Day 20 to Day 32

I have been pretty busy with Annie and my son and life, so I haven't updated in a while! Sorry for that! 
This post might be a bit long, because it has been so long. But its going to be filled with lots of good news! 
Where we last left Annie, I had just taken away the pen and started gating her in one side of the room, she wasn't going to the bathroom outside and she was really anxious. 

Here is a high light of the days!

Day 21, we started taking long walks into the field and garden area. About 20 minutes into the walk, she starts to get a bit anxious and wants to come in, but if I push her a little bit more on a familiar path she calms down again. 

Day 22, she went outside and peed for the first time! 
This day, I was treating her as normal as possible. Walking her when she got up from her nap, when Woody wanted to go out we would walk together. I left her on the couch and let her hear all the real sounds of the house. 

Day 23, more walking outside, more peeing outside, more living room time.
I started researching fear responses out of dogs and how to help build confidence; and doing some more research on anxiety in dogs and its proper treatment. 

Day 24, we had a set back. I think the two days of her being "normal" were a bit much for her and she didn't want to come out from under the china hutch in the front room. I let her do her own thing. I did bring her into the living room that evening to watch TV with us, loved on her a lot and gave her some treats. 

Day 25, she was more quiet like the day before. I brought her out again in the evening and fed her some egg. Still very anxious and quiet. Through this day and the days before, I had been reading a lot of anxiety and anxiety responses. 

Day 26, the day that it all changed and I had an A-HA moment. 
She was still under the china hutch, she was hardly coming out. So I pulled her out and gave her a quarter of an Ace that I had. I just had to take the edge off her anxiety. I left her alone while it did its thing. Went back into the front room and she came right out. We went for a walk, then I tethered her to me. Behind my desk chair is a dog bed, for Woody. She laid in the dog bed and CHEWED ON A BONE! This was the first time she had been interested in a bone! She laid in the bed with Woody for a long time and chewed on the bone. Since she was tethered to me, she went with me to the kitchen to do dishes, she ate out of Woody's bowl in there. I sat down on the couch and she was in the dog bed, I put a bowl of food down for her and heard her eating while I was watching TV. 
I realized this day that the Ace was helpful in taking the edge off her anxiety, she was totally different. I also realized that I had given her a bit too much and if she was going to take it, she only needed half of what she got. 
She wound up sleeping with me on the couch that night, shes a total couch hog. 

Day 27, since she slept on the couch with me, she got up with me and we went outside for an early morning walk. She went pee outside! We went outside on a normal schedule this day too. She spent a lot of time on the couch, since it was a rainy day. She went without any meds this day. 

Day 29, I gave her another 3 mg of Ace. This was also a good day. Lots of walking outside, some pottying outside. She stayed tethered to me a good amount of the day. I would tether her to me for a few hours, then let her on the couch for a few hours, and then take her outside and keep her tethered to me when we got back in. Shes good about walking around the house with me while shes tethered, she seems to eat better when shes tethered too. She doesn't mind my son while she tethered, he can walk up to her and pet her. I make sure that its short and sweet with no negative interactions and she doesn't seem to mind at all. 

Day 30, rather than giving her any Ace, I gave her half a benedryl. I really dislike having to medicate her, because I hate to think that dogs need medication! I give Woody benedryl on long car rides and it helps him, so it was suggested to me that I try to give Annie benedryl to help take the edge off. 
It does not take the edge off. 
This day was so stressful for her. We did her normal things, she went outside for walks, went potty outside, pooped outside for the first time! But she was incredibly high strung. 
I kept her tethered to me, to try to push through her anxiety. While I was doing dishes, she kept as far away from me as she could, I actually had to shorten her tether because she was trying to get to the couch and getting the leash tangled around her legs. With the short tether, she was pulling so hard that it actually hurt. I had to keep bringing her back to me, then she would inch her way out until she was as far as she could get from me. A little while of that and I gave in and let her on the couch. 
I really think it was too much for her. It was a good day, in that we only had one accident and that was because I let her out of her side of the front room and didn't have her on a leash to take her right outside and she peed on the front door mat. But every time I took her outside, she went potty! 
I noticed that when her anxiety is really high, like it was on this day, she will not eat. Won't eat, high value treats like chicken or cheese and definitely will not eat dog food.
High anxiety days like this, exercise is the only thing that really helps. But like I said earlier, about 20 minutes of walking and shes ready to come back in. I keep pushing her outside though and she does calm down again once she realizes that its all okay.
This day, I walked her a lot. But it was such a struggle to get her off the couch, she would try to run from me and hide deeper under the blankets. It was difficult.

Day 31, (yesterday) A FULL MONTH OF BEING WITH ME!
I gave her another 1/8th of Ace and started out with a nice long walk. She does so well on the walks now, so well on the leash. After her walk, she came in got on the couch and then decided that she wanted to lay in the dog bed!  I gave her some chicken, she ate it in the dog bed. She spent a lot of time in the bed. It was a pretty normal day, we went for a few long walks, she pottied outside. NO accidents in the house! She was tethered to me in the house for a little while, did really well.
There was one point, she got down off the couch, I was sitting in the floor. I was petting Woody, she came over and I loved on her too! She was trying to engage Woody, getting sort of bouncy and licking his face! It was really sweet. We had a moment of total normalcy.
I took her outside with us and tethered her to me while I was planting flowers. She did really well! She spent about half the time sitting next to me and the other half as far as the leash would allow. She was watching the gate and watching Woody play.

