Severly abused female poodle (help me)

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Followup To
Question -
Hi, durring Hurricane Frances I adopted a 7 year old female poodle I named Ebony Schfran. She is very sweet but has many problems. Here is my list, please pick a number, or answer them all, I need help and ideas as to what to do.
>>>back ground....ebony was kept in a cage for her entire 7 years of life. As a puppy she was given to a man who died and his daughter kept her in a home with 4 boys. The only time ebony was let out was when they used her as target practice with a BB gun, when she got to me she was severly matted and a nasty mess, I shaved, and bathed her I took her to the vet and had a complete physical and shots she weight then 3 lbs and has no less then 22 BB in her frale thin body. her teeth were rotten and had them cleaned. she would not eat so I bagan to force feed her 3x a day. She is now up to 5.1 lbs and gaining, she will ONLY eat from a bag YOU are holding. NOT from a bowl of the hand. she will NOT eat people food and because we needed her to gain and get healthy, I have been altanating between kitten food and puppy food (bil-Jac) I have spent over 4 hundred dollars so far to save her. Today she went into heat what a mess.
1. how do I get her to eat on her own
2. she is too thin to undergo surgery, what do I do with a dog in heat? never had one.
3. she is so thin and frail, I do forse feed her with a seringe of can food down her throat, at what weight do I stop.
4. I put her on Enervite High Cal vitamin. good thing or bad thing
how long does it take a malnurished dog to want to live and gain it is so sad.
I never owned a poodle and would love to see her be a success.
Answer -
First, god bless you for taking this on. It will not be easy and I'd be silly to tell you it is.  

Your dog has been treated horribly and it may take awhile for her to be able to trust again.  I think the feeding you're doing is correct but I'd run it by a vet to make sure.  Another thing you can do is cook up some rice, put a bit of hard boiled egg in it, a bit of hamburger and maybe some bread crumbs. This is all starch and might help her gain a bit. It also may be easier on her teeth.  If it helps, mix in the dog food with it.  I did this for a dog I acquired that had almost no teeth.

As for the trust, the best thing you can do is just shower her with love and attention.  

The heat is another problem.  If you have a fenced yard, that helps, but poodles (and any dog really) are very inventive when they want to mate.  I had one once that oh so delicately would move her tail to the side and back up till her butt was against the chain link.  She didn't bleed a lot but some do.  You may want to check with a local vet about doggie diapers. They truly do make them. A few places are:

http://www.bizrate.com/buy/products__att252850--310000-,cat_id--31000300,keyword

http://www.lodinet.com/pppants/

It will take her awhile to get back to a good weight. One thing that might help the dog food be more enticing is to fix some chicken broth (or beef - boullion or canned - whatever you have or that works) and dribble a bit on the food.  I suggest it because mine eat anything with that on it.

I wish I could be more helpful with the behavioral issues you have.  I'd like to shoot a few BBs at the woman and her kids, frankly.  I'd take small steps - take her on a leash outside a bit....then the next time a bit more - work up to it gradually.  There will always be some residual. I got one poodle pup when in 1994 and she STILL cringes if I move too quickly - as if afraid she'll get hit...and I've never hit her.  Another thing I'd suggest is always get her a puppy cut.  She'll look very fragile right now with it, but I think it's probably easier for you to deal with her without the frou frou hair.  

You may want to talk to someone (vets usually have referrals) who is a dog behaviorist.  They may be able to help a bit. The one thing you have on your side is that poodles are extremely intelligent dogs.  

God bless you and I wish you luck.  I'll keep you and your new baby in my prayers.

Kathryn

Thank You for the quick reply, if I may ask another question...or 2. Ebony spends most of the day walking in circles wanting food, yet when offered many times she will not eat and go back to pacing. when she hears the crinkle of a bag she will come running to eat and if she does it is out of the bag (if there was a way to send you a link I would send you a picture she is so cute) why would she pace all the times?
also, she is a sweater and her persperation smells and I have to wash her daily. Is there a way to stop her from the order it is very strong body odor.
I also recued a 3 yr old standard pomerian (male) fixed and a very large female cat apx 11 yrs old. they play all the time, yet ebony is so shy and timid and will not play back just wants to pace in circles. Now Toby has noticed that ebony is in heat, but because he is fixed he ignores her. I never have her outside unwatched heat or no heat. Actually I was shocked to see her in heat. The vet told me that even though she had not been spayed due to the malnutrition she would not have any. anyway, if you would like a pic send me your address. thanks again  

Answer
Hi again.  My e-mail is kathrynks@cox.net if you'd like to chat more. As for the sweating, I'd say keep her trimmed closely, and get some of those doggie shampoo wipes (they have them at pet stores). It isn't as good as a total bath, but it suffices and she may not smell as bad.  Part of the smell could be the years of a bad diet.

As for the pacing in circles, my male (Rowdy) did that for years and still does upon occasion when he gets stressed out.  Keep in mind she is in a new place and although it is a BETTER place, it's still all new.  It took Rowdy a year to settle down enough to not pace whenever I came near him, and another one before he would stop and let me pick him up.  He would go in a circle and sort of utter a continuous keening grunt.  IT was horrid and I am glad he doesn't do it anymore. But truly, think of if you'd been abused for years....or kept in a closet. And now you've been rescued and no one can understand why you're still scared of every new sound and new experience.  She expects to be hurt, because that is all she has ever known.  It will take some time .... she'll have to realize it on her own and I'm sorry about that.  It's awful to know someone you care about is going through confusion and fear....and not be able to convince them it will be okay.

God bless you darling.  

Kathryn