New BC mix (foster?) dog! Questions....

Hey all you happy people!

We brought home (or rather I brought home without permission!) a foster dog from our animal shelter on Wednesday. I'll give you a little background info and then ask my questions...

Angel is a four year old Border Collie/Blue Heeler mix (looks very BC). She was in a home where she was neglected and abused. Angel was left home alone all day, with no long walks or runs that she needs with all that Border Collie in her. She eventually resorted to trying to dig through the house she was in to get outside. She broke a few teeth and ended up with quite a gash in her leg (about three inches long!). The former owner admitted to beating her when this happened.

Angel is super submissive with people. She follows me everywhere and always acts like she's going to be yelled at. She's so sweet, though! She melts under any touch she gets.

Now for my questions:
1) She doesn't often wag her tail. Is this normal behavior from her situation?
2) Angel will not let Muffin play with us. It's alright if she snuggles, but will not let her get her toys or wrestle us. Is this something that is likely to never go away, or will it just take lots of work with Angel on our part? I guess this is my main question. Muffin LOVES to play and wrestle, and I couldn't in good conscience bring another animal into our home permanently that would take this away from her.

Thank you in advance for any help.

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Originally posted by sirrahved


We brought home (or rather I brought home without permission!) a foster dog from our animal shelter on Wednesday. I'll give you a little background info and then ask my questions...

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:D Congrats. I've brought home a few fosters without permission too!

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Now for my questions:
1) She doesn't often wag her tail. Is this normal behavior from her situation?
2) Angel will not let Muffin play with us. It's alright if she snuggles, but will not let her get her toys or wrestle us. Is this something that is likely to never go away, or will it just take lots of work with Angel on our part? I guess this is my main question. Muffin LOVES to play and wrestle, and I couldn't in good conscience bring another animal into our home permanently that would take this away from her.

Thank you in advance for any help.

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Both of those behaviors sound like a stressed, unsure dog to me. She will likely start to wag her tail once she has some time to adjust to you and your home. Once she realizes that no one is going to hit her, lock her inside or otherwise be creul to her, that tail will start wagging. I have a border collie cross who wags her whole body. We call it the Pingo Wiggle! She never wags just her tail! I bet Angel will be wagging like crazy soon too.

Given her history, she's probably never seen a human play wrestle with a dog. She may think that you are going to hurt Muffin when you wrestle and play with her. You may want to try crating her while Muffin gets her play time, somewhere where she can see what is going on. That way she will be safe and she can see that you aren't hurting Muffin.

Dogs with histories like Angel's often don't know how to play. They were never given the opportunity by their first owners. It's likely that any positive interaction with humans was limited. Watching Muffin play is the quickest way for Angel to learn how to play herself. Dogs learn quickest from other dogs!(at least in my experience).

Time, patience, gentleness and consistency will work wonders. Enjoy!

I hate people like that. That's what happened with Maggie. The reason she probubly dosn't want the other dog playing with you if because she thinks you're all hers...

And if this happens, the other dog might get mad, and stressed, and start not getting along with the foster? dog. Have you been playing with the other dog seperatley? Does the foster? dog get along with your other dog???

Good luck with your new Foster? dog!!:) :)

My Sasha had a similar story when I adopted her 10 years ago. She is a border collie/healer cross. She would drop to the ground every time you approached her. She would not catch, not even food. She'd just close her eyes at let it hit her. 10 years of love and attention have turned her into a goofy, silly, happy dog that will now catch treats and pretend she's a lap dog. It took about a year for her to stop the drop as you approach move.

Patience, love and tenderness is what you new baby needs. I hope it doesn't take her long to get comfy with you and begin to enjoy her new life.

Thank you, everyone, for your help.

Angel bit Jason today when they were running outside. She tried to grab his clothes and ended up with some of his skin, too. I think that all of you are right... she just doesn't know how to play. She is afraid that when we are playing with Muffin that Muffin is trying to hurt us. I think the idea of crating Angel to let her observe our play is a very good one.

I especially appreciate the stories of abused/neglected dogs coming out of their shells with lots and lots of TLC. This tells me that with patience on our end that Angel will in time come to be a happy, healthy, and well adjusted dog.

I will share with Jason all of your stories and advice. I will be posting pictures either tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks again... and pray we make the right decision for Angel.

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Originally posted by sirrahved

I especially appreciate the stories of abused/neglected dogs coming out of their shells with lots and lots of TLC. This tells me that with patience on our end that Angel will in time come to be a happy, healthy, and well adjusted dog.

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I love working with the timid ones. Most of my dogs started out afraid of their own shadows! We've found that it takes a year to 18 months for them to reach their potential--and even after that they keep making little steps forward.

Sometimes those steps seem like bad behaviors, but they are really a sign that the dog is confident enough in your home to push the boundaries a bit. For example, Mac went through a stage where he chewed everything and anything, including the windshield wipers off my husband's car. Not a good thing, but Mac was finally having a puppyhood and he felt safe enough to act like a puppy(he was almost 2 at the time).

Pacer has recently experimented with counter surfing. He stole a moose steak right out of the frying pan last week. Stuart was not happy and Pacer did get punished for it, but he also knew that we weren't going to beat him; he didn't cower; he didn't try to escape and an hour later he wanted back in the house.

Pacer's turnaround is one of my favorite stories in our yard. He's been with us almost 2 years after a year in the shelter. He's about six years old. He spent his entire time in the shelter trying to melt into the floor. He shook when anyone came near him. No one could pet him or approach him if he was in the dog yard. He wouldnt' walk on a leash with the volunteers. He was in a constant state of fear and panic. He escaped from me the first night we had him and spent 3 days on the lam. Now he sleeps on my feet every night; he steals Stuart's pillow when he gets a chance; is a great sled dog; is reliable off-leash; plays and woos all the time; he lets lots of people pet him; he's delightful.

Good luck with Angel. I'm sure in a few months you will be posting stories of her coming out of her shell too.

Angel sounds like a sweetie! We do need some pictures of her!! I'm sure with you working with her, she will be a happy, loving dog wrestling with Muffin and Jason!