When I put her in her room last night to go to bed, she was acting strange. She was under my feet and attached to my ankles. I was putting down new newspaper and Stanley the cat was in the room with us. I looked over to see Stanley bite Annie and smack her! I shooed him away and he came back and bit her again! He has been beating her up the whole time I think! He is very aggressive with the other cats, we're trying to work through that. I didn't realize that he was aggressive with Annie though. That is why she hasn't wanted to go into her room at night and when we walk in there on the tether, she flips out.
So, I scooped her and her bed up and grabbed her a blanket and she slept upstairs with me, next to my bed in her bed. She stayed in her bed the whole night, I got up and took care of my son this morning, went back upstairs and gave her her pill, put her harness on and we went outside for a walk.
She won't be going back into the front room with Stanley again. I had no idea he was acting like that, but we're working on him on top of working on her.

Even though Stanley is such a jerk, she doesn't have an issue with the other cats. While we were outside yesterday, one of my other cats was near us, she was sniffing the cat and seemed to enjoy her company. She is just scared of Stanley.



In the last week or so:

• She has almost become house trained. 
• She is starting to enjoy being pet. I think shes realizing that we're not going to hurt her when we touch her. When scratching her, she closes her eyes slowly and when you stop, she looks at you like, "why did you stop?" 
• She listens really well on the leash. She doesn't pull as much as she did before. She doesn't try to escape as much as did before. When she is focused on the fence it doesn't take as much to break that concentration, just a little noise and shes right back with me. 
• It only takes another loop down the lane in the field to calm her down if she gets anxious outside. 
• Shes started laying in the dog bed on her own and coming out from under the blanket on the couch(not as much as I'd like, but a little bit). 

What we need to work on:

• Getting her anxiety levels under control. Maybe, trying to find something that isn't the Ace or figuring out if she needs to really be medicated. 
• Work on building her confidence. If I can build her confidence, then that will help with her anxiety too. Some of the ways to do that are, teaching her basic commands, partnering her with Woody more, retraining her default behavior of fear and rewarding positive responses. 
• Getting her used to us touching her. Work on her trust with us. She does better than she did before, but she still is unsure when we pet her. 
• Work on getting her out from under the couch blanket. That seems to be her crutch right now. I took it away last night, to wash it. If she can't be under the blanket, she gets under the couch pillow. She just needs to be covered all the time and sometimes its hard to get her out from under her covering and away from the couch. I need to find a good way to work her away from being covered all the time. 

Shes doing really well, I think. 

I think that her being in the whole house and not in the front room anymore is going to help tremendously. I know that shes going to be scared of the sounds of my house, and my child's behavior, but she has to get used to it so one day she can come out from under the blanket! 

Thanks for reading! If anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them! 

I'll update with some pictures soon!  

Day 19 and Other Ramblings

Annie got her first bath today! 
She did as well as anyone could expect. She wanted to get out, but she just stood there and let it happen! I shampooed her twice and rinsed her really well. She smells SO much better now! Still doesn't smell like roses, but a lot better than before. I got so much dirt and gross stuff off her, I had to scrub my shower out. And I think I loosened up her downy coat, because shes shedding now. So tomorrow we'll work on brushing her. 

Last night, she slept in the front room with no pen, just baby gated into her side of the room. I went in this morning to scoop Stanley's litter box and feed them and she was actually pretty excited! She was whining and wagging her tail! She also let my dad touch her this morning! 
I think shes going to start sleeping without the pen, I think it makes her happier to seem more "normal". 
I got my upstairs stuff done in the morning and then tethered her to me for a while. Not as long as I wanted to because I decided to give her a bath in the middle of the day, so it was warmest when she was drying. 
She did really well on the tether! She walked with me, explored the kitchen, my son's room, and the bathroom with confidence. As soon as I took her off the tether though, she went to the couch and hid under a pillow. While tethered, she would sit right next to me at the desk or sit a few feet away, on the rug in the middle of the floor not trying to hide. 

Walking outside today was still as its been. Shes still trying to escape. I noticed that after her bath she REALLY wanted to get out of the fence! I guess shes mad at me, but she seems to bounce back from the little set backs pretty quickly. I've giving her treats when we come inside, even though she still isn't using the bathroom outside. 
While we're here, I can address some bathroom issues shes been having since I got her. So maybe we can suss it out. 
I have a few theories as to why shes not going to the bathroom outside. 
They are: 

• Maybe she doesn't want to put her scent in the yard? She goes out with Woody a lot, but doesn't go potty with him. She goes outside with me a lot by herself, still doesn't go. 
• Maybe she hasn't found her "spot". Woody, has certain places that he goes potty, most of them are not even in the yard, but out in our field. The one spot in the yard, is in the corner of the fence where we don't walk. So maybe, she hasn't found the right spot to go yet. 
• Maybe, she was mistreated while she was being house trained when she was a puppy. We never respond negatively to her when she goes to the bathroom in the house, I just quietly clean it up behind her. But maybe when she was house training as a puppy, she got her nose rubbed in pee or hit, so now shes afraid to go to the bathroom in front of humans, for fear of being hit? Even outside. 
• Shes still not confident enough to go potty outside. I think this leads us back to her not wanting to put her scent in the yard, because shes still pretty insecure. 

