Dog rehabilitation

Question
Kristen,
What I meant was, we have a small patio area that has partial privacy fence and picket fence.  It's not appropriate for a dog especially one like a husky.  She could easily dig under, climb over, or bust through the short flimsy picket fence.  

Maybe I was al little hard on her initially.  She does seem to be improving gradually.  She actually seems to enjoy being hand feed from our 4 and 6 year olds!  She has already shown her mischievious side by purposly dumping over and playing with her water bowl.  Speaking of which, we keep her well watered.  Shade/shelter is not an issue.  She has plenty of that.  We also feed her about 3 cups of high protein moist dogfood in two seperate feedings a day.  

What is the problem with looking/facing her?  When you turn to face her she acts as though it doesn't matter to her one way or the other.  She is very indifferent and doesn't seem to acknowledge your presence one way or the other.  She kinda like people on the subway or bus.  No eye contact.  Not even an acknowledgement or your presence.

Anyway, we will be patient with her and give her time and love.
Thanks,
Glen
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Followup To

Question -
Kristen,
I recently "rescued" a Husky from an apparent abusive homelife.  She started hanging around our house on a Wednesday and was back the following day.  She looks almost just like a husky we owned 6 years ago.  I borrowed a trap from a friend and was able to catch the dog that night.  On Friday I released her into our fenced-in patio area and I thought she would destroy the place trying to get out.  After pacing and running for several hours in the 90+ degree GA heat she finally tuckered out.  I was able to get a slip leash over her neck and take her to a vet.  The poor dog cowers and would litterally try to run at the sight of people.  Anyway I took her to a vet, started her de-woming meds (no heart worms), shots, etc.  The doc said she was between 1 and 2 years old and was in overall very good health.  I took her home and as I have no fence, I have to keep her on a tether.  She tries to run and hide when we approach her.  Huskies by nature are loving, charismatic, and family oriented dogs.  This one does not seem to share these traits of her Nordic breed.  I will say that the dog does not seem to have an agressive bone in her body.  She tolerates (with supervision) petting from my 6 and 4 year old boys, though with reluctance.  My question(s): other than feeding, watering, caring, and loving this obviously neglected and possibly abused animal, is there anythig else we can do to re-home her?  Will she ever become "out dog"? It's been 4 days now and there has been little to no improvment.  Am I expecting too much?  When can I expect to see an improvment?  
Anyway, just getting a little frustrated because of all the time invested and little results.     

Thank You,
Glen

Answer -
You've only invested 4 days, Glen. This dog has a lot of fear issues and those are not going to go away in 4 days, or maybe not even 4 weeks or 4 months! I would not try to force her to accept petting at this stage. You confused me when you said, "I released her into our fenced-in patio area..." and then said "as I have no fence, I have to keep her on a tether." First you said you had a fenced area, then you said you had no fence. Could you explain?

Regardless, since she is staying outside, you need to ensure that she has access to shade, fresh water, and shelter every day. A dog house and/or water bowl sitting in the sun is not appropriate.

Spend time with her every day, in addition to feeding her and giving her fresh water at least twice a day. Just sit out there near her, but not facing her, and talk quietly to her. Take a book and read it aloud to her. Do not look towards her or try to pet her. If she approaches you, ignore her completely. If you turn to look at her or reach for her, you will likely frighten her and she will run away and try to hide again. Let her approach and sniff you and get used to you on her own accord. Do this for at least 30 minutes a day, and she should soon come around. Try hand-feeding her if she will take food from you. This is an excellent way of bonding with an animal, especially one that's been abused or is otherwise frightened of people. When you approach her, do not walk directly towards her, but try to approach in an arc, and then squat or sit down with your side or back to her and allow her to approach you the rest of the way. It's also very important that you not look directly at her.


Good luck with your baby, and if you can, I would try to enlist the help of a local behavioralist that can assist you in socializing her and bringing her out of her fear of humans.

Kristen


Answer
Sounds like she's coming right along, Glen! Good job!

You say she doesn't seem to mind one way or the other if you face her head-on or give her direct eye contact? That's good. Often with dogs who have been mistreated or neglected, directly approaching or giving eye contact causes them to become more fearful and/or aggressive. In canine language, a direct, frontal approach is considered an act of dominance, and direct eye contact is considered a challenge, and can often lead to aggression with dogs who are not used to eye contact with humans. The following is something that can be very helpful, especially when dealing with a somewhat fearful dog:

http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1


Do you plan on keeping her?

Kristen