So glad to see your posts! I just picked up a foster dog yesterday that is terrified. She's not a Sheltie. She's an American Eskimo Dog from a puppy mill. (My 2 dogs are Shelties.) Whisper sounds a lot like your foster. She has mostly stayed in her crate since we brought her home yesterday. She did eat well and take a few treats from us so I'm hoping in time she will come out of her shell.
Question About a Very Scared Rescue Sheltie
- Thread starter missus_e
- Start date
Mally's Mom
Forums Enthusiast
I usually just like to post an update at the end of each day, but this calls for a special post...
He just took a stroll through the house, completely on his own, casually as can be.
I just looked up and thought he was Mavis, sauntering through the living room. But no. It was him. He walked all over the place for nearly five minutes.
What a wonderful update, love it!
What a difference a day makes.
Day six. Today was a biiiiiig day for our boy.
Some of these milestones would seem so trivial to someone who doesn't know what a traumatized sheltie is like. Even a rescue person in a different breed wouldn't completely get it. Again, it means the world to me to have this group of people who sees each step for what it is.
This morning, I opened his crate door. Every other morning, I've had to get onto the floor, crawl into the crate with him while he panics the whole time, and pull him out. He'll splay his feet out so that the tray in the bottom of the wire crate comes out with him, or the whole crate may come across the kitchen. It's physically challenging and a giant pain for me (I'll do it, of course - but it is a pain) and undoubtedly scary for him, but there's no way around it. If I open the door and walk away he may/may not come out of his crate after an hour, but then I still have to corner him somewhere else in the house and scare him, so hauling him out of his crate is probably the most mutually stressful but unavoidable part of our day. This morning, I opened the door, and he walked out. Tentatively, nervously, and then once he was out he tried to bolt, but he walked out. Huge.
We went outside, did our reading on the patio thing, he did his business and I went inside. Every other time we've gone outside, I come into the house, holding onto the long lead, and wait around the corner. He has a lot of threshold hesitation, so I feel like it's important for him to eventually gather up the courage to come around the corner and into the house on his own, but he's extremely reluctant to walk if anyone is standing so I am usually waiting for him in the kitchen for several minutes. Untold hordes of bugs and flies have snuck into the house this way, believe me. Well, this time - after about ten seconds, he came in. Huge deal.
About an hour later, as I mentioned in an earlier post, he sauntered out from one of his spots and took a tour around the house. Sniffed a bone, sniffed the collie, circled the table. He slipped and fell in the kitchen, I don't think that he's used to smooth indoor flooring, and that spooked him a little. The collie stood up too fast and that spooked him a little, too, but he stayed out for about 3-5 minutes. This was utterly unprecedented. He hasn't done it since, but that's a milestone that I was hoping to reach in a month or two. He blew my mind.
We have him on a harness and a collar now when he's outside. He's proven himself able to slip out of anything, and yesterday he did it again and actually did try to climb the fence this time. I'm not taking any chances. He's been refusing treats today and I noticed that he has what seems to be a really severe old fracture in his tail. It's bent at a very sharp angle. It doesn't seem to hurt him, but it's really awful. I've seen dogs born with kinked tails before, even a couple that were very sharp kinks, but I would guess that he may have gotten it stuck in something and broken it flailing around at some point in his life.
The final milestone was a subtle one. When I pick him up to carry him places, he doesn't seem as stressed as one might imagine. He sometimes even seems like he may be enjoying pets when he's held, but it's hard to tell - the real test is going to be waiting for him to initiate contact, but accepting it is enough for right now. From what I know of his history, it seems that he just hasn't even had enough contact with humans to have a negative association with them, he just seems to have no idea at all what to expect from them. Well, our favorite show is on Tuesday nights and I decided that our friend was going to join my husband and me on the couch. My plan was to pick him up and carry him over there and pet him for as long as he was relatively comfortable. I think that he knows so little about humans that he isn't even sure if making contact is a good thing or a bad thing.
