\"Dog People\" - Please read this!

[texasblonde]

We have two dogs, a 2 year old lab mix who is doing great and a 1 1/2 year old Australian Shepherd mix who's not doing quite as well. We got our aussie (Molly) from a shelter over a year ago when she was just 3 or 4 months old. At that point she had already been badly abused and would not let anyone come near her. Immediately I felt an overwhelming urge to "save her" so I adopted her and we began our long road together. After all this time she's finally housebroken, not at all aggressive, loves to play ball and is trusting of my husband and I. However, she hates everyone else, has severe separation anxiety to the point of destroying everything she sees (we tried to kennel her but she was injuring herself so we had to stop), and will not eat her food unless she is completely alone in a room. She even got turned away from obedience class a few months ago when it became evident that she was not "mature" enough to handle it. The big problem is that she is temporarily living with my husband at his brother's place (I'm in the military and away from home, it's a long story) and she is acting this way in his home. He's not happy with having his apartment destroyed (we can put her outside but she turns into houdini and manages to get away) and so we need to find another arrangement for her. At this point my husband and I are out of ideas. The vet said that since we've been working with her for over a year now a lot of these issues should have been resolved, but because she was abused so early in life she will probably never respond to training like a "normal" dog. He suggested that we consider sending her to a "behavioral therapist" (I checked and we simply can't afford it) or giving her up to a rescue group that has the capability to rehabilitate abused dogs. It's obvious that we don't have the knowledge or experience to do it ourselves. She can be the sweetest girl and I hate to give her up but if it has a chance of making her a happier dog then we have to look into it. Does anyone have any suggestions for us? This is long, I know, but thanks for reading.

[Anya1976]

oh mean too bad i can't help u out.... does anyone know of an older couple that are retired and can spend alot of time with her??? that would probably be the best family for her

[sunbunny]

I know it's a hard decision, but maybe the best thing for her would be to place her with a rescue group. I'll have to think about this more.

[GIN_ee]

omg that is so sad im really sorry i think that it would be be best for her to go to a rescue team because like you rescueing her and saving her she can rescue and save other people too.

[Val]

That is sad. My mom adopted a dog and had so much trouble with it she had to find an owner that would be better able to handle it then her. You did a great thing trying to save this dog. I wish you the best of luck!

[Emoore]

I'm sorry your dog has had such a hard life to this point, but I don't think you need to give up on her just yet. It sounds to me like the biggest problem she's having is her separation anxiety- destroying things when she's inside and getting away when she's outside. Have you considered crate training her? I know a lot of people think dogs don't like to be "caged" but I can tell you from experience that if they're properly introduced to it, they can come to love their crate. Dogs are den animals by nature, and their crate becames their little haven away from the world where nobody can bother them.
It doesn't matter whether you get the plastic crate with the metal door or a wire-style crate, just make sure it's big enough that she can turn around, but not TOO big or she won't feel secure. Take some favorite toys and snacks and designate them as only for the crate-- this will make the crate a happier place to be. Whenever you have to be gone, put her in the crate and you KNOW that she can't tear anything up except her own toys while you're gone!! In addition, she will feel more secure in her own little "den." It's important to remember that, when their owners are gone, dogs spend most of the time sleeping anyway, so it's not like she'll be missing much by sleeping in the crate.

[boobrandt]

Separation anxiety in dogs can be treated with behavior therapy or medication. Don't give up yet.

[boobrandt]

You can also call some of the rescue groups in town, but many times they foster the dogs for temporary times and bring them to pet stores on weekends to try to have them adopted out. It doesn't sound like this one would be a good candidate for that, but I'll bet the rescue ppl know someone who would be happy to take a dog with that background permanently.
I know my parents have a cat that we found that was, for all intents and purposes, feral. We just didn't give up on her and she's happily living with them. She's petrified of change and strangers, but she's happy with them. My Dad is the "never give up" type when it comes to animals. And I know there are more ppl like him out there. Say prayers for the dog, and send some up to St. Francis too!

[Summers Tan]

Althought it's already been mentioned,crating & meds would be what I would look into.Don't know if she could handle another home.We call the crate,"The Box".We just have to say,"Get in The Box",& ours go running.They don't mind it at all.

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[ This Message was edited by: Summers Tan on 2004-02-15 10:38 ]

[boobrandt]

That's a good thought, Summers. I know a lot of dogs think of their crate as their "den" and they feel very safe there. I would definitely talk to a good vet about meds. This poor baby needs to feel safe.

[Val]

Crating is a really good idea. We started crating our dog around 6 months when she would always pee in the house when we were gone. She didn't like it but learned to be housebroken really quick!

[texasblonde]

I posted this quite a while ago. We found another family who lives on a farm that could take her (that was last summer). She's doing great there although she's still not very social at all. The last I heard from them, she prefers to spend most of her time outside running around and then come in sleep in the laundry room at night. But at least she's having a better time on the farm than in our small house! As far as the crating went, that was a disaster. She would rub all the skin off her muzzle and front paws from trying to break out of the crate, no matter what approach we took. Every time scabs developed and she started to heal, she would hurt herself all over again. It was terrible to watch her go through that. I was so relieved when we found a home where she wouldn't have to worry about the mean crate anymore!