Hello From Upstate New York

[sib_husky1]

Hello Everyone,

 

I am not a new member in the technical sense, but haven't been here in a long long time. So I kind of thought to introduce myself again since there have been a few changes since I was here the last time.

 

First I am originally from Wiesbaden, Germany and have followed my husband to the Ft. Drum Area in Upstate NY. I have 3 children 10,15 and 17.

We share our house with Shiloh the lovable but crazy 3 yr old Border Collie mix, Master Loki  a 9 month young black,silver/white Siberian boy and the newest member of the pack: Nikita a chocolate red 19 month old Siberian girl who has only been with us for 4 days.

My daughters cat Cheshire just jumped on my lap to remind me to include her and Peanut, the two cats that also share our life with us.

 

When I was here last, I had only had two dogs: Shiloh and my Baby Boy Rusty (Siberian) who sadly left us in March at almost 12 years.

 

We got Loki in February at the age of 7,5 weeks (he is a Christmas day baby), after I persuaded my husband into getting a Husky puppy. I wanted to stay active and Rusty was not able to do much anymore. He was fighting really bad Arthritis. I am glad I got Loki when I got him, because he helped me a lot to get over Rusty's passing and kept me occupied. He is a Mama's boy and a real sweetheart. When he was about 12 weeks old, he had an eye infection and lost his eyesight on his left eye. You wouldn't guess it, since it looks completely normal and doesn't stop him at all. The only time you notice it is when you throw a toy on his left side, or when he turns around and bumps into things.

 

Nikita I picked up 4 days ago. The Lady I got her from, had her for only 7 month and got her from the Shelter. When I picked her up she acted shy, but said Hello and seemed to be OK to be petted.  I was told that when she got Nikita from the shelter they told her that she must have been abused because she shies away from people and has a hard time trusting humans.

When I got home with her, we introduced her to Shiloh and Loki. I started with Loki and they seemingly fell in love with each other on the spot. Shiloh welcomed her tail waggingly and I knew that there would be no problems.

 

The first day was a bit stressful since she would not let anybody touch her or get close to her to put a leash on. After 10 accidents and 4 hrs of trying to lure her with treats, I had to corner and catch her to put a leash on her so she could relieve herself. Once she was on the leash she followed me around and went to bathroom without problems. Since than all I have to do is take the leash and call her ( Also no more accident since than, so we're def housebroken). She totally attached herself to Loki, follows him everywhere, plays with him, sleeps with him and if he walks up to me for his cuddling and playing she follows him too. Which is good, because Loki loves me very much and throws himself at me and lets me do anything I want with him. She sees that and keeps getting curious and wants some of that peting too. I got her to trust me so far today, that she kind of rolled on her back to let me pet her belly. Woohooo!

But she shies away so often , ducks cowers down and even starts shivering sometimes. Especially when I try to get her to sit (she knows the command well, does not want to do it for putting leash on though or for dinner), and I gently try to put her in the position. The rest of the family is allowed to touch her sometimes.

 

Now I think I am on the right path in handling her so far. I read a whole lot of different dog psychology and behavioral books together with dog training etc, that I theoretically kinda know how I want to handle her and deal with her.

I have one question so: Do I built up the trust first between the dog and me, family and than afterwards teach her the houserules, or do I directly teach her the rules and risk her shying away and blocking off etc?

Any thought and tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

A nice day wish you

 

Yvonne, Shiloh, Loki and Nikita

[mydiamond]

Hey there! I'm sorry to hear about Rusty now I know it doesn't sound nice put into one sentence altogether, but I'd also like to congratulate you on your new addition gotta love redheads.

 

Regarding your question, I really do think you can do both (bonding and boundary-setting) at the same time. I mean, stay gentle and try not to raise your voice or make sudden movements ( kinda feels like walking on top of grenades, right?) but do scold her when she does wrong. Use a low-toned, serious voice. You don't need to yell or sound/look angry in general, that low tone alone is often enough. When dealing with fearful dogs, you need to balance gentleness and firmness, not pick one and save the other for later as for the "sit" command, what hand signal do you use? It might just be she mistook the raised hand as a threat.

 

Oh wait, that sounds ridiculously theoretical. But I can't go into too much detail right now, I have to be somewhere else in a flash! set up a more detailed question thread, I'd try to answer in a better way.

[Jay]

Welcome back!  I would probably try to set boundaries first, and you can combine that with bonding, the more you work with her and teach her what's right and wrong, that will create a bond.  Also, you could think about training classes, but I would work on her confidence first before putting her in a group setting.

 

Can't wait to see more pics!

[sib_husky1]

@ mydiamond: I started another thread under: Training and Behaviour. I will add her quirks as I notice them and think of them. And yes I specifically love redheads.

 And thanks for the welcome back.

 

As soon as hubby comes home and tells me where he hid the camera, I will upload some pics

 

 

Ps: I need to somehow get rid of that banner and find out how to make a new one.

[Dunc]

    again

[robke]

[Andy]

Welcome back, sorry to hear about Rusty.

[Maz51]

Hello!! Welcome.

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