Well, I brought him over to the couch and was petting him for a few minutes, massaging him anywhere that's not just bones, and at first he seemed to be not enjoying himself exactly but not miserable. After a minute or so I moved my hands so that he could clearly know that he was not being held and could freely leave. I wanted him to get the idea that pets and massages were nice, but also that I'd respect his limits when he'd had enough. He didn't leave. After about ten minutes, he seemed to relax. After about ten more, he licked my hand. Four times. (It's not that I was counting or anything but...you would've counted too, don't make fun of me.) After about ten more, I was gently scratching the back of his neck and he stretched out his front legs to lean into the scratches. After a few more, he stood up a little and I thought "Okay, he's getting down, that lasted way longer than I expected." He shifted around and...laid back down. This was when I knew that he was there of his own free will. He didn't choose to get onto the couch with us, but he did choose to stay there. He got up and shifted around a couple more times and laid back down.
Eventually, my brother in law walked through the room and his stress signals went through the roof. Darting his eyes around, tensed up, licking his lips, looking around for an exit route. He stuck around for another minute or two and then got down, went back to one of his corners.
I wasn't sure about picking him up and bringing him over but my gut told me that it was a limit he was ready to have pushed. I think that it was right. This was by far our best day yet.
Some of these milestones would seem so trivial to someone who doesn't know what a traumatized sheltie is like. Even a rescue person in a different breed wouldn't completely get it. Again, it means the world to me to have this group of people who sees each step for what it is.
This morning, I opened his crate door. Every other morning, I've had to get onto the floor, crawl into the crate with him while he panics the whole time, and pull him out. He'll splay his feet out so that the tray in the bottom of the wire crate comes out with him, or the whole crate may come across the kitchen. It's physically challenging and a giant pain for me (I'll do it, of course - but it is a pain) and undoubtedly scary for him, but there's no way around it. If I open the door and walk away he may/may not come out of his crate after an hour, but then I still have to corner him somewhere else in the house and scare him, so hauling him out of his crate is probably the most mutually stressful but unavoidable part of our day. This morning, I opened the door, and he walked out. Tentatively, nervously, and then once he was out he tried to bolt, but he walked out. Huge.
We went outside, did our reading on the patio thing, he did his business and I went inside. Every other time we've gone outside, I come into the house, holding onto the long lead, and wait around the corner. He has a lot of threshold hesitation, so I feel like it's important for him to eventually gather up the courage to come around the corner and into the house on his own, but he's extremely reluctant to walk if anyone is standing so I am usually waiting for him in the kitchen for several minutes. Untold hordes of bugs and flies have snuck into the house this way, believe me. Well, this time - after about ten seconds, he came in. Huge deal.
About an hour later, as I mentioned in an earlier post, he sauntered out from one of his spots and took a tour around the house. Sniffed a bone, sniffed the collie, circled the table. He slipped and fell in the kitchen, I don't think that he's used to smooth indoor flooring, and that spooked him a little. The collie stood up too fast and that spooked him a little, too, but he stayed out for about 3-5 minutes. This was utterly unprecedented. He hasn't done it since, but that's a milestone that I was hoping to reach in a month or two. He blew my mind.
We have him on a harness and a collar now when he's outside. He's proven himself able to slip out of anything, and yesterday he did it again and actually did try to climb the fence this time. I'm not taking any chances. He's been refusing treats today and I noticed that he has what seems to be a really severe old fracture in his tail. It's bent at a very sharp angle. It doesn't seem to hurt him, but it's really awful. I've seen dogs born with kinked tails before, even a couple that were very sharp kinks, but I would guess that he may have gotten it stuck in something and broken it flailing around at some point in his life.
The final milestone was a subtle one. When I pick him up to carry him places, he doesn't seem as stressed as one might imagine. He sometimes even seems like he may be enjoying pets when he's held, but it's hard to tell - the real test is going to be waiting for him to initiate contact, but accepting it is enough for right now. From what I know of his history, it seems that he just hasn't even had enough contact with humans to have a negative association with them, he just seems to have no idea at all what to expect from them. Well, our favorite show is on Tuesday nights and I decided that our friend was going to join my husband and me on the couch. My plan was to pick him up and carry him over there and pet him for as long as he was relatively comfortable. I think that he knows so little about humans that he isn't even sure if making contact is a good thing or a bad thing.
