Expert: Lee Charles Kelley - 1/18/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have just taken in my first 2 foster dogs. They are both cocker spaniels, about 5 years old.  They were found as "strays".  They were severly neglected and subsequently abandoned.  They act like liter mates, are very familier with each other and I can tell they relied on each other when they were on their own.   I had them both groomed, they were very hairy and dirty with mats etc.  They were found to have severe eye infections and they both had infected testicles.  I have had them for a week today.  The eye infections have cleared up, and they are on the second round of antibiotics for the other infection.  I have also put a spray neosporin, pain reliver topically on their testicles.  One of them has been in so much pain that he has been trying to sleep standing up!  I can tell that they appreciate all of this care.  They were extremly shy, they want to be held and petted.  The first couple of days they wouldnt eat and acted afraid of everything.  I kept them crated except for going out to potty.  I talked to them alot outside and praised them for going poop and potty.  We went out every couple of hours.  They would not look me in the eye for the first few days or relax their bodies when I held and petted them.  They gradually became more comfortable physically and otherwise.  I also have a 4month old cocker puppy.  He tries to play with them but they don't want to.  The were obviously exhausted and slept except for going outside.  I have a trail through the woods on my property that my dogs and cats LOVE to walk.  They just run back to the house.  I have two cats but they do not pay any attention to them.  the last four days I have not had to crate them even while I was away.  I have read some of your other posts and used the hand feeding while pushing them away technique which worked.  They aren't ready for tug of war or anything like that yet but I will try that too.  They aren't neutered.
In the last 12 hours they one of them has started "marking" in the house so I have crated them again.  They are also feeling more comfortable in the house and are trying to get on the couch and beds.  One is going for  neuter tomorrow morning and the other next week when his infection clears.  
I don't want to keep them crated if I don't have to but will until after the neuter.  They are very competitive for food and chews and attention.  My little puppy is acting out alot, peeing and nipping and jumpping around.  I understand why this but would appreciate from you some techniques to calm him and aclimate the others to the household.  My goal is to keep my puppy happy and focused, we are working on obedience training (manners)  and to get these two guys ready for adoption to a home of their own.  They are very obedient but do not have any skills such as sit, stay etc.  They do come when I call them.  Help!  (PS  I really love your philosophy about dogs!)

ANSWER: Hi, Karen,

Thanks for the question. It's very similar to one I already answered, which you might have read.

I'm a little confused about the trail through the woods. Do your foster dogs NOT like to walk on that trail, and run back to the house? Or are they the ones who love it? If you can take them on walks, on the leash, through the woods, that would be very therapeutic for them.

As for the puppy, the situation seems to be making him nervous. I think he's probably excited about it, but can't figure out how to get the older dogs to play with him.

If you're going to have them neutered you should know that while it will prevent them from potentially adding to the overpupulation problem, it's not necessarily a good thing to do to them. Here's a link: http://www.tiny.cc/spayneuter

Also, crating isn't a bad thing. I think they SHOULD have crates, little dens of their own where they can go to sleep and chew bones, etc. You'll find an article on crating at "naturaldogtrainingblog."

As far as the puppy is concerned, he's probably a little young yet for the "Trick-of-Treat" game, but you could try teaching him what "wait" and "okay" mean. Do this when you put his food bowl down. Say, "Wait..." and then when he shows that he's waiting say, "Okay!" Same thing when it's time to do something else he likes.

Here's a link to the "Trick-or-Treat" exercise, which would be beneficial for all three doggies: http://www.tiny.cc/TrickorTreat

I hope this helps,

LCK



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your quick reply. Which similar question are you referring to?
In answer to your question.  The foster dogs do not want to walk through the woods.  I have tried them on leads, but they resist.  Off lead, they just run back to the house.  I am surprised by this.  I make it fun for them, throwing sticks sometimes, talking to them whistling for them to come and praising them when they do, showing them interesting places to sniff etc. They do not like to be outside for any length of time.  The only thing I can figure is that they were kept out on purpose in the past.

You're right, they do like the crates. I will just keep the doors open while I am at home.

Thank you for the links.  I am trying to learn as much as I can from you.  What I have always thought is probably the same as a lot of folks, alpha dog, obey, etc. instead of really recognizing the things that stress them and ways to alleviate that.

Answer
Hi again.

I'm not sure which question was similar to yours. I just remember answering questions about two cockers, with a third in the house! I'm having trouble with my WiFi so it's hard to keep things straight.

At any rate, the edge of the woods seems problematic for them, which means it holds a lot of potential energy, and one of the problems they're having, generally speaking, in adjusting to their new, happy life, is dealing with changes in energy. The thing is, though, that the woods also have a magnetic pull for them. On a certain level I think they probably recognize that it's where they're meant to be. Forget about their evolutionary history as wolves who became domesticated (I think wolves actually domesticated US in some ways, but that's another story...). Cocker spaniels have had 400-500 years of being game dogs. The woods are their oeuvre. These two just don't feel comfortable about going in those particular woods yet.

What I'd do is take them to whatever spot causes them to start to shut down, walk a little ways back from there, and do the hand-feeding exercise at that spot. Then over a period of a few days or a few weeks I'd slowly move them closer and closer to the "threshold" that frightens them. (There's always a certain amount of tension in all dogs whenever they encounter a new threshold, at least there is until they've become acclimated to thresholds in general.) Once they feel comfortable about pushing into you in order to eat their meals at spots that are progressively closer and closer to the scary woods, you'll begin to see their noses take over from their nervous systems. And instead of wanting to just scurry home as quickly as possible, they'll want to spend some time to explore and investigate.

Again, you can't push them past their comfort zone. You have to slowly lead them past it with something that involves strong feelings of desire (which is what the hand-feeding exercise does). But my feeling is that once they get over their fear of the "entrance" to the woods, your next problem will be keeping them OUT! At any event, I think the woods will eventually be very therapeutic, but you have to have them on leash or their drive will lead them too far away from your control, at least at this point.

I'm happy to know you're interested in learning this alternative and yet what I think is a far more sensible view of canine behavior.

Good luck! I'll be thinking about your three doggies and hoping for the best!

LCK