Wow….what a difference

Hi everyone, we did a little foster doggie reshuffle, so Casey (=Rosie) is now with us!

I’m happy to say Jack and Rosie are getting on great. She was a little wary of him (and us) yesterday when she first came to us, but they started playing (pretty wildly, I might add) very soon and passed out together shortly after. She was quite interested in our cat yesterday and we weren’t sure which way it was going to go, but today she seems to have decided that there are too many sharp bits about him to be worth the effort. She walks backwards now when he approaches – that cat really rules the roost!

The first night was amazingly uncomplicated. We’d all settled in the living room but had to move her to the kitchen mid-snooze. We expected some resistence on her part, but we stayed with her another 5 minutes and she just went back to sleep. There were no accidents during the evening or night, and she waited very patiently by the door for us to get ready for walkies. She’s not a barky dog, but will sound alarm when there are noises just outside the house or at the door – she’d be a great guard dog as she’s got a biiiig voice .

Rosie will just have to be kept secure until she bonds enough to WANT to stay, so potential adopters will need to have a safe garden and/or only take her out on a lead, on which she walks very nicely. She’s got a thing about chasing vans, but that may have to do with her previous life, or simply the collie chasing gene.

A few words on her "breed": At first glance she looks like a pure collie, but she seems a little too long and tall for that, so she may be a Collie Spetter cross – a Spetter being a springer/ setter, a term we coined for our Jack.

She’s got a gorgeous face with huge brown spaniel eyes and the much more manageable coat and feet of a collie – spaniel parents will know what I mean. An absolutely stunning girl that we would keep in a heartbeat if we could.
Rosie and Jack1.jpg
Rosie and Jack2.jpg

This is Rosie’s second day with us after another perfect night, and we’ve learned a lot about her in this short time. Whether it has to do with her history – whatever that may be – or simply her shy and flighty temperament, Rosie is generally very timid and has a way to go to learn to trust humans as well as learn doggie social skills.

Our own dog Jack is a rescue with deep seated fear issues that impact his and our life every day (he’s afraid of children, all strangers, tall men, buggies, bikes, objects moving unexpectedly, the wind, and a million other things). He’s come on loads since he came to us 3 years ago, but we recognise some of his fearful behaviours in Rosie. As boisterous as she can be in play, she lacks the skills to express what she wants and doesn’t want, and can very easily go into defence or run away mode (either growl and give a "stay away from me" warning snap, or duck and cower against the next wall or corner she can find).

Today it seems she’s realised that she’s here to stay and that she’s expected to behave in certain ways, and it’s clearly stressing her – she’s left her breakfast untouched, when she ate all her other meals the previous days without any problems. She has no concept of "earning" good things – something that in my mind is important to teach all dogs, but fearful dogs in particular, as it makes the world predictable and gives them confidence. For fearful dogs, freebies unfortunately result in uncertainty and more nervousness, so humans have to discipline themselves (not the dog), show consistent and predictable behaviour, and create situations where the dog can draw the right conclusions/ make good decisions. Obviously "earning" based training and conditioning only works if the dog is confident enough to take treats (food, a toy, belly rubs) and understand that THIS is the stuff to work for, which Rosie is not yet able to do. She does take treats, but when it comes to having to sit for them, she gets stressed and leaves the treat rather than put herself in the situation.

Rosie has also shown a tendency to physically put herself between Jack and us and is reactive when Jack tries to take back his place (which he does in the gentlest way possible, sneaking past), so she may have some resource guarding issues that will have to be addressed.

More than with dogs that simply have no training (be it house training or obedience), seeing nervous/ fearful behaviour in a dog makes me angry at the people who caused it, and throws me back to the first – frankly horrendous – year we had with Jack, working and fighting every day to undo the damage that was done to him during his socialisation, or lack thereof. Countless times I’ve wished I could get my hands on the soulless monster that did this to him and make him feel the fear that he feels, every single day of his life.

With Rosie, it’s hard to tell whether she was handled badly or important stages of her development were missed. Physically, she’s well looked after, so the neglect is psychological. She may have been left to her own devices without much interaction, thereby drawing her own conclusions about the world she lives in – one where she has to defend herself all the time.

I realise I’m making it sound very dramatic. Rosie is not Jack. She’s not damaged. She does however need time, patience, and work.

I’m glad this dog is with you. Your sensitivity to her and your past experience with Jack means she has fortunately landed in the ideal home to help her forward. She is so pretty and has such a soft vulnerable look about her – really, really pleased she’s with you.

A little update on the beautiful Rosie.

3 weeks on and Rosie is a completely different dog. Gone are the days that she would snap and cower; she is now a more confident and loving professional cuddler, snoozer, and guard dog extraordinaire. I joke about the guarding as we’re still working on controlling the barking, but she has come on leaps and bounds in that regard – she no longer jumps at every noise she hears and can even be persuaded not to bark if we manage to catch her just before she reacts. This is huge progress, and I am surprised at how willing she has become to take our guidance.

We are continuing her training and socialisation and have found that she responds really well to one particular high-value treat: sausages! As she is currently in heat, she is obviously showing a lot of interest in the boys while on walks (and audibly so), but even during this rather preoccupied time the sausage treats help re-direct her attention and get her to walk on.

As her trust in us grows, she allows us to handle her more easily and without any stress: we can now put the harness on her without any trouble. She is even learning to enjoy hugs and squeezes, and gives a little kiss here and there in return! Like many nervous dogs, she wasn’t exactly a fan of hugs – this human way of showing affection can often be interpreted as “I’m bigger and stronger than you”, but we think it really important that she knows it means only good things in case she is hugged by children in her future forever family.
Here she is on one her bed – isn’t she just gorgeous? She’s looking somewhat pensive here but was actually about to fall asleep and didn’t approve of the kitchen sounds around her. Tough life!
Rosie1.jpg