Ideas for helping her go potty outside:

• Going outside every 30 minutes, for about 20 minutes at a time. To give her a good chance for some action to happen. 
• Taking her further into the field area, to see if we can find her spot. Maybe she doesn't want to go in the yard? I have plenty of field to walk her into, so maybe walking her further out will help. 
• Possibly taking her somewhere that isn't our house. Maybe taking her for a real walk, in a real place might help her. There is a church down the road that has a nice circle driveway area, so maybe we can take a loop around that and see if she goes potty there. I would definitely have to do that with a partner, I wouldn't want to walk her away from the house by myself. 
• Work on building her confidence. As she becomes more comfortable and confident, I know that she'll become more "normal", its just making sure that she feels confident! I thought that going outside with Woody would help with her confidence, and it does, but maybe not enough for her to go potty out there. 

I have another discussion about anxiety prepared, but that will wait for a different time. I think that she has high anxiety, which makes sense because of the life that she's lived. But we'll address that in another post. 

Thanks for reading! 

Days 15-17

Day 15, Monday- Was a pretty normal day, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I let her outside, about the same on the leash as before. She spent the majority of the day out of her pen, shes doing really well in the front room. I put her back in her pen when I leave and at night, but other than that she comes and goes from the living room and the front room. 
I noticed that shes started pooping near the front door, so maybe shes getting closer to wanting to house train, we can only hope! 

Day 16, Tuesday- We had a slight set back. :( 
Annie, was in the living room for a lot of the day, she stays on the couch under a blanket. She got up and while I was trying to get her and Woody into the front room, so she could at least potty on the paper (we were eating dinner at the time) she peed in the floor. I think my getting a towel and my husband getting up to pull the rug back scared her. She went into the corner and knocked the end table a little bit, which then knocked over a glass of water, which shattered. It was a bit of a disaster! After the glass shattered, she ran into Anderson's room and got under his crib, I had to pull her out by the collar which is REALLY bad. I hate doing that to her, but she needed to go to the quiet of the front room. I sent Woody in with her. She then went behind the basket of shoes and stayed there for a long while, I just let her calm down on her own. 
I think that pulling her out from under the bed hurt her trust with me, because that is such a scary action! 

Day 17, Wednesday- After out little set back yesterday, I just let her chill out today. I didn't mess with her too much other than the check that she had eaten her food and say hello to her. I let her tell me when she was ready to come out of her pen and sure enough, she did, at about 2 pm. She whined to be let out, so I let her out of the pen, she came into the living room and is now laying on the couch with Woody. 
She took some treats from me while we were in the front room and it looks like we're back to where we were on Monday before the set back. 

I started putting fish oil on her food, which has greatly increased the amount of dry food she eats. Shes eating about 1 1/2 cups a day of dry food now! Its great! Shes still only eating at night after I turn the lights out, but eating in the dark is better than not eating at all.
Yesterday, I tried to feed her with Woody, but she wouldn't eat with him, she waited until after we went to bed. I don't think shes comfortable enough to eat during the day yet, but we'll get there.

Friday, is going to be a huge day for Annie and I. Its going to be a very intensive day for us. My son will be leaving in the mid-morning and will be gone all night. My husband is working all day and has plans in the evening that will keep him out until late. So, it will just be me and Annie ALL day! That means, I will tether her to me for the whole day. Hours worth of getting to know my movements and getting to know each other. I am so excited for that! I'll definitely write about how it goes, maybe this will push us to the next rung of the trust ladder. *Fingers crossed*

Last, but most definitely not least, I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Gina Reardon and her mom, who so kindly donated to Annie, 50 tennis balls! I can not wait to get her outside and playing with them! Thank you ladies so much for that!

Thanks for reading, have a great day everyone!

Days 13-14

Day 13; Annie spent some time outside with us as a family! She was on a slip leash and her harness. I need her to get used to the sounds my son makes, and he did really well to not mess with her too much. 
I tried to tether her to Woody, but they got tangled up. She was trying to walk to the fence and he was trying to walk with me, so it was a stalemate. Then she would get spooked and go under his feet and tangle them up! It was comical to say the least. After about 5 solid minutes of being tethered, I let Woody loose and walked Annie around on her own. She went to my husband for some love and sat under his chair. I let him hold on to her leash while I cleaned litter boxes. He walked her around the yard a bit, she does like him better! LOL 
We found out that she really likes WATER! She got into the pond as far as she could on the leash and laid down! So she may just like baths after all! 
I didn't get a chance to bathe her yesterday, I ran some errands and when I got back, it wasn't overly warm so I thought I would wait till it was over 80°. 

