# Should we bring home a VERY fearful rescue?



## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

My husband found an ad online yesterday for a 3 year old female GS that's currently in foster through our local animal shelter. I have been emailing the foster parent, and plan to meet Luca this afternoon.
Luca came from a home that clearly did not care for her, and is basically nearly feral. She's been with the foster for 5+ weeks now and is showing a lot of improvement. 
We have a 9 month old male GS and Luca loves to play with other dogs, and it relieves her anxiety--check!
We have 2 indoor cats--when Luca was rescued, a chihuahua was killed, it was either Luca, or her sibling that had escaped with her. She has shown a little aggression toward cats--uncheck :-(
We are scheduled to bring home a 6 week old female GS next weekend--a bumbling puppy could either help bring Luca out of her shell, or make her retract more....???
I am a stay at home mom (to our dog, no kids!) so I have the time to devote to her. I read the older thread about fearful dogs and their great progress. Basically, Luca would never be the crazy, fun ball of excitement that we currently have with Klaus, and I am ok with that. 
We have a big decision to make, mostly based on us bringing home a puppy, and our cats. 
I have more info from the foster parent and the trainer if anyone would like to see the emails. 
Suggestions, tips, thoughts please!!!


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## bocron (Mar 15, 2009)

Unless you are experienced with fear issues, then I would pass. Especially if you are still planning on the other pup (why 6 weeks old? that is really young) coming home next weekend. This would be like adopting a special needs child with anger issues when you are about to deliver a baby. 
Not only will you be dealing with an adult dog with many years of set, incorrect behavior, you will be dealing with a puppy who will most certainly model some of the behavior unless they are kept totally separate during the pup's own fear period. Plus the fact that you have an adolescent male (9 mos) is yet another level of problems altogether. 
I am a professional trainer and have been for 15+ years and wouldn't even consider the scenario you are suggesting unless there was no other choice. Since there is a choice I would choose NO WAY!


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## Brisco_dog (Jan 31, 2012)

If I could I would be the owner of as many of these wonderful dogs as I could! But I have to stop & think about the dog & what is going to be best for them. Seeing that you are brining home a puppy who is going to require alot of attention, I personally would not take on the added responsibility of a rescue. Especially one who is going to need a lot of work & time. It might not be fair to the dogs. GOOD LUCK!!!


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

Good point, I was thinking more "glass half full" that the puppy would help lighten up Luca, I didn't consider it the other way around. 
Our male is very well trained, and I was hoping he'd be the role model of the house. 
I would still like to meet Luca this afternoon, and even if we are not the right fit, I'd like to help find her a forever home. 
Also, I will be banning my husband from the internet. He should have known my bleeding heart was going to want to scoop this dog right up! Why oh why did he have to show her to me?!?


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## Brisco_dog (Jan 31, 2012)

KlausvonCrump said:


> Good point, I was thinking more "glass half full" that the puppy would help lighten up Luca, I didn't consider it the other way around.
> Our male is very well trained, and I was hoping he'd be the role model of the house.
> I would still like to meet Luca this afternoon, and even if we are not the right fit, I'd like to help find her a forever home.
> 
> >>Also, I will be banning my husband from the internet. He should have known my bleeding heart was going to want to scoop this dog right up! Why oh why did he have to show her to me?!?


<<

my husband did the same thing to me a few months ago, showed me a dog someone was selling on facebook (a friends daughter) & i got so excited! then i took a few steps back & reconsidered...we even went and looked at this dog (she was really sick-dumb owners) but we didn't take her. it sucked i couldn't help her, but my boy, who was 4 months old, needed me more. good decision on my part because Brisco is an awesome dog because all my time was/is spent on him!


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

If it's any consolation, here's the email from her foster mom. 
Also, we are more than willing to do what it takes to treat the heartworms, money is no object when it comes to our pets. 
I know I am being naively optimistic about this, I just can't make a decision until I meet her. 
Hi Amber,

Luca has been with me about 5 weeks now, she's slowly coming out of her shell. She was extremely fearful and shut down at the shelter, and I have worked with a trainer on how best to proceed with her. I am very pleased with her progress, slow and steady, as is to be expected with a frightened dog.

