PuppyLog

This dog was going to be put down at four months old because she failed her behavior modification training at the pound where she was turned in. They called and asked if we could take her by the next day. We did. She’s a sweet dog that was never abused, but also never taught how to behave. She had low level separation-anxiety, fear of strangers, and fear of strange dogs. Her previous owners bought her from a pet store and not knowing any better, taught her to go to the bathroom in the house, and further, that going to the bathroom at all was Bad! Bad!  They also thought she had food aggression but it turns out that she was just hungry and un-socialized.

We’ll, after an incredibly short time she thinks it’s normal for our 3 dogs to share her food. She still takes a couple of minutes to warm up to strangers but quickly becomes quite affectionate.

She’s still not housebroken but she is at a point where we can proceed with normal housebreaking procedures. She is no longer afraid to go when we are nearby, so we can praise her for doing it in the right place. She has even begun asking to go outside when needed. She also will not go to the bathroom in her crate.

She’s crate trained and can now sleep alone through the night. She is OK if we leaver her at home for a few hours. She’s quite smart, walks fairly well on the leash, and like all our own dogs, will lie down and wait while we make her dinner and put it on the floor. She also has a very gentle mouth and takes food from your fingers delicately and carefully.

What’s all this got to do with Lila? Lila and our other two dogs were instrumental in getting Riley over her fear of dogs. Lila just wanted contact. She was like a little mom. She would lie down and reach out with her paws to touch her and generally send calming signals of all sorts. Kaimana just wanted to play, He was undaunted by her fear and initial snappishness. Ipo would essentially ignore her and just remain calm while she acted out. She loves to play with all our dogs and has no fear of them. They have taught her to deal with new dogs as well. Riley’s still cautious and gets scared if strange dogs are too pushy in their initial approach, but does well otherwise.