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Comment by Beth on January 26, 2012 at 7:08pm

Melissa, I thought you might find this helpful.  It's a series of posts I made when we got Maddie.  It took a long time for us to see her true personality.  You will notice at the end of the thread that it was Week 7 before she finally started playing with Jack and sparkling a little.  Maddie is a very joyful dog, but also a soft dog.  She spends a good deal of time worrying that perhaps she might have offended someone.   The flip side is she gets positively thrilled by anything that might be going on and will chase frisbees or swim til she drops.  As an update on the playing, she and Jack don't play as often as I hoped, but they do play.  They will go weeks without playing, then they will play every day for awhile, then one day one of them will yip really loudly because someone got too rough and they won't play again for awhile. However they do seem to enjoy each other's company, and it works out well that Maddie is submissive because Jack can be over-the-top bossy at times, especially about his toys.

Here's the thread:

http://www.mycorgi.com/forum/topics/introducing-an-adult-part-2?id=...

Comment by Beth on January 26, 2012 at 6:49pm

I think Sam is the voice of experience here, having fostered so many dogs.

I wanted to add that I find it very sad that Truck is not used to the most basic of regular interactions.  When we got Maddie, who is also a retired show dog, it was clear that she was used to a more structured inside routine than we have and she will stay in a crate for ages if she needs to.   BUT, she was clearly used to sleeping on a couch, being loose in the house alone, going on car trips, playing with tennis balls, etc.  She knew that food was in the fridge and when the microwave dinged it meant something was done cooking.  She knew that dishes in the dishwasher might have something worth licking on them.  She LOVED to swim.   I guess I just want to balance yours and Sam's experience by saying that at least some show homes give their dogs relatively normal lives.   Now, Maddie was one of 9 dogs and obviously not all had full-time run of the house; that would be chaos.  I believe though that all the dogs were rotated daily between house, yard, and crate and they were walked, three at a time, on a regular basis.  

Good luck with Truck!   Maddie was a bit fearful when we got her too, and she is NOT a fearful dog.  She was just in a bit of shock from the huge upheaval in her life.   Some of this will probably resolve or at least reduce on its own once Truck settles.

Comment by Sam Tsang on January 26, 2012 at 4:17pm

Hi Melissa,

Congrats on making week 2, it will get better, Truck is still getting to know you and Franklin, he will loosen up and adapt to your schedule by 1.5 months, be patient.

Issue 1: I can imagine being quite frustrating, the key is making it a positive experience for Truck, so you'll need to invest in a lot of high caliber treats, on the other hand, not jumping into any car is also a good thing, especially stranger's car, my dogs love cars so much that any car door open will result in them in it, it can be quite embarrassing.

Issue 2 & 3 : You really cannot leave Truck alone, it's too fast, too soon. Considering his life was previously in crates, you'll need to retrain him just like a puppy, there's really nothing to it, slowly increase the area. I've fostered an ex-show dog before, it's really hard when all their life was spent between transport, it took him about 1.5 months to learn to be a pet and enjoy life at a regular home. There's no short cut to this, teach Truck like you taught Franklin. Tether Truck to your waist when you're at home, teach him to watch your moves and adjust himself accordingly, don't let him roam free at home, he will get there, it just takes time. When he has an accident, go back to square one.

Issue 4: You will need to take this very slow, I had a foster once, she would duck and run away anytime I lift up my hands in the air and stretch, any type of big movement will send her for cover. In order for Truck to overcome fear will require you to spend extra one on one time with him without Franklin, practice "watch me", let Truck knows that you are the source of super yummy food, anything involves with you will result in positive happy times. Trust is something needs to be earned, continue to be the great leader that you are, daily outdoor walk, let him realize that you are his guide and that he needs to follow you and pay attention to you for directions. Get to his ground level, relax yourself, let him come to you, let him smell you. Take your movement slow and gently give him a massage behind his neck, it'll relax him.

Most importantly, give him time, 1.5 months is usually how long it takes for my fosters to get over initial shell shock, let him learn the ropes and adapt to your schedule. Be Truck's constant, let him know that he can always find refuge in you.

Good luck! Truck's entire world is YOU now :)

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