Well, I brought him over to the couch and was petting him for a few minutes, massaging him anywhere that's not just bones, and at first he seemed to be not enjoying himself exactly but not miserable. After a minute or so I moved my hands so that he could clearly know that he was not being held and could freely leave. I wanted him to get the idea that pets and massages were nice, but also that I'd respect his limits when he'd had enough. He didn't leave. After about ten minutes, he seemed to relax. After about ten more, he licked my hand. Four times. (It's not that I was counting or anything but...you would've counted too, don't make fun of me.) After about ten more, I was gently scratching the back of his neck and he stretched out his front legs to lean into the scratches. After a few more, he stood up a little and I thought "Okay, he's getting down, that lasted way longer than I expected." He shifted around and...laid back down. This was when I knew that he was there of his own free will. He didn't choose to get onto the couch with us, but he did choose to stay there. He got up and shifted around a couple more times and laid back down.
Eventually, my brother in law walked through the room and his stress signals went through the roof. Darting his eyes around, tensed up, licking his lips, looking around for an exit route. He stuck around for another minute or two and then got down, went back to one of his corners.
I wasn't sure about picking him up and bringing him over but my gut told me that it was a limit he was ready to have pushed. I think that it was right. This was by far our best day yet.
Margi
Premium Member
Oh geez today's post had me tearing up! My tri lived under the desk for four months he was so scared and unsocialized so I kind of know what you're going through. Hang in there, the ice is breaking!
Ann
Moderator
What fantastic progress!!! I am so happy for you and your boy. He made great strides yesterday and it sounds like you're on your way to a having a happy dog. Keep up the great work and thanks for the terrific updates!
BTW of course we'd all count the licks too!
BTW of course we'd all count the licks too!
Sheltiemama
Forums Enthusiast
HUGE progress! Happy dancing for you all!!!! Sounds like he's getting the idea that you're a good lady! YAYAYAYAY!
Sharon7
Moderator
YAY HOORAY. Of course I would have counted the licks also! You are doing marvellous things with this boy and you have oceans of patience. Even two steps forward one step back is progress. Congrats. Keep up the updates!! 
I usually just like to post an update at the end of each day, but this calls for a special post...
He just took a stroll through the house, completely on his own, casually as can be.
I just looked up and thought he was Mavis, sauntering through the living room. But no. It was him. He walked all over the place for nearly five minutes.
Yea for you !! That should make you feel very encouraged. Maybe it was something Lincoln said...
Day seven was a really rocky day, or rather night. The day was fine - no major milestones or setbacks, which is okay. I want to give him a day here or there where I don't push his limits too much. I don't believe in flooding. Day seven, he was coming in the door after potty breaks within about a minute, relieving himself quickly outside, seeming fairly relaxed in his spots, panicking if he was too much out in the open or approached. Status quo.
We got all the way to bedtime without incident. Around 11pm, I took him out for his last bathroom break. He was a little more spooked than usual. I still don't know why. We went out on two long-leads as usual, one on his leash and one on his collar. He went to the bathroom and I went back inside and waited around the corner, holding on to the long leads, while about a hundred moths flew in the door. After a couple of minutes, he came nervously inside.
You know how I've said that he likes to be under my desk or my husband's? I've been encouraging him under my husband's lately because as much as I love having him close, I'm up and down a lot and he gets freaked out every time I approach or leave, but my husband's desk is only about four feet from mine and much less busy. His desk is a large corner desk, and to the right of it is a 55 gallon fish tank on a wooden stand. Behind the tank is a large window - only a foot and a half off of the ground, approximately 6x6". There's about a foot of space between the fish tank and the desk. Picture it if you can.