When we came back into the house, she came straight into the living room and laid on the couch. My son scared her a bit, so she got in the corner next to the couch, which is okay for now. Shes still getting used to everything and in that spot shes pretty well hidden from the boy! 
After Anderson, went to bed, I got her out of the corner. She sniffed around and stretched and seemed pretty happy about being with Woody. I was worried that she was going to potty on the rug, so I led her and Woody into the front room where there is paper. 
I think she was just happy to be with Woody! 
It was the first night that she slept outside of the pen! I left Woody in there with her, since he makes her more comfortable. 


This leads us to Day 14! I got up before everyone. Annie was sleeping in the second dog bed, on the side of the front room with the french doors. I think Woody was sleeping in her bed, in her pen! I waited for Woody to get up before I took them outside, I wanted her to see that all she has to do is ask to go outside. 
I leashed her up and we took our first morning walk! I was hoping that there would be some potty action outside, no such luck. We walked around for about 10 minutes and she did really well, but still no pee! 

I left them in the front room, since Anderson was awake. I can see them through the french door, from my desk. As I've been watching, I've seen Annie try to engage Woody is play a few times, hes not responding. She goes up to him and gets sort of pouncy and bouncy and play bows, but he's being an old man and not playing! But how great is that?! I think she loves him! 

I found treats that she likes! They're Bil-Jac liver flavored soft chews. I got the bigger ones for Woody, so I break them in half for Annie, and they both really like them! YAY for finding the right treat! 

I've been taking her outside several times a day, but she still isn't going potty any of the times out. Until she goes potty outside, I think I'm going to have to pull my rug up in the front room. She likes to pee on it, like just little dots of pee, nothing too serious, but I would rather not ruin it. I think we're SO close to her being ready for house training, but until then my rug doesn't have to suffer! 
I did give her a treat when we came back in, maybe soon she'll understand! 

My only issue right now is, keeping her away from the fence. She doesn't understand why she can't be free and why she can't run away. She is always pulling to go to the fence, shes just obsessed with it. I think thats why shes not going potty, because shes too focused on getting to the fence. But once we finally get to the fence, we looks at me like, "why are you still here? I'm trying to escape, can you turn around?" So I told her this morning that shes not getting away, that she should just accept it! Once she realizes I'm still there, she comes and walks with me. 
I'm just not sure how to break her of this obsession. I humor her for a bit, like walk the length of the fence, until she sees that I'm not going to let her go, then we walk back into the middle of the yard and then back to the fence we go. Will she get used to being in the yard? Or, as I fear, will she always be obsessed with trying to get out?
Hopefully, sometime this week we will get her new pen. I think that will help tremendously. 

Thanks for reading! Have a great Sunday everyone! 

Days 10-12

Days 10-12, have been pretty similar in action. Nothing dramatic has happened, but we've still made some good progress. 
I've started letting her into the front room for the majority of the day, with her pen open. She scratches to come into the living room and lay on the couch, because I think she thinks the couch is a safe spot. 

Day 11, I put the baby gate up in my french doors, so she could get some nice clear sounds of my house. I did my normal things, ran lots of laundry (the spin cycle is scary), vacuumed the living room (also scary), listened to some music, watched kids movies and dealt with a toddler! Needless to say, my house is FAR from quiet. She did REALLY well. She laid in the dog bed in the front room, laid in her little spot between the fish tank and shoe basket. 
Periodically, she did get up and cruise around the front room. She came to the gate several times and looked into the living room. She even let my son touch her!
She comes right up to you when you sit down in the floor with her, I ate a snack with her, she likes organic cheese. LOL

Day 12, I couldn't put the gate up between the doors as long, because Stanley is back from the vet and fully recovered from his neuter. *Insert eye-roll here* Hes a little aggressive with my other cats, and I have to let him heal properly and his hormones need to die down before he can be fully integrated into my house. So the gate was up for a few hours, but he got too interested in the main house so I had to shut the door again.
I had another thought though, since I couldn't have the gate up, I just let her into the house! While my son was napping, I let her in and she laid on the couch for a few hours till he got up. I laid with her for about 30 minutes and she seemed pretty comfortable! Once he got up, I put her back in the front room because I wasn't sure how they would do.
Shes back in the living room now though, since hes in bed and shes under a blanket on the couch.

Somethings I've been doing with Annie:
Letting her outside with Woody and I when we go out. Since I can't open the front door when shes loose in the front room. Rather than going out the back door, I put the slip leash on her and we go right outside. Woody comes with us, he gets to explore in the front yard too, and Annie gets to walk around a bit. I usually stay out for about 5-10 minutes. She does pretty well on a leash, considering there are usually about two points during the walk that she tries to get away from me and run. But after she realizes that she can't get away from me, she calms down and walks with me.
Also, she knows that the house is the safe place. She will walk right out the front gate with me and right to the front door like shes lived here forever. Its really nice to see her look excited to come back into the house!

