Hi,
I've posted about housetraining my newly acquired rescue dog, but now I have another issue. To start with, Bitsie is about 6 months old and has had a difficult start--not properly socialized early on (probably neglected or chained up in a yard), in a shelter, then in a couple of foster homes. To be honest, if I had known she was as psychologically damaged as she is, I probably would have not adopted her. The rescue people weren't exactly wholly honest about her problems--or perhaps they were just being optimistic. Although she has been with us a couple of weeks, I am the one she seems to trust the most. She can be friendly toward my husband, but is unsure about my 9-year-old son. She has growled and barked at him a couple of times, and we are keeping a close eye on that. Any sign of aggression is a deal-breaker, so we are hoping that doesn't happen.
We are supposed to go out of town next weekend, and are considering kennelling her. Is it too early? We have a kennel that we absolutely love--our former dog (13 years old when she died) loved going there, and the people are wonderful. But Bitsie is a whole different animal, and still very traumatized. We could probably take her with us, but she will have to spend all her time either in her crate or tethered to one of us. We are going to visit my in-laws, who live on over 300 acres in the mountains. Needless to say, we can't risk letting her get away from us outside or inside.
Opinions? Suggestions? Thanks in advance!
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