Well, we came in and he took off toward - I thought - my husband's desk. Instead, he bolted between the desk and the fish tank. He's never done this before. I tried to pull him out with the long-lead, because although the tank stand is very stable, if he got really spooked and kicked it from behind - well, that could be catastrophic in a lot of different ways. No dice. I don't know, still, it he was digging in his heels in such a spot that he just wouldn't let himself be pulled out, or if he was stuck and couldn't get out if he wanted to. Bribing him out didn't even come close to working. All the pulling and maneuvering in the world did nothing. I tried coming around to the other side and gently nudging him with a broom, hoping it would startle him just enough to make him come out, but no. Finally, I had to go out into the backyard (in the middle of the night), open the window that is behind the fishtank, take out the screen, reach in and pull him out. He was terrified and I felt like the worst person on earth. If he'd kicked 55 gallons of water and glass onto the floor, though, we all would've been worse off. It was scary and horrible and stressful and I still feel absolutely awful for not anticipating him and blocking off that space so he didn't have to go through all that trauma to get unstuck.
Day eight was a very low-key day. I expected some regression in his progress after the godawful night before, and I had no intention of pushing him at all. I didn't, but he didn't regress. Actually, I left the house for an hour or two in the evening, with him under the desk. He never, ever leaves his spot unless he's dragged out, with the exception of the two times that it's been just me home, reading to him, and he's walked around a little. There wasn't much need to crate him, my mother in law was here, and he was relaxing comfortably under the desk. She called me frantically right after I left and said "What do I do? When you left, he came out from under the desk and starting running circles around the kitchen table, he seems very agitated and distressed." I told her to sit down and wait and give him a minute, don't try to touch him. After a minute, he calmed down and slunk back under the desk, where he remained until I returned.
Today, day nine, is another uneventful day so far. I put a dog bed under the desk for him, and he seems to really like it.
We got all the way to bedtime without incident. Around 11pm, I took him out for his last bathroom break. He was a little more spooked than usual. I still don't know why. We went out on two long-leads as usual, one on his leash and one on his collar. He went to the bathroom and I went back inside and waited around the corner, holding on to the long leads, while about a hundred moths flew in the door. After a couple of minutes, he came nervously inside.
You know how I've said that he likes to be under my desk or my husband's? I've been encouraging him under my husband's lately because as much as I love having him close, I'm up and down a lot and he gets freaked out every time I approach or leave, but my husband's desk is only about four feet from mine and much less busy. His desk is a large corner desk, and to the right of it is a 55 gallon fish tank on a wooden stand. Behind the tank is a large window - only a foot and a half off of the ground, approximately 6x6". There's about a foot of space between the fish tank and the desk. Picture it if you can.
Well, we came in and he took off toward - I thought - my husband's desk. Instead, he bolted between the desk and the fish tank. He's never done this before. I tried to pull him out with the long-lead, because although the tank stand is very stable, if he got really spooked and kicked it from behind - well, that could be catastrophic in a lot of different ways. No dice. I don't know, still, it he was digging in his heels in such a spot that he just wouldn't let himself be pulled out, or if he was stuck and couldn't get out if he wanted to. Bribing him out didn't even come close to working. All the pulling and maneuvering in the world did nothing. I tried coming around to the other side and gently nudging him with a broom, hoping it would startle him just enough to make him come out, but no. Finally, I had to go out into the backyard (in the middle of the night), open the window that is behind the fishtank, take out the screen, reach in and pull him out. He was terrified and I felt like the worst person on earth. If he'd kicked 55 gallons of water and glass onto the floor, though, we all would've been worse off. It was scary and horrible and stressful and I still feel absolutely awful for not anticipating him and blocking off that space so he didn't have to go through all that trauma to get unstuck.
Day eight was a very low-key day. I expected some regression in his progress after the godawful night before, and I had no intention of pushing him at all. I didn't, but he didn't regress. Actually, I left the house for an hour or two in the evening, with him under the desk. He never, ever leaves his spot unless he's dragged out, with the exception of the two times that it's been just me home, reading to him, and he's walked around a little. There wasn't much need to crate him, my mother in law was here, and he was relaxing comfortably under the desk. She called me frantically right after I left and said "What do I do? When you left, he came out from under the desk and starting running circles around the kitchen table, he seems very agitated and distressed." I told her to sit down and wait and give him a minute, don't try to touch him. After a minute, he calmed down and slunk back under the desk, where he remained until I returned.
Today, day nine, is another uneventful day so far. I put a dog bed under the desk for him, and he seems to really like it.