Confused dog vs Confused person

[Dale Davenport]

This is my first time to a dog forum. My background is a 48 year old lifetime dog owner. I am not an expert but always have had good luck with my dogs.

Three days ago i was backpacking at National Forrest when a large white dog approached. Boy is she ugly. Fur is all matted with seed pods and burrs stuck to her to the point that it was blocking her vision. I frequently hike with my dog and have dog treats in my pack. This dog is very scarred but takes the treat and i am able to pet her. She is starving to death. Hip bones are sticking out and her front paw is injured. I wouldn’t leave any animal in the woods in this condition and this one has approached me for help. I get her to follow me the 3 miles back to my car. I grabbed her and took her home.

She lay quietly as i took the dog trimmers and cut the matted horrible fur off of her and i found a Labradoddle under the fur. She is taller than my neighbors Labrador yet only weighs 44 lbs. I would guess her to be 10-13 months old.

I don’t think i am going to keep her. I didn’t want to take her to a shelter because of her condition. I want to nurse her back to health make her social and find her a home. This dog does not show any aggressive behavior but is just scared and confused.

The first two days i have let this dog eat and play with my dog. She likes my Schnauzer more than he likes her. She seems happy. I need more than a happy dog. I need an obedient dog as well. I put a leash on her and she went nuts. Pulling, rolling, and biting the leash until she collapsed in exhaustion. I am a large guy so i just held on and let her go crazy.
I don’t know if i am rushing her. My thought was to set rules for living with humans right away so that she does not develop bad habits. She is already showing a little territorial behavior. She lies on my back yard deck and barks at my neighbors. She seems to find what she considers being safe spots and does not move far from those spots. She only approaches me when I have food. She seems to want to be in my area but about 8 feet away. She is very jumpy at my movements.

All of that leads to this one question. Am correct in trying to get her on a leash this early. If so how persistent should I be. Let her buck and roll until exhaustion. Then go some more. Maybe I could put food in the yard. Bring her to it on the leash. I don’t know if I can get her in any one direction without dragging her. Maybe she will figure out that we have a destination and that the journey has a rewarding goal.

I felt pretty good about saving this dog but she is confused on how to be a pet. I am confused on how to make her a pet.
I could go on and on with this post but I will stop here.

 

[whatszmatter]

put a drag leash on and let her drag it around and get used to it, before you put it in your hands. You can work on stuff in your yard (if its fenced) or in the house to get her to follow and walk with you without the leash, so when the leash does finally go on and in your hand she's already walking with you so it won't be a struggle.

 

[Dale Davenport]

put a drag leash on and let her drag it around and get used to it, before you put it in your hands. You can work on stuff in your yard (if its fenced) or in the house to get her to follow and walk with you without the leash, so when the leash does finally go on and in your hand she's already walking with you so it won't be a struggle.

A drag leash? Is this a regular leash

 

[whatszmatter]

could be I guess, just have to watch the dog. Usually a drag leash is just a 5 or so foot leash with no loop on the end to catch anything, just a clip and some leather.

 

[Doberluv]

Yes, you want her to like the leash so don't make her miserable with forcing anything on her. Go slowly, gradually. You can't rush and force a dog who has no experience with these things to suddenly learn it all. Going slowly and gently is the best way to condition her to accept new things.

If she drags the leash around with your supervision of course, and gets a few treats here and there, a little play, if she likes to play, she'll associate that with good things. When she does act scared, don't make a fuss over her. Act confident and happy like nothing is a big deal. She had a rough time and that's in your mind. You're probably thinking of what she must have gone through in the woods, hungry, frightened, her life at risk. But she's not thinkning about any of that now. She is living in the moment. So move on and have the attitude that everything is cool. Teach her a few little things, reward her for behavior you like and don't tippy toe around her. She'll get use to stuff in time.

I wonder if she was dumped or if she escaped and got lost. Just a sad story, but with a happy ending. You did a great thing rescuing her. Kudos. She is one lucky dog.

Keep us posted on her progress.

 

[Dale Davenport]

The gradual approach with a drag leash has given me a much better result. I have been able to have her do a few steps before she lays down. This is the only thing that i have been able to get this dog to do. But it is something and makes me confident that she can be a pet. Yesterday i was seeing that this may not have a good result. She has all the bad behavior of any puppy amplified by her size. She is helping me with my landscaping. Her plans are different than mine. I have muddy paw prints under every window and 5 foot up on my sliding patio door. I needed some results today. Thanks for the help.

She has some odd behavior. Such as she will not walk through a doorway. It does not matter if she is in or out, if it is a regular door, a garage door or an entrance way. She will not go through. Her world is currently the deck, some of the backyard and the kitchen. I have to pick her up to get her in or out of the kitchen. I have been keeping ample amounts of food for her to put some weight on. I am considering only hand feeding for a while to see if i can get her to stop keeping her distance from me.

 

[whatszmatter]

She has some odd behavior. Such as she will not walk through a doorway. It does not matter if she is in or out, if it is a regular door, a garage door or an entrance way. She will not go through. Her world is currently the deck, some of the backyard and the kitchen. I have to pick her up to get her in or out of the kitchen. I have been keeping ample amounts of food for her to put some weight on. I am considering only hand feeding for a while to see if i can get her to stop keeping her distance from me.

well you figure she's just spent a lot of time in an environment in which she wasn't adapted for survival, and was afraid of everything. Going thru a door, is going from something that she feels relatively safe in to something new and scary for her, this will take time, lots of it, but dogs are pretty adaptable.

hand feeding is great, just set some on the ground by her, let her see you do it and walk a distance away that will allow her to come and eat it. unless she's not afraid by you tossing it near her, then just toss it a little less further away to bring her in. It probably won't happen in a night, but it will happen that she'll come next to you and eat.

Be careful not to feed too much all the time. Her GI tract needs time to get used to processing food. better to start small and build up. set aside enough food, cups whatever you're feeding, and use it to gain her trust throughout the day, don't just put it in a bowl and leave.

You have a lot of love and ambition to do this, and who knows, maybe you'll end up keeping her and the two of you can open your own landscaping business, your slogan can be something like "Holes, Dug Dirt Cheap"

 

[bubbatd]

Kudos to you and your patience !! It will pay off !!

 

[Doberluv]

You have a lot of love and ambition to do this, and who knows, maybe you'll end up keeping her and the two of you can open your own landscaping business, your slogan can be something like "Holes, Dug Dirt Cheap"

LOL! That's good. Good advice too about the food.

If its still warm enough where you live, you could try feeding her in the door way, just sitting on the other side....sort of get her use to house things. Little by litte, as she gets to know you and see how you've got everything under control...that she doesn't have to worry anymore about her survival, she'll start to trust you more and more. It will then be easier to get her to do things you want of her...she'll be more willing to step out of that fearful place in her head.

Then I'd recommend clicker training for her. Its gentle and fun and it communicates very concisely to the dog what behavior is earning the reward. You can shape her behavior to be the way you like very effectively with this.

http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/index.htm

 

[Dale Davenport]

Thanks to all. Here are three pictures. There is one before we trimmed her. She does not look very thin with fur. Notice the burrs around the eyes and all over the coat. There is another after the trim. Look at the spine and the hip bones. There is another of a healthy Labradoodle. I downloaded it to show others how she should look.

 

[Dale Davenport]

 

[Dale Davenport]

I guess i dont know how to post pictures. Maybe this will workhttp://new.photos.yahoo.com/aosdale1/album/576460762318109844#page1

 

[bubbatd]

What a doll !!!! If you've ever read " My Angels Wear Fur " , I'd say she's yours for life !!! She found you !!! :hail: