We are fostering (and most likely going to adopt) a rescue dog, Illy. She's 2 and a lab/pharoah hound mix. We were told she was shy at first but will warm up. She was living on a farm with about 40 other rescue dogs, and some cows (not rescue cows, just cows) but apparently didn't have very much human interaction.
She is very skittish - she is afraid of doors and any sort of noise, even the floor creaking. She doesn't like us standing up over her so we tend to crouch next to her before we pet her. She wags her tail when we pet her, and her ears are perky, although she does lick a lot, which I thought was a sign of stress, but I'm not sure, given her ears and tail behavior.
The problem is, we can't really get her interested in coming out of her crate. She just lays in there all day unless we get the leash out, and then she slowly comes out, and wags her tail a little bit. If we approach her quickly or from the front, she cowers and runs right back in her crate. So I slowly walk around her and approach from the side, and she's fine. She's good on the leash. But then when she comes home, it's right back into the crate. Sometimes if I lie down in front of the crate, she'll ease her way out and start licking my face. I can't tell if she really likes getting petted or not, and saying 'Good Girl!' doesn't elicit a reaction. She does not really notice when we talk to her or call her name. She mostly just lays in her crate all day, and I feel like she's miserable, but I guess it's her safe place? She's happy when she's outside, sniffing at everything, but we can't leave her outside all day.
We introduced her to the neighbor's dog, because the woman at the rescue organization thought she might be missing her 'friends'. They sniffed each other and then ignored each other. We went on a walk together and another dog came to play. They all sniffed each other, then those two dogs went off running and playing, and she was just sniffing on the ground, doing her own thing. So I don't know if taking her to a dog park (eventually) will be beneficial.
I'm hoping she'll eventually get used to us and want to come out of her crate. But what can I do in the meantime to help along that process? I hate thinking that she's miserable.
She doesn't know what toys are or what to do with them. She really has no interest in treats. She doesn't get overly excited about them. She'll nibble one if I put it right next to her, or even eat it out of my hand, but if I put it on the floor farther away, so she has to move to get it, she has no interest at all.
So trying to build her confidence by having her sit and then get treats doesn't work, because she's not treat motivated. She's not affection motivated - she doesn't even notice when I say 'Good girl!'. I tried using the clicker but the noise startles her and I can't click and treat, because she ignores the treat.
Any advice? What should we do, or not do?
She is very skittish - she is afraid of doors and any sort of noise, even the floor creaking. She doesn't like us standing up over her so we tend to crouch next to her before we pet her. She wags her tail when we pet her, and her ears are perky, although she does lick a lot, which I thought was a sign of stress, but I'm not sure, given her ears and tail behavior.
The problem is, we can't really get her interested in coming out of her crate. She just lays in there all day unless we get the leash out, and then she slowly comes out, and wags her tail a little bit. If we approach her quickly or from the front, she cowers and runs right back in her crate. So I slowly walk around her and approach from the side, and she's fine. She's good on the leash. But then when she comes home, it's right back into the crate. Sometimes if I lie down in front of the crate, she'll ease her way out and start licking my face. I can't tell if she really likes getting petted or not, and saying 'Good Girl!' doesn't elicit a reaction. She does not really notice when we talk to her or call her name. She mostly just lays in her crate all day, and I feel like she's miserable, but I guess it's her safe place? She's happy when she's outside, sniffing at everything, but we can't leave her outside all day.
We introduced her to the neighbor's dog, because the woman at the rescue organization thought she might be missing her 'friends'. They sniffed each other and then ignored each other. We went on a walk together and another dog came to play. They all sniffed each other, then those two dogs went off running and playing, and she was just sniffing on the ground, doing her own thing. So I don't know if taking her to a dog park (eventually) will be beneficial.
I'm hoping she'll eventually get used to us and want to come out of her crate. But what can I do in the meantime to help along that process? I hate thinking that she's miserable.
She doesn't know what toys are or what to do with them. She really has no interest in treats. She doesn't get overly excited about them. She'll nibble one if I put it right next to her, or even eat it out of my hand, but if I put it on the floor farther away, so she has to move to get it, she has no interest at all.
So trying to build her confidence by having her sit and then get treats doesn't work, because she's not treat motivated. She's not affection motivated - she doesn't even notice when I say 'Good girl!'. I tried using the clicker but the noise startles her and I can't click and treat, because she ignores the treat.
Any advice? What should we do, or not do?