Update on troubled dog, so much improvemrnt

[Sus]

I want to start by thanking everyone on here for your guidance and advice otherwise I do not think I could have coped

Biddy has so improved, I have kept her name because the son of the previous owner wanted to come and see and walk her. I agreed and she was excited to see him, after 40 mins he came back and said she seemed so much happier and was also happy to come back home!!

She is responding to strangers and even letting them touch her, some dogs she will tolerate but others she snaps and snarls. She seems to want to socialise with everyone and dogs but just seems nervous and scared. It is all new for her so am taking her to as many places as I can and just letting her do what she wants to do

She will not come to me or answer to her name but does recognise her name with the word food afterwards and will come to her bowl and will eat in front of me (previously she crawled on her belly and would not eat until I left the room) she also recognises the word walk and goes wild when she sees her harness. So as long as I feed her and walk her I am in favour, I can handle that haha

Her tail seems to be half mast all the time now which is so fantastic, better than between her legs, but my goal is for her tail to be upright all the time
She is now down to 3.4kgs now with walking and not depriving her of food. I am giving her more than the vet advised but I can only deprive her of so much

She still has such a long way to go and I hope she continues to improve as I will never let her go, but I have'nt totally bonded with her yet and am finding it quite hard going at the moment, I am sure this will improve over time. I just have to be prepared to wait which I will

 

[JudyN]

Well done for sticking with her, and for seeking advice - not many people would have done that. She's made a lot of progress, and I'm sure will continue to do so. Even if she never becomes a cuddly lapdog, I'm sure the bond will grow very strong over time

 

[Hemlock]

Wonderful update, and thanks for telling us. It's good to get feedback.

A tip - use another word, not her name, when you want her to recall. It will take a while, so don't expect instant improvement. It can be any word/any name at all, but exclusively for recall, so that word means "come to me and it will be for something nice". Very often the old name sound is linked with tricky memories.
Do NOT tell anyone the new recall word. Some folk will always abuse that privilege, which then ruins the recall again.

 

[Flobo]

Thankyou for the update, it's is so lovely to hear the progress she's making with you and seeing her happy to come home after being out with the son must of been wonderful. It is tough adopting a dog with troubles and it does take courage, commitment and oodles of patience and kindness(for yourself and the adopted!), but the upside is that every tiny step forward feels so much sweeter when it happens eh. So glad you were able to ask for support and that it helped!!
Have you worked out how to put a picture up? I'm sure we'd all love to see her.

 

[Sus]

 

[Sus]

Did not think that pic would come out so big
Thank you all for your comments, I will definitely try using a specific word for calling her to me
I would definitely not have come this far if it had not been for the input from you all on here
I have learned to be patient but can now notice little changes all the time.
Sometimes she reverts back to a negative behaviour like she had at the beginning but soon comes round again
Big step forward is when I pluck up the courage to bath her, but am using a dry shampoo for now, although I think it might be her breath that smells from her bad wisdom teeth. She is booked in to have them out on the 9th Sep. I delayed it a couple of weeks in order for her to gain a little more confidence
Once again thank you all for your help, will put more pics up of her awake soon

 

[JudyN]

Oh, she's a little doll, she's lovely!

 

[RGC]

I want to start by thanking everyone on here for your guidance and advice otherwise I do not think I could have coped

Biddy has so improved, I have kept her name because the son of the previous owner wanted to come and see and walk her. I agreed and she was excited to see him, after 40 mins he came back and said she seemed so much happier and was also happy to come back home!!

