We adopted an ex-breeding female from Many Tears a few days ago. What we got was a scared little dog that refused to come out of her crate, but is already blossoming into a family pet with many of the behaviors we saw in our previous Cocker. I thought I would keep a little diary of her progress as a record. I don't know how often I will update it, probably daily at first as the progress is more rapid.
We have two other dogs both male, middle-aged and mutts.
Day 1
When we picked her up it was a 5.5 hour drive back. At every stop she refused to come out of her crate in the back of the car and didn't want to be touched, so we left her in there. We carried the crate into the house and then opened the door. She quickly left and started exploring in a state of high nervous energy, but cautious at the same time. Initial observations:
- refuses to eat
- refuses to go outside, if carried outside immediately wants to come back inside
- won't come
- doesn't like to be touched or any raised hand above her
- doesn't like the leash
- doesn't know what stairs are
- doesn't like to be picked up. Goes into a "rag doll" state when put back down - just collapses on the floor
- doesn't know what doors or glass are
- doesn't understand pointing - this one surprised me as I thought pointing was understood by dogs automatically from birth thanks to the long evolution of dogs alongside humans
- no interest in dog toys
- can't understand the upstairs of the house - doesn't understand where everyone has gone or where the voices are coming from
For the first night we put her in a crate in the bedroom. No problems there.
Day 2
We have to carry her everywhere as she has decided her safe spot is between the coffee table and sofa.
Anything happens and she is straight there. Ignores the nearby crate with open door. She is following our other two dogs around everywhere. She ate a very small amount but nothing near what she should be eating.
Went potty a couple of times in the house and a couple of times in the garden.
Tried to steal the TV remote, a shoe, some paper - good start on her career of thievery!
Walks into the glass of the conservatory trying to get into the house. When I open the door for her she tried to walk through the hinge side, hitting the glass...
We can cautiously stroke her.
We put her in the crate at bedtime and she turned into this shrieking monster, she pulled the sheet off the top of the crate, banged on the door, dumped the water bowl. We tried to calm her down but her will was stronger than ours so we put a dog bed on the floor next to our bed. She then went potty (both kinds) in the bedroom and stood in it, then left poo prints all over the room. Note - she had just been outside for a while with the other dogs but didn't do anything of course. While we were cleaning up the mess she proceeded to steal anything not nailed down in the bedroom and take it to the dog bed.
Day 3
Now she look at us when we call her name, but won't come. Now eating normally. She will go up a short flight of stairs but not down them. No mess in the house today. Shows an interest in a tennis ball and a dog toy. When we open doors she walks through them with the other dogs and we were able to call her to come outside.
She figured out how to jump on the sofa, so now she is always on there.
Stealing shoes. Now carrying things around in her mouth.
We can easily stroke her, but she is still nervous. When we go to pick her up she runs away from us.
At bedtime she was desperate to get on the bed where the other dogs are. She finds a way to scramble up and she sleeps on our bed for the first time.