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Fostering a semi-feral dog

This is a discussion on Fostering a semi-feral dog within the Dog Adoption and Rescue forums, part of the Puppies and New Additions category; yeah... totally don't push with the petting, it sounds like she is "shutting down" when she knows she can't escape... i wouldn't approach her/touch her/look ...

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Old 06-28-2010, 09:53 PM
  #11
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yeah... totally don't push with the petting, it sounds like she is "shutting down" when she knows she can't escape...

i wouldn't approach her/touch her/look at her unless absolutely necessary... the less you push her into it, the less threatened she will feel, and the quicker you will get to the point where you can see if she even enjoys being pet/touched (lots of dogs don't )

sounds like you are making some progress tho that's good... now you may want to just stay at this level for a while until she lets you know she is ready for more...
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Old 06-29-2010, 03:54 PM
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Again, thanks for the replies.

I've called my mentor, a pro trainer, to come and offer some additional advice. I'll keep you all updated.
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Old 06-29-2010, 08:07 PM
  #13
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I took in a nearly completely feral dog about 2 years ago. She was rescued from a hoarder bust, and had spent nearly 8 years in an outdoor cage with no human contact. Just food thrown at her on occasion, and that was it.

When I got her, she was completely wild. I mean, scary wild. My vet, my rescue group, the shelter director where she was put in holding at after the bust, they all wanted her euthanized. When I say wild, I mean wild.

For the first week, she did not eat. She was crated in a spare bedroom by herself and refused to eat. It took her about 2-3 days before she'd even sip water. For the first 2-3 months, if you walked into the room with her, she'd go balistic. Bouncing off the walls, screeching, peeing everywhere. It was like watching Animal Planet, when they go into a house full of feral cats and you just see them screech and scatter.

When I could catch her, I could get a harness on her and walk her in the yard. She was still extremely scared, and every minute or two, she'd start thrashing around trying to escape.

It took about 6 months before I could be in the same room with her and she'd walk around and come near me without getting too freaked out. It took nearly a year before she'd let me willingly pet her, or come near me for petting without getting spooked and running away.

It's now been about 2 years since she's been here, and now she's my little shadow. Very loving and affectionate to me, but any loud noises, sudden movements, wrong tone of voice, ect. still spook her. She's still scared to death of anyone she doesn't know, but will allow my parents to pet her. Only about 5-6 months ago, did she FINALLY start coming up to me to get a treat, when I would be handing out treats to the other dogs. So that was another huge accomplishment.

My advice for dealing with a semi-feral dog, is patience. Lots of patience. Take things very slowly, don't force the dog into any situation that would be stressful for her. It'll only back-peddle and make the situation worse. Don't forcefully pet her, or back her into a wall or a corner. That only will frighten her more and make her shut down from fear. Just take things slowly, let her adjust to her surroundings slowly and then start working on building up her confidence little by little.
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Old 06-30-2010, 01:06 PM
  #14
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I admire your patience pibble, that's awesome!

I'm thinking I was hasty in labeling her "semi-feral"..maybe "severely undersocialized" is more accurate. I wish I could talk to dogs, just to tell them that although life started badly, they have a great future. I'm rambling, cmon coffee!
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Old 08-11-2010, 07:00 AM
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bless xx
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Old 08-18-2010, 06:35 PM
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Just stick at it and don't give up. It will take a lot of time and patience but it will be very rewarding. It sounds as if your doing a great job.
Stick in there!
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