I need help with a stray dog I am fostering. She is skittish and missing hair.?

Question

How to I improve her behavior????? I bought a home in which the previous owner abandoned their dog. She's a mutt, about 20 lbs with long skinny legs. She can jump pretty high. When the owner wouldn't come get her I contacted a rescue society and now find myself fostering the dog. When we met her she was friendly but standoffish. She was in bad shape. After a couple of days of food and attention she started looking good - But had to have her fixed because she was in heat. Since her spaying she is scared of everything. Once she played outside for about 10 minutes but as soon as there was a distant noise she took off and hid in her crate. It's been 3 days since her surgery and she just won't leave the crate. She is a really sweet dog. I gave her a bath before her surgery and she stood still and even seemed to enjoy it. She rolls over and shows me her tummy and loves it when I rub her head. But it takes some convincing every time to get her to come up from the back of the crate. She did nip me once when I helped hold her for a shot (no broken skin or blood). I thought it seemed like a natural reaction. But, because of this and the skittishness they seem to think she will be impossible to place in a home. Not to mention she is missing a lot of hair and looks shaved from her front arms down. At this time they think someone flea dipped her with something too strong and it caused a severe reaction. Her undercoat appears to be coming in now. But any advice on this would be appreciated too. Please help I want to get her fixed up and into a good home. I can't keep her. I already have 6 pets.

Answer 1

Dogs are actually Omnivorous.they need alot less meat protein then cats, ferrets or snakes & feeding a high animal protein diet to a dog will take a toll on the dog's health.a dog is designed to to digest a wide range of plant and animal products.Dog's must eat more then muscle meat.they need plenty of carboyhdrates &fibre from vegetable matter and only a very small amount of fat.there protein can come from both plant and animal products.the other things to consider are sources of mineral such as calcium, phosphorous and of cause vitamins.

Dogs are they Carnivores? Are they really like wolves, hyenas, jackals? or Are they more like us? Is it foolish to feed them only meat? Should they be fed what there human family eats? The Truth encompasses a little of each.

In the wild, other hunting animal that seem similar to dogs, such as Wolves, hyenas eat fruit,leaves,grasses,dig for roots and even obtain vegetable matter from the stomach of their prey."

Book-NIBBLE MUNCH CHOMP-The Art & Science of feeding your pet. by Dr. Sarah Herbert. Senior Vet at Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Cooked grains are nearly 100% digestible for dogs. There really isn't a

lot of question about this based on the results of feeding studies. I am not

sure why people come to the conclusion that grains are not good for

dogs.

Normal reaction for dog's to react to a needle-most will nip when they receive an injection.

Sound's like more of a case of mange to me that caused her to loose her fur!

If you don't want her in the crate-close the crate door so she can't get in! She really need to be in human contact, and the more attention the better with strays.

1. Start slowly, don't rush her

2. Let her walk around the house and investigate

3.Introduce the other dog's slowly

4.Try and spend extra time with her-without the other dog's around. start patting her from under the chin, behind the ears, then start patting the back, once she seem to tolerate this, then gentle touch her paws-then slowly ask her to lift up her paw's-she the little fleshy bit just above the main paw pad, most dog's will instinctively lift up there paw, when this area is touched, as she have to get used to her paw's being handled so the future owners can clip her nails. I handled my dog's paw's since a puppy and don't have a problem with getting people to nail clip them now, she never had them nail's clipped as a puppy! But because she was used to having her paw's handled, she wasn't worried about the nail clippers! I would suggested also getting your stray foster dog to accept the nail clippers. Once she accept paw touch's, slowly introduce the nail clipper.

5. Slowly introduce her to people, dogs, say 1 week, introduce her to 1 person and try and meet up with the same person each day. then introduce her week 2, to two people and try and meet up with both each day, follow this process.

For introducing new people, you can hand the person a treat to feed the dog-Most stray dog's are VERY food orientated! That one thing I love about strays!

6. Teach her basic obedience-such as Come, stay, lie down, like a refresher course! Food reward's usually work well with stray's!

7. Get her used to being regularly brushed!

8. She won't learn to come out of her shell if she hding in  the crate the whole time

Remember stray dog's have often been stray for ages and forget what its like to be a member of a family. they need to be taught and loved.

I had 3 stray cats- my latest two died tradically in a housefire soon after being adopted, reminded me of actually kitten's although they were adult's at 2yr old & 18months!

the 2yr old had clearly been a stray for a while and had actually been a dumpster cat, she was consistently rumaging in the bin and she even jump on the table and l**k plate clean, she eat peas, and bread and I even found her in the dishwasher-She was sitting in the bottom dishes, trying to catch drip off my sister's special chocolate milk drink! She was consistently testing the boundries and was doing everything little kitten's did, including being defiant! She was clearly used to getting away with everything and I think she lived the life of luxury before becoming a dumpster cat

The other cat that was 18month old, was more wary and skittish, and I think she was thrown when she was younger. She was terrified of being picked up and basically had a panic attack-. the shelter said she needed grooming twice a week, I actually groomed her twice a day because of her skittishness to get her used to being groomed and i fed them after i done the grooming so they associate grooming with something plesant.