I should be upfront, she is still a fearful dog and that may or may not change, time will tell. I believe she is bonding with me, however at this point her comfort zone with anyone is still a few feet away. Per the trainer's instruction, I have not been pushing her where I can avoid it. Both the trainer, and the supervisor of animal care at the shelter, who has a training background, have stated they don't believe she is an aggressive dog. Despite her fearful demeanor at the shelter, she never displayed any aggressive behavior during her 30 something days there. She has never growled or snapped here, but does show a lot of fearful body language. You want to hug her, but that would be scary for her. 

Her previous owner was cited several times for having loose dogs, and not regularly feeding his dogs. A caller in his neighborhood reported that 2 black dogs had busted through a fence, and one black dog killed a chihuahua. That is all I know, no one knows whether it was her since she came in by herself. At that point animal control asked her owner whether he would surrender this dog, which he did, stating he didn't have the resources to care for her.

She seems to be thriving here, relative to the shelter, and likely her previous home. I think she appreciates being housed indoors, she is fully housebroken. She did fine during that huge storm a while back. Three of my fellow volunteers at the shelter have brought their large female dogs (rottie, GSD/Husky mix, and lab) over to my house to socialize since many fearful dogs take comfort in other dogs. She did fantastic with all of them, instantly. She makes very friendly gestures to two dogs that share a fence with me as well. She does appear to be aroused by cats, I wasn't comfortable with her around my foster cat who has since been adopted, but I kept them separated.

I don't have children, I would expect her to be ok with older children, I would worry about having her around young children who may not understand dog body language. I cannot envision her approaching anyone and hurting them. I think she would be much happier with just a few people around, maybe not toddlers though. My friend's 3 year old came over and barked at her and I think Luca found that to be quite odd 

The trainer suspects that she will likely be a dog that prefers to hang out at home with access to a yard, and not one that likes to go on bustling walks or to dog parks. The trainer also suspects the cause of her fearful behavior could be not being properly socialized between the ages of 8-16 weeks of age...

That all being said, please don't feel at all bad if she's not the kind of dog you're looking for! I'd love to help match you with a great shelter dog, there are so many to choose from. My personal opinion is that she would be happiest living with another dog. The trainer, who will be visiting for the second time on Tuesday, thinks for the time being, it is best for her to be an only dog, but she has never seen her with another dog around. She is a gorgeous, intelligent creature.

I'm not sure how much info the shelter gives you before giving you my info, but Luca is heartworm positive. The standard treatment drug, Immiticide, is unavailable so she's started on 'soft treatment' which has a high probability of curing her infection, it just takes longer than traditional treatment. It is inexpensive relative to traditional treatment - it is doxycycline once a day for several 30 day periods over several months, and monthly heartworm preventative, just like any other dog on preventative.


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## Brisco_dog (Jan 31, 2012)

you sound like I did when my husband showed me the dog he found.  Go & meet her, you know yourself more than anyone here. Just keep in mind if you do take her & she really didn't work out for you, it's stressfull for a dog to be bounced around homes. Especially one with a rough past. Think about her needs before your wants.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

You're bringing home a new puppy next weekend? Adding two dogs to the household at the same time isn't a good idea, especially if you already have one established dog. 

Why are you bringing your puppy home at only 6 weeks? That's really too young to be leaving the litter.


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

The new puppy may be closer to 7 or 8 weeks, she was born in early Jan. 

I will absolutely put the dog's needs before my own wants. If she is not right for us, well, hopefully through this forum we could help find her a perfect home


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## TaZoR (Jan 26, 2012)

I brought a fearful shepherd home and had him for 12 yrs. Until i sadly had to put him to sleep last nov. He turned into a great dog who would do anything for me. I brought him home to kids and dogs and cats without any history. However i did have gsd experience..

Im not saying you should do it, just sharing. I was able to feed him visit and sit in his kennel until he was barked out, and he finally approached me..there has never been a stronger bond between a person and a dog than what we had.


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## katieliz (Mar 29, 2007)

a new puppy and a new rescue at the same time could be a recipe for disaster. if you do this, make absolutely, positively sure you have a rock solid "plan b" (i.e., that you can return her to the rescue, of course that won't be good for her).