Since we finished the first chicken, I haven't gotten another one. I know that she'll take food from me, we've moved passed that I think. As long as she'll eat it, she'll take it from me. And I really need her to eat normal dog food.
I stopped feeding her canned dog food too. She wasn't eating it. So I would feed her in the morning and either it would sit there all day or Stanley would eat it and it was ruining his tummy. Or I would put it down at night and it would sit there all night and be dry and no good in the morning. So no more can food.
She has started eating her dry dog food though, which is what I was hoping for. I know that shes not super excited about it, but she needs to eat it. She'll get used to eating it and be okay, but I think my continuing to feed her people food was hindering her eating progress.
I was thinking about different ways to get her to eat more dry food, I was thinking a little bit of olive oil on her food, maybe some salmon oil, some sweet potato? We tried a sweet potato today and that was a no go. I'll try some of the other things though. At least with the olive oil and the salmon oil, her fur will be soft and shiny and her skin won't be dry! And with those things being put on top of the food, I can wean her off them as she learns to eat more food, if I decide to use them.


So there are a few things that I need to do with her. 
1. Get her a pen. I've been looking at them for the last few days, and I just need to find the right price. There are a few that have caught my eye, but I need to comparison shop.

2. Get like 50 more tennis balls. For her new pen! Duh! The ball is the toy she wants to play with, but its hard when you're on a leash and can't be trusted to be on a retractable leash! So once she gets a new pen, I'll be able to give her a ton of balls. Plus, Woody popped the ball I just got, he also likes balls!

3. Get her a properly fitting collar. She has a collar, but she suffers from puffy fur small neck, so its hard to fit one to her correctly. She just needs a smaller size. That way I can stop using the slip leash so much and use her collar and the harness while walking.

4. Find the right treat for her. She doesn't like milkbones, so I need to find something that she likes. I want to get her something a little healthier than Beggin Strips or those other funky treats, so I'm going to check out the Animal Supply in York and see if they have anything chewy-yet-healthy. And then maybe we can work on training and treat giving with the treats she likes! (Woody is picky too, so if anyone would like 400 milkbones, I have them!)

5. Tether her to me and/or Woody. I read something when I first got her home, about a lady who had a puppy mill Aussie and she wound up tethering the dog to her for whole days at a time. She would do her desk work with the dog attached to her, walk around her house, clean up, walk outside with the dog. So the dog could get used to her constant company. I think, its a great concept. Annie is good around us, but is still scared of some of our movements. I think, if she spent some time tied to me, she would get used to my movements a little bit better and I think it would help her to be in constant contact with a person.
Tethering her too Woody would be a little different. She really, really, likes to be under his feet when they're outside and I think she seeks shelter in him. My thoughts are, inside, he follows me around like a shadow, lays on me on the couch, will sit in my chair with me at the desk, (is right behind me right now). If Annie was tethered to Woody, she would go wherever he went and maybe she would get used to being around both of us together and get to know my house with her Shelter.
As for the tethering, I would have to do it while my son was gone for the day or over night. Hes too much for her, he means well but hes almost 3 and y'all know how that is! Hes always over excited about her. But, he does tell her shes a good girl and asks if she wants to "go for walks with mommy." I thought that was really nice.

Tomorrow, Saturday, she will be getting her first bath. I don't know why I've put it off this long? I guess trying to let her get used to us as much as possible, before we take those 10 steps backwards in trust. Hopefully, she'll do well and it will make her feel better and it won't be as traumatic as I think it will be!

Those are my ideas and plans. If anyone has any input, especially on next steps, the tethering, or the food, I am all ears!
Thanks for reading! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Day 9 - The Day of Great Progress

I'll start with Day 8 and then work to Day 9, because Day 8 was still good! 
Day 8, Annie is doing really well taking food from me, shes very gentle when she eats! 
I took her outside in the evening while it was quiet, she did really well out there. She stares at the fence a lot and given the chance she would run! But, as much as she wanted to run away I could make a noise and she would come back to me and walk with me. 
I think shes been on a leash before, she acts like she knows how to walk on a leash. 
There is a huge difference in her attitude and behavior when shes outside, shes happier and perkier and her tail is wagging and up! Inside, she isn't like that, shes a bit more withdrawn.
I brought her into the living room to hang out and lay on the couch. She sniffs around a bit and then lays on the couch. I fed her some chicken while she was on the couch! She actually ate it, with other animals around and with the TV on, so that is a huge step!



And now to Day 9! Which is the biggest day that we've had I think.
I took her outside this evening like I've been doing. Woody went out with us. Tonight, Annie tried to engage Woody in play! She got a little bouncy while she was sniffing him, and looked like she was ready to run off and play with him!

Bringing her back into the house, I decided that I was just going to put her in the front room without being in her pen. So I put her down, took her leash off opened her pen up and locked the door. She was immediately a different dog! She was perky and tail wagging and sniffing around and very alert! It was fantastic to see! She was sitting at the french doors watching us in the house, my son was talking to her and she didn't seem bothered at all!
I think that putting her in the pen, so disconnected from us was having an affect on her. I do think that she was lonely, even though she hasn't been around people in a long time, she was still lonely!
And tonight she came into the living room and sniffed around, ate some chicken on the couch, and got down and sniffed around some more.
I put her back into the front room with no pen, with Woody, and gave them some bones. She isn't ready to chew on bones yet, but Woody started chewing, so maybe he'll teach her.

