Expert: Delores Beck - 2/8/2009

Question
Hi!
My husband and I just rescued a cocker spaniel from a shelter who got our "olivia" from a puppy mill. She is around 2-3 years old and has had 2 littlers. Because she has spent her life in a crate, she does not want to come out of the crate. She is not potty trained and does not like to go outside. We have to pick her up to take her outsie and then she does not want to go to the bathroom. She did not have a name, so we named her "olivia" and we know it will take some time for her to reconize her name, and hope she will get the hang of it - soon! As far as the crate, we are Ok with it until she is potty trained. But we want her to be part of the family and not to hide out in her crate all the time. Can we train an older dog basics like stay, sit, laydown and to do her business outside? She is a beautiful little girl, very sweet and shy. At this time, we know she has had one ear infection. What do we need to do to keep them at bay? How often should we get her groomed, every 6-8 weeks? We will not maintain the long cocker cut, something comfortable and cool for the summer time.

Thanks for your time and help!
Scott & Tracy

Answer
Bless your heart for rescuing this little girl.

First of all, leave the crate door open so she can go in and out when she wants.  Sit on the floor in front of the crate with your back to her and put a nice treat on the floor beside you.  If she doesn't come...it's okay..just leave it there..if she does, just let her have it with no attempt to push contact.

She's young and can certainly be trained but first you have to realize she's had no socialization so be really, really patient.
Your first goal is to get her to feel comfortable and even with a shelter dog who's come from a family environment it takes weeks for them to calm down.

It may sound a bit counter-productive but don't try too hard to connect with her.  At this point she just needs to know nothing "bad" is going to happen.

One good trick is to leave her short leash on her (a leash can really help with an anxious dog - it calms them) and when you know it's potty time just pick up the leash and go outside.  Use the same command and use it BEFORE she's about to go.  praise and give a treat.
You can also use the leash to keep her with you...not a lot of chat..just "where I go - you go".  It will reassure her.

Now..the ears..a fabulous product is Zymox.  You can order this online at EntirelyPets.com.  They have a cleaner and two different meds.  One is for "gunky brown" ears and the other (with hydrocortisone) is for inflamed (red) or swollen ear canals.
If you get it - do write and I'll explain how to use it but no cocker owner should be without it :)

This stuff is amazing.  Vet Dermatologists love it and my own vet uses nothing else.  The joy is no vet visit required since it works whether it's yeast, bacteria or fungal.

I'd hold off on grooming for a little bit until she's more trusting.
You'll want what's called a puppy cut.

Just to reassure you - last year we got a 3 year old cocker from a rescue with such bad anxiety/fear issues I was very concerned.
Within weeks he was housebroken (with consistent attention) and much calmer but it did takes months for his "panic attacks" to subside.
Today he's a happy, gorgeous boy.

Do write back with any other questions as they arise.  She's had a horrifying existence up till now and she's very lucky to have found you :)
Delores