps back that occurs naturally.

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He seems very normal today. Still hasn't been drinking much but he did eat a little. I think he may be the very first picky dog. I usually mix a bit of cooked chicken breast in with his kibble and one treat for each meal. When I went to check his bowl after I set out his breakfast, only the chicken and treat were gone. He ate very little if any kibble. Other than that, he's acting fine. I saw him walking around and kind of playing with himself a little bit in the garage.

 

So I think it is just him going backwards a bit. I'll keep you guys updated.

 

I want to give him a short walk in an hour or so to get done fresh air and feel the sun. It's a great sunny day today. It might just make him feel a little better too.

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Maybe he is not going backwards but trying to engage you into picking his food. As in, eating the good stuff?

May sound silly but if he is acting good otherwise, poop is fine and all of that, maybe he is just not all that hungry (not knowing how much he gets out and how much he gets fed this is just a suggestion out of the dark). I try not to panic and change foods at the first sign of a dog backing off. Especially if all else is the same.

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^^Quite possible. He's probably not getting as much exercise right now as he was before in his FH with the other dogs.

 

And some dogs will just hold out for the good stuff, too, once they know it's there. It might be better to reserve the chicken as a high value treat to encourage him to be more comfortable around you and to venture further into the house.

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Ohh I see what you guys mean. I'm going to be holding back on the chicken from now on. He's eating his kibble again so I think it is what you guys were talking about. And I also do think he's just eating less now because of his lack of exercise. He's also starting to get a bit aggressive. I'm going to start taking him on walks starting Sunday. He probably won't like it in the beginning, but there'll be a big reward for him after each walk. That way hopefully he'll learn that walks are a good thing.

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Today I wanted to take him outside for a little bit to feel the sun since it was such a nice day, and when I went to put the leash on him, he started nipping at me. He did this once before, but I assumed it was because of the approach. That time, my dad approached him in a very dominant and threatening manner. What I would usually do is approach him very low and slowly trying not to look at him. He let me get very close, but when I went for the collar, he'd turn his head and bite.

 

I read somewhere that you could try to divert his attention with something like a toy or food, but Dexter doesn't seem very interested in anything except me when I'm around. Any other techniques I should try?

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