New Plan:
I'm going to start letting her into the front room during the day, so she can really get used to the house sounds and see us and hear us. Then I'll let her out in the evening for walks, with just Woody and I. Maybe, if I'm feeling confident enough, I'll bring her outside with my son (probably when my husband is home), so she can see him and get used to the outside noises he makes.
I think, after a little while of her being out in the front room during the day and in the pen at night, I'll take the pen away from her and put up a baby gate up to keep her in one side of the room at night rather than the pen. I feel like it will be less restricting with the gate, rather than the pen.
I think that putting a baby gate in the french door way too will be good, after a while of her being in the free in the front room. That way, with a gate, the door will be open and she'll be able to be in contact with us and with my son, so I can see how she does with kids through a gate. Thankfully, I have a child that respects a gate!
Then, after some time with the baby gate in the french door way, maybe I'll be able to fully integrate her into my house, if she does well with my son, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

Today was a great day with her though! I feel like she came out of her shell a little more and made huge steps of progress today! I now have a better idea of what to do with her and what she can handle.

Thanks for reading!

Days 5-7

Day 5, was largely uneventful. Which is a good thing! 
Annie, took the chicken from me, which is so great! It makes me happy when she takes the food from me. I've found that Stanley freaks her out when hes in the pen with us and shes trying to eat her food. Hes such a scavenger and she doesn't want to compete with him for food.
She came and laid on the couch with us again, did really well. She likes to hide her face and pretend like we can't see her. Ha! But she doesn't mind being loved on and I think she sort of enjoys a scratch behind the ears! 

Day 6, this was a big day! 
I gave her pen a really good cleaning, which freaked her out. So she was trying to get between the wall and the bottom of her crate, so I took her crate away. A lot of the things I've read have said not to play into the fear responses they have, so they don't think its okay to act like that. So I wanted to curb that behavior so I took the bottom half of her crate away. She got right into her a bed and laid in her bed the whole time I cleaned her pen! I think it worked well. 
Annie, took more chicken from me! Then I let her into the living room to sniff around. Instead of just bringing her to put on the couch, I put her in the floor to sniff. She sniffed! She wagged her tail at my dog! She didn't seem scared at all. Then, she hopped onto the couch like shes been here her whole life and laid on the couch! 
My husband laid on the couch with her and she laid on his arm between him and the back of the couch and didn't hide her face! She really likes him. 

Day 7, also a big day! One week-aversary! 
My mom came over and we took Annie outside for the second time! She did SO well! She was still trying to escape and looking for the weak spots in my fence, but she seemed pretty happy! She was wagging her tail a lot at least! 
Annie, did get a bit snappy with Woody. I think it was because he was trying to engage her in play and he freaked her out a bit, so she gave him some warning snaps. There wasn't any growling or any noise. 
She would get a little anxious and come back to me! I sat down and she would come get in my lap. She was digging in my pants and boots though, so I don't know if she was trying to get away or if she likes to dig and she was happy? 
After about 20 minutes outside, she was starting to whine, so I took that as she had had enough and it was becoming too stressful for her. But she seemed to have enjoyed the time that she did spend outside! 

I talked to my dad today and asked him if he could come and help my husband and I build Annie a secure pen in the yard. He said he would come by early in the week to make some plans for the pen. So hopefully, we will soon have a secure dog run for her to play and explore in. Only for when I'm outside of course! And it will help her to get used to the sounds of my property, and if I put Woody in there with her, they can play without leashes in the way. Plus, I think it will give me a better chance at working with her while outside.

PICTURES! Thanks to my mom, I have some pictures from today! I'm sure most of you have seen them on Facebook, but here they are!

I think its been a good few days! 

Shes still pretty shy in the house, but I think shes doing better. 

Observations after One Week:

• By day 7, she doesn't shake when you come into her room anymore! She just hides her face. But she'll look at you and watch you now! She still doesn't like pen cleanings, but when you just come into the pen she doesn't try to get away. 
• Still doesn't like the other animals around when shes trying to eat. But she doesn't care about them if they're in her pen when shes NOT eating, but when she is trying to eat, she won't until they get out. 
• Outside is going to do her wonders! She probably still doesn't understand why shes in the house. So her new outdoor run will be a blessing for bonding! 
• Balls are her jam! Thats the toy she likes. She still hasn't played with anything yet, but we have about a million different things in her pen and the ball is the only thing she perks her ears up to. 
• Couch time is the bees knees! I think she likes couch time. I think she likes my husband! Hopefully, she'll make more progress sniffing around the living room. 

I see marked improvement from last Sunday to today. 

This week she'll be getting her first bath, if the weather permits that is! 

Should be a great week! Thanks for reading! 

My First Cry

Tonight, was my first real cry about whats been going on with Annie. About Annie. I cried because I am so sad for her and I am so mad at the people who did this. 
I got Stanley's food ready so I could go in and feed Annie and thought about how crazy it seems to cook chickens for a dog, just to get her to eat. Then thought about how sad it was that she just laid in her bed all day. Then thought about how horrible it was for a dog, to be so broken and sad and tortured. 