She is responding to strangers and even letting them touch her, some dogs she will tolerate but others she snaps and snarls. She seems to want to socialise with everyone and dogs but just seems nervous and scared. It is all new for her so am taking her to as many places as I can and just letting her do what she wants to do

She will not come to me or answer to her name but does recognise her name with the word food afterwards and will come to her bowl and will eat in front of me (previously she crawled on her belly and would not eat until I left the room) she also recognises the word walk and goes wild when she sees her harness. So as long as I feed her and walk her I am in favour, I can handle that haha

Her tail seems to be half mast all the time now which is so fantastic, better than between her legs, but my goal is for her tail to be upright all the time
She is now down to 3.4kgs now with walking and not depriving her of food. I am giving her more than the vet advised but I can only deprive her of so much

She still has such a long way to go and I hope she continues to improve as I will never let her go, but I have'nt totally bonded with her yet and am finding it quite hard going at the moment, I am sure this will improve over time. I just have to be prepared to wait which I will

That’s terrific, Sus. Patience and gentle love always win. It took ages for Mabel to come to me and, even now, I only get a waggy tail when I come home whereas my wife only has to look at her to get the wiggly bottom. I’ll settle for a happy secure whippet. You WILL bond - look how far you’ve come in such a short time.

 

[Sus]

Thank you all, I know things are not perfect yet but they are improving every day
I always wanted to get a dog, but my vision was a rescue greyhound one where I could throw a ball and maybe go into the sea, then lay on the sofa together haha
I obviously never did that, but the amount of my time this little thing takes up I do not think I could deal with anything bigger, we will get there eventually I know we will

 

[Tinytom]

Well done to both of you ...baby steps pay off ...she looks like she may have chihuahua in her hence being so tiny ...

 

[JoanneF]

She is gorgeous!

 

[Hemlock]

What a pretty dog she is!

(whispering - a rescue greyhound would not want to chase a ball or go in the sea. They are good at sofas, though).

 

[RGC]

What a pretty dog she is!

(whispering - a rescue greyhound would not want to chase a ball or go in the sea. They are good at sofas, though).

I quite agree, Hemlock. And I’d also whisper so as not to cause offence to others but their pragmatic approach of “you threw it, you fetch it” is laudable.

 

[Flobo]

Aww, she is beautiful...

 

[Sus]

Hahaha shows how much I know about dogs

 

[Hanne]

Hahaha shows how much I know about dogs

She's absolutely lovely!
I only just started reading your threads about her. I was an unexperienced dog person myself 3,5 years ago, have learned so incredibly much since then. The most important lesson was to be patient and always keep observing my dog to see what works for her or not. You're doing great! I will not attempt to give any advice since as I said I'm a novice when it comes to dog behaviour and others here know more.

 

[Sus]

Thanks Hanne, you are so right about the help on here. I have so much more to learn, but then so has Biddy. She has not been socialized with other dogs and past few years not seen many people either.
She gets excited to see other dogs but panics when they come close to her, poor little mite I do not think she knows what to do, seems to want to make friends but scared at the same time. She has improved though especially with one of my friends dogs
Hopefully will keep making progress

 

[JoanneF]

seems to want to make friends but scared at the same time.

That makes a lot of sense. Have you heard of the fight or flight stress response, where the body gets flooded with adrenaline to fight or flee? There are other Fs; freeze (rabbit in the headlamps) and flirt (ooh, look how sweet and unthreatening I am). I wonder if you are seeing her explore the flirt a little?

 

[Sus]

Joanne you are right she is definitely exhibiting both behaviours that you mention. I will try and pay more attention to what she does but do not have a clue about dog behaviour, the more I read the more confused I get
She is a funny little thing and I do not have a clue what is going through her mind
She does like being petted but I have to choose my time, mostly when she is excited ie going for a walk, or when I return home, but then it is only for a short time. I let her walk away when she wants
She still cowers down on her belly some times
One minute she will be playing and tugging on the end of one of her toys with me, next minute she just stops, goes to her bed with tail between her legs, buries her head and wont look at me
Bizarre behaviour sometimes but she is still much better than she was

 

[Hemlock]

There are some very good (and some awful) information sources about dog behaviour on the 'net. Always read critically because not every dog is the same. Good sources are Emma Judson, Sophia Yin and Pat McConnell. Others I'm sure will add their favourites. And do look through our recommended books section.