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Bringing two dogs in can be a handful, BUT it can be done. The only work this dog needs is to learn how to accept love..She's housetrained(big plus) and she likes other dogs.Obviously you have the time to dedicate to all of these animals because you are home...from the email from the foster home I'm thinking that your dog and the puppy will bring this dog around..I kinda of have this same issue with a feral cat that has come around because of the dogs..if the dogs weren't here this cat would have never adapted to humans. I'm a sucker for any dogs, more so if they need work or can be a challenge...I do believe they turn out to be the best dogs out there The way I look at it is she is not aggressive-she needs love..she likes other dogs-you have one(almost 2)..Regardless of what anyone says here I think you've already made your decision..Good Luck


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

My instinct says No.

1) Possibly aggressive towards cats. You have cats. If she is aggressive towards cats then you spend the rest of their lives keeping them separate. Is that fair to your resident cats?

2) New puppy coming. That is going to take a large amount of time to train and bond with your new puppy. A chihuahua was killed and you aren't sure which dog did this. My feeling is that you are taking a chance on something happening to that puppy.

3) This is a dog that was neglected, not socialized and is fearful. She is going to need a lot of one on one. If you can't give her that then it's not fair to bring her into your home only to rehome her.

4) Fear issues take a lot of training, behavior modification and management. Look very carefully into this and possibly talk to a trainer regarding what it takes to deal with this. 

My personal opinion with what you have stated is that she would be better off in a home that can give her a lot of one on one without potential conflicts (cats / puppies) and someone that is 100% committed to making it work. I think when you go into a situation thinking that "if it doesn't work" then you are not 100% committed. I also don't think it's fair to your resident animals to bring in an animal that will be in conflict with them.

I would pass and let her go to a home better suited to her.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

KlausvonCrump said:


> The new puppy may be closer to 7 or 8 weeks, she was born in early Jan.


Can you get her exact birthdate? Unfortunately only about 20 states have laws about the minimum age to sell puppies, but of those states that do, most are 8 weeks. A couple allow puppies to be sold at 7 weeks, but none of them prior to that.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Jax08 said:


> My instinct says No.
> 
> 1) Possibly aggressive towards cats. You have cats. If she is aggressive towards cats then you spend the rest of their lives keeping them separate. Is that fair to your resident cats?
> 
> ...


^ Everything she said.


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## Holmeshx2 (Apr 25, 2010)

Jax08 said:


> My instinct says No.
> 
> 1) Possibly aggressive towards cats. You have cats. If she is aggressive towards cats then you spend the rest of their lives keeping them separate. Is that fair to your resident cats?
> 
> ...


Completely agree. 

You said you wont bring the dog home unless shes a great match for you however I don't think your home is a great match for her. She needs lots of one on one. There is no way your 9 month old is fully trained he may be great but I'm sure he still needs plenty of continued training combine that with ALL the training the new baby puppy is going to need you don't have the extra to give this girl all that she will need which is even more then a new baby puppy. Plus the puppy will be little and you don't know if shes ok with it and you already know shes not ok with cats the foster home wasn't ok with her and the foster cat. i think you are testing the limits way to far and she really can't be bounced home to home in the state she seems to be in. I'm not saying anything about you as much as I am about her and what she needs. I would let her go to a home that could make things all about her and help bring her around.


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

I couldn't let it go without meeting her, just to make sure. We agreed she was not the right fit for our family. I was already pretty sure, but I needed to see for myself. She's a beautiful dog and with the right home, I know she will flourish. 
Our new baby that is coming home on March 3 will be 7 weeks. She's coming from a very reputable breeder. She's already happy, healthy, and playful, I know she will be the perfect addition to our family. And someday we will probably add a third bundle of joy, Luca just wasn't the one for us.


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

KlausvonCrump said:


> Our new baby that is coming home on March 3 will be 7 weeks. She's coming from a very reputable breeder. She's already happy, healthy, and playful, I know she will be the perfect addition to our family.


If it's the litter I'm thinking of, you're getting a very nice puppy, but hopefully you're already thinking of jobs for her! She's gonna be a handful.


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## KlausvonCrump (Jul 5, 2011)

Emoore said:


> If it's the litter I'm thinking of, you're getting a very nice puppy, but hopefully you're already thinking of jobs for her! She's gonna be a handful.


No doubt! We're a very active family, so hopefully we can keep her happily fulfilled.
New puppies are also a great way to lose a few pounds lol!!!
Don't worry, there will be pictures a-plenty when she arrives!


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