She's here! (Dog saga=happy ending!)

[nancielle]

I trust that Chloe has found her nitch by now? German Shepherds take a bit of time to settle in, but once they have, they own you. They're typically one family dogs, so if this little sweetie has been moved around, she was probably a little upset.

Regarding your computer room, has she entered yet? If not, you might want to shut the computer off & see if that helps. The disks might be making a high pitched noise that we cannot hear. Dog's hearing is much better than ours and they especially hear high pitches that we cannot. That's one reason why most dogs respond better to women's high pitched "OH-AREN'T-YOU-JUST DARLING!" voices.

Chloe is becoming more comfortable. I'm wondering if she'd been abused in her former home as movements just freak her out. She'll now play with one of her doggie toys if I play with her (ok, twist my arm ). We do a couple of walks a day and she's getting more comfortable with the neighborhood. She's always by my side when I'm at home.

I thought of computer noise as a reason why she won't go into that room. I think it's the speakers--they buzz when a taxi or emergency vehicle (ambulance, fire, police) go by. I've shut them off and she'll come in only as far as I'm sitting.

I had to leave her alone for several hours the other day to attend a training. There were no accidents but I found that she had gone into my laundry basket and took out the bras and socks and scattered them in the living room -- didn't destroy them, just redecorated. I brought her to work yesterday where I was conducting a group (women in recovery who happen to have trust issues). She handled it pretty well and the women were great with her (very small group) when an unfortunate incident took place. Let's just say it took gloves, paper towels (lots of paper towels) and not nearly enough Fabreze to take care of it.

It's only been a week and it feels like we've been together forever.

[Dogmama]

It sounds like her former home(s) were not kind & loving. How wonderful that she found you!

Maybe her redecorating with your underwear was her way of keeping you near her. My Zack will often drag my stuff around - won't chew it - just redecorating as you said. They're so funny!

[teigyr]

Maybe her redecorating with your underwear was her way of keeping you near her. My Zack will often drag my stuff around - won't chew it - just redecorating as you said. They're so funny!

I second that. Our cats do that sometimes. It's either that or they sleep on our clothes; I can have a completely clear bed except for one sock (the dirtier the better) and a cat will have claimed the sock to sleep on. I think it's the scent.

I can just see guests or a date though as Chloe comes through the house with dirty undergarments in her mouth

That is interesting about the computer room. It could be the noise or it could be she was scolded for something and it reminds her of it. You never know with the stray/abandoned animals, most of them did not have happy relationships with their previous owners.

[Skierchickie]

Dogs are so wonderful! I'm glad you found one, and things are working out. Collecting your clothes is a very good sign. We had a dog who wouldn't come upstairs for the first year of her life - we had a cat who we think laid down the law pretty early, and the bedroom had been his territory for 8 years. So during the night she'd collect our shoes, and in the morning, all the available shoes (mostly running shoes) would be piled on her bed. She never chewed them, just collected them. Every morning we'd have to sort through Shoe Mountain before we could go to work. We had house guests once, who couldn't find their shoes in the morning. She was such a sweetie!

[anaphase]

Heh. Our rescue dog does the same thing, but with shoes, scarves and gloves. He doesn't chew, but he will definitely redecorate if he's left alone for too long. Also, he loves to get into my yarn, so that has to be safely tucked away. Live and learn.

I really hope she settles in quickly! It will just take some time.

Ours was rehomed a few times within about 2 months (home > shelter > rescue > foster > us), so he was really nervous and skittish at first, and had pretty bad separation anxiety for a month. After 5 months, he's a lot more relaxed, but he still has his moments. He is a fantastic dog though, and we love him! Here's a picture:

[nancielle]

Aw, just look at those eyes! They just beg "love me."

When I brought Chloe home last Thursday, it was agreed that this would be a "trial adoption" to see how things worked out. I contacted the woman who runs the rescue recently and told her the only reason Chloe would be moving again would be if I were moving. She's not going anywhere. She's got some odd little habits (like burying her food & toys under the bathmat ) but nothing that would prompt sending her back. The other tenants in my building say they don't hear her during the day while I'm at work and she seems to be adjusting to our routine (when I didn't get up when the alarm went off this morning, as I would during the work week, she came and got me.) I'm getting the sense that she's feeling more at home. I'm more than willing to give my walking furball all the time she needs to adjust.

Oh, and I just got a new cell phone with a camera. As soon as I figure out how to use it and upload pictures, I'll post 'em.

[Pax]

Heh. Our rescue dog does the same thing, but with shoes, scarves and gloves. He doesn't chew, but he will definitely redecorate if he's left alone for too long. Also, he loves to get into my yarn, so that has to be safely tucked away. Live and learn.

I really hope she settles in quickly! It will just take some time.

Ours was rehomed a few times within about 2 months (home > shelter > rescue > foster > us), so he was really nervous and skittish at first, and had pretty bad separation anxiety for a month. After 5 months, he's a lot more relaxed, but he still has his moments. He is a fantastic dog though, and we love him! Here's a picture:

What a beautiful pup!!

Kudos to all of you who open yours hearts to fur-babies in need, some day when my heart is healed enough I'll bring home a new family member.

[anaphase]

That is just great. I'm so glad that she's settling in.
And how funny about her burying toys and food. They are so weird sometimes!

We are clicker training our dog, and he is very food motivated. I can't imagine him parting with his food long enough to hide it.

(and thanks, Queen!)

[Bad JuJu]

Of the five dogs we've had, four were rescue dogs, and they were the best companions, once they realized they were staying with us.

Nancielle, here's a tip to get your Chloe more interested in toys: keep in your dirty clothes hamper for a day or so. I know this sounds gross, but it gives the toy more of your scent, and therefore makes it more appealing to the dog. Just think of how attracted she is to your clothes from the hamper.

Anaphase--that is one good-looking guy you've got there. Who wouldn't fall in love with that face?

[farrellcollie]

Two of our rescue dogs took a long time to learn to play - and then it was only sort of. The first is a hound mix who was raised on a rope tied outside with no shelter etc. My ex went up to the house, knocked on the door and asked if she could have him - they said yes. He had rope burns around his neck, infected ears from fly bites, no muscle tone (he was a little more than a yr old and was kind of floppy like a puppy because he had been on the 6 ft rope so lone) - he was scared of everything at first - stairs, toys, the food bowl (we had to teach him to eat out of bowl - at first we still had to pour it on the floor for him). He was actually scared of the stuffed toys at first - we had another dog who played with them and I think she showed him how to kind of play with them. He never really learned to play with us and toys, but he did come to love stuffed toys that he could just carry around and sleep on (sometimes he would make a mound and get in the middle of them). He would play tug with the other dog - but never with us - he would just slink away so we stopped torturing him by trying to do it with him. He is a cuddledog (he is 12 now)- but never got to be a really carefree playful one.

[Katiek]

Congrats to you and Chloe, and cheers to everyone who shared their homes and love with rescue animals!!