She calmed down after a month & started to actually purr when picked up by me-and started wanting to be brushed! She got cranky when i brushed the other cat 1st & actually looked disapointed when i finish her routine brushing!

We adopt the 18month old on the 30th of May & 2yr old on the 31st of May 2007-both female tortishell & white.

The housefire was on the 14 of July 2007!

Answer 2

First, thanks for fostering this fur kid and giving her a good chance at life.  You should contact the "Rescue " that you are fostering for, and ask them for help and sound advice on the dogs standoffish behavior.  I have to remind you that this girl has been through A LOT in the past few days, a new home, a trip to the vet, surgery, now the only place she's feeling safe is in her crate...and who can blame her right now, if you think about it, she's probably scared of the unknown, but I feel confident that you can bring her around, with a lot of love and PATIENCE, she'll learn to trust again.   I would just sit down on the floor in front of her crate, don't make eye contact with her, just sit there, maybe with a treat in your hand, and if she comes out, tell her good dog, and give her a small piece of the treat, that way, she'll associate a good reward with coming out of the crate,  don't try to pet her, just tell her good girl, and then give her the treat, don't move too fast, that will probably scare her,  then, as she starts coming out of the crate more often, maybe she will start letting you pet her, again, do this slowly, and tell her good girl,  positive reinforcement will help her to learn that being out of her crate is okay too, it'll take awhile, but it'll happen with time.  Best of luck to you and again, thanks for saving a life!!

Answer 3

She is much abused and needs a lot of love.  Who will provide it I don't know.

Answer 4

i had a situation where a stry dog was beaten, and starved and laying in my neighbors yard. he was a bordie collie. the best dog i ever had. my advice is that you give your heart to that dog. your heart and soul. and if you can't then don't keep her. dogs like that need tender, patient, loving care. you have to coax them you know? i mean, it tooks days before we could come up to Rupy and get him to not skitter back away from us!  just remember the dog has probably been through alot. be the best foster mommy you can. Dogs are Gods gift to man kind! they are teh most expressive, loving creatures when you take the time to listen and love.

<3

xo

hope i help.

i know its not much, but its how i got thru my hard times with my baby boy.

:D

edit:

oh!!!

make sure (this is a key to trust with those sweeties) to sit down somewhere nest to her while she's laying down (be slow, not ubrupt!) and just pet her for awhile. be sweet adn tender and talk to her. its not crazy to talk to them. :) just tell her how special she is, and how lucky she is to have found someone willing to care for her, and be 100% motherly. :D this is vital. always always spend time being gentle with her!

Answer 5

It's only been 3 days since the spaying an the anesthesia was still in her system for at least 3 of those days. Now she is experiencing some discomfort from the surgery so give her time. When she nipped it was most likely do to the drugs and discomfort. She will be fine. No need to give up on her. You have stated all of those positives about her. They certainly did not leave. Time, understanding and love is all that is needed.  

Answer 6

i don't know what kind of pets you  have, but fostering a dog might not be effective with 6 pets.  let the dog come to you. feed and take her out but she  might need to adjust on her own a little. she was abandoned which was traumatic.  try to keep the other pets away if you can, to see if she is affected. good luck  

Answer 7

lots of love and patience...try coaxing her with treats.

EDIT****

If you can get her to open up I bet that she'll be fine with others eventually...ive seen many cases where that happens..please dont give up!!!

P.S. You're amazing for helping strays :)

Answer 8

I foster dogs and puppies. A mom and her puppies came in and we took them for about 7 weeks. The mom had similar issues. The loss of hair was incredible. She was super skinny and very skittish. The problem was she was very malnourished. That might be the problem in your case. Try getting calorie dog food and table scrapes. Maybe not so much in your case since yours isn't nursing. Does that make any sense?

Answer 9

Insecure dogs benefit from being leashed to a calm, supportive, but not pitying human.  Tie her on as often as possible.  She can't run and hide in her crate if she is attached to you.  

Try bribing her out of the crate with food.  Don't give food or water while in the crate or while unattended.

You are a real animal hero for doing this.  I hope she gets better and you find her a great home.  Good for you!

Answer 10

well missing hair is probally due to fleas and being very timid and scared is normal for a strey just have patience and give it love and maybe you will want to keep it

Answer 11

It will take time to bring her back She had a bad life and needs a perment home that will have time for her