I've said it before, I have never met a dog like this. A dog that is so reaction-less, a dog that is so...quiet. Never ever uttering a single noise. Its almost unnatural. And its most definitely heartbreaking. 

I went in and I sat with her. She was behind her bed, in the bottom half of her crate, so I took her bed out, thus making her get out of the crate. She went and peed and laid on the bed next to me. I just looked at her sad little face and started crying. I know that you're not supposed to convey overly strong emotions to them, because they feel it. But I told her that I just wanted to love her and show her that this is home, this is what a home IS. I told her that I just wanted her to be happy and healthy and normal and be loved. Be LOVED for the first time in her whole life. I told her I just want to love her. And I want to feed her and make sure shes warm and safe, for always. To make sure that she never ever ends up on a street living under a pile of box springs again. 

And you guys know what happened? She looked at me square in the eyes and she ate that chicken from my hand. And she SAT UP and faced me and ate the chicken from me. And when I got up to get her dog food, she didn't run away. She didn't cower. She sat there. 

I read something today that I thought was really nice. 

"He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. 

You are his life, his love, his leader. 

He will be yours faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart.

You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion. 

-Anonymous

Over all with her, its been a good day. She went potty, which is great. 

But sometimes when you get into a quiet house, your mind starts to race and you think of all the things that are wrong and you just have to cry about it. So I did. 

She is going to be a good dog. I can not wait to see her become a great dog. 

I think I just found my calling. 

Day 4

Yesterday, Day 4, was a big day! 

I took Annie outside for the first time! I had her in a harness, a collar and a slip-leash. I was making sure she wasn't going anywhere! We stayed outside for about 5 minutes, not very long. The only thing she did was try to get out away and try to escape. I took my dog out with her to help her out. He tried to engage her in play, but she wanted none of that; but she wasn't afraid either. 
As I was carrying her back into the house, two of my cats got into a really terrible fight! So I had to put Annie in her pen and run and get my cats separated. It was traumatizing for me, so I can only imagine what it was like for her! I just hope that she won't associate coming back into the house with a hectic cat fight or something loud and awful! I hope that its only half a step back rather than 5 steps back. 
And she did poop when we got back into the house, I think the excitement shook it out of her! That's two poops in one day, we're getting somewhere! 

After the whole cat fight situation, I gave her some time to collect herself and calm down. 
I attempted to feed her some chicken but she wouldn't take any, even though she really wanted some. I am positive she wouldn't take it because my dog came into the pen with me following the chicken. Then he proceeded to act like her pen was a dog buffet and eat all her food and try to eat all the chicken. It wasn't the greatest idea that I've had. But now I know that she won't eat food from me when there is something else there. Stanley the cat was being a bit difficult too, as he also loves chicken. So next time I feed her, Woody will not be included. 

While talking to my mom on the phone yesterday evening, she brought up a good point: Maybe Annie is lonely? I told my mom that she still never comes out of her crate, even though the top is gone. And when she is out of the crate she just lays in one spot on the floor and doesn't move. She doesn't sniff around or explore anything at all, that I've seen. 
My mom suggested that maybe after my son went to bed, Annie come into the living room and sit with us while we're watching TV. So she can be around people and on the couch like a normal dog, hearing the TV and hearing us chat to each other. And she could be loved on while we're sitting there. Because who is to say that even though she spent so much time alone and is totally terrified of us, shes not still lonely?

So I put a blanket down on the couch, because she STINKS! No bath for 3 years = a stinky dog! 
I brought her into the living room and put her down on the couch, she circled around and went to the corner of the couch as far from me as possible and buried her head. We sat like that for some time, while I watched TV. I would occasionally scratch behind her ear or try to uncover her face. She wasn't shaking or scared looking, but her ears were perked up like she was listening hard! 
My husband, Alex, decided to try something out. He loved on her a bit, then picked her up. He sat down and put her on his lap! She sat there, for about 30 minutes trying to decide whether putting her head under his arm, under his hands, or by her tail was hiding her better. She wasn't scared though! No shaking! She was just trying to make herself as small as possible. Probably because she wasn't sure what was going to happen and she wasn't sure why he was holding her. 
I told him to be gentle with her because I'm not sure where on her body is sensitive, so I didn't want him to keep touching a place that made her uncomfortable. Her feet are off limits. 
Alex, sat there with her for about 30 minutes on his lap, scratching around her ears and chin and sides of the face. Talking to her about getting a bath and how pretty she was. And now she was a good size for a lap dog, because 5 out of 5 cats agree that he has the best lap in the house! Hahaha. 

He put her back down on the couch and I sat with her for a little while longer until it was time to go to bed. I put her back into her pen, on her new bed(thanks to Nana Susan), and said goodnight to her and Stanley. I turned the light out and heard her hop out of her crate. I looked back in and she was eating the left over chicken from when I tried to hand feed her. 

What I learned:

• Her interactions with Woody have to be separate from her hand feeding sessions. She won't eat when he's in there with her, maybe because fear of him being aggressive over food? She is not food aggressive, at all. So food sessions will be separate and quiet, play sessions will involve no food. 
• She does some exploring when the lights are out, that I've been unaware of. I think that's when she eats. Stanley goes to sleep like a bird, when the lights are out hes quiet. So when hes quiet, Annie gets up. 
• She doesn't mind being on the couch with us, she just doesn't know what we're going to do with her. Couch sessions will happen every night after our son has gone to bed. That way she can get to know our house while its quiet. 
• Chicken is every dog and every cats favorite treat! I put some chicken juice on her dry food before bed and she ate about half of it, which is a huge deal since she hadn't been eating much dry food. 

Stay tuned! I hope there are more good things to share in the coming days and weeks. I hope we make a lot of progress! 

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you guys have a great weekend! 

The First Days

The first few days of having Annie have proved to be difficult. Not difficult, in that shes a bad dog, but difficult because shes so lost and sad. I've never met a dog like this before. Something so broken and so afraid; and yet something so gentle and quiet. 

The day she went to the vet was very surprising. It was eye opening for me, because she wasn't aggressive or overly scared. She did very well for the vet exam, let everyone touch her and check her out. It was a really good sign. 

Then as we got home from the vet, she barked at one of my cats. I thought for sure she was coming out of her shell and she was going to be just fine. I thought that she was going to be ready to take a bath the next day and meet everyone. I thought wrong. 

The day after we went to the vet, Day 2 of having her, she barely came out of her crate. She did some out when I put my dog, Woody, in with her. I think she only came out because I knocked the back of her crate with the fence, so it startled her out. Either way, she was out and she met Woody and peed. No aggression when she met Woody, they sat a few feet from each other and I petted him while she looked on. It was a good sign, ignoring is better than fighting, so I'll count that as a plus! 

Yesterday, Day 3, she didn't come out of her crate at ALL. She stayed in there all day and all night. No going to the bathroom. I did manage to hand feed her some hot dogs, she was so gentle in taking the food from me. I put some hot dogs into her food and she did eat some food and the hot dogs, so that was good. But still didn't come out. She did eat the wet food I put in her crate, also a good sign. Eating is important, but pooping and peeing is important too!

So last night, I wrote down in my written journal of her, everything that has happened and my thoughts about what should come next. I decided that I should either take her crate away or take the top off of it. After texting with my mom a bit, we both decided that taking the top off would be a better first step than just taking it away completely. 

I want her to be comfortable, happy and feel like she has her own "place of safety"; but I'm also afraid that her crate is going to become her crutch. And shes not necessarily feeling safe in the crate, shes just hiding in there because I think she knows that I won't reach in there to get her. Shes just trying to avoid me. 

So she'll still have her own place to sleep and hang out, as I believe all dogs should have. But she won't have a hidey-hole or cave to camp out in all the time.  

Today, Day 4. 

I took the top off her crate today. She did not like that. She did come out of the crate though because it made a loud popping noise. 

She came out and immediately pooped and peed, which is great! I was so excited about her going to the bathroom! 

I took her blankets out and put them in the wash and gave her a new blanket, but she has yet to get back into the bottom part of the crate. Which is fine. I think having her out and contained is better than her being hidden away. It will make it easier to hand feed her and get to know her and let her get to know me. 

My general plan is, going slow. Slow and steady is going to win this race. 

1. I'm going to let her get to know me, my voice and my smell by reading aloud to her, for 10-15 minute sessions a few times a day, maybe. 

2. Hand feeding is going to be a big thing too. I'm going to start hand feeding her a few times a day I think. Until she gets to know me. I'm going to make a chicken, to start feeding her, as I hate feeding too many hot dogs. I know she'll like the chicken!

3. I'm trying to keep my visits with her short and to the point. Meaning, I go in and read and leave, or go in and feed and leave. I don't try to touch her or interact with her, because I feel that would just stress her out more. 

3. Also, my dog, Woody, I think is going to be a big help. I'm going to try to start walking them other outside. I think having another dog around, might help to boost her confidence. And putting him in her pen with her a few times a day will help them get to know each other too and maybe bring them to play. So hopefully she'll relate to him better than to me right now. Woody is a really good dog, hes very gentle and calm, plus if she did get aggressive with him, he wouldn't do anything about it. 

I think hes going to be a big help in showing her that I'M not scary, that I'm the good one! 

4. Finding the right kind of toy for her. I need to find the kind of toy she likes. So far, she hasn't shown any interest in any of the toys I have for her. One has a squeaker, two are little stuffed animals, a few bones. No interest yet. I don't know if its because shes scared or not, but most dogs like to play with things. I'm going to try to get a large variety of rubber, crinkly, squeaky toys, and some balls to see if any of them strike her fancy. I hope I can find something that she likes. And I hope that Woody will show her how to play with toys because he loves ripping things apart and finding the squeaker. 

5. Having Stanley the cat in her room with her. He was dumped at my house a few days before I got Annie. I think having Stanley in there with her is a good thing too. I think her seeing me pet and feed and take care of another animal is a good thing. I think her having something else alive in the room is positive too. Annie did growl at Stanley one time, but he meows constantly, so she was probably trying to tell him to shut it! 

I'm going to continue to blog about her and our journey together. Hopefully we take more steps forward than backwards, but who knows. Its all up to her! 

Thanks for reading!