I hope this is the correct category....
Since pets are kinda sorta like "family", anyway....
A friend of mine (who lives about 25 miles away, in the center of the city) recently lost her beloved six-year-old spayed female daschund doggie under VERY tragic circumstances.
Her other dog, an eight-year-old neutered male daschund, has been inconsolable since her loss. So my friend decided to adopt another small dog - a spayed female daschund - one that was RESCUED from a BREEDER....
This poor little dog has LIVED IN A CAGE FOR HER ENTIRE LIFE!!! All six years of her life - in what was, in effect, a doggie concentration camp...
She is not "socialized" in any way, shape or form. She's scared to death; she had been living in a foster home for the previous 6 months, but as my friend - let's call her "Tammy" - as "Tammy" says, apparently the foster home had other dogs and wasn't able to focus on this dog.
My friend is a working mother of two teen-agers (who have both agreed to help with the new dog, thank goodness!), but both teens are eventually going off to college, and my friend works full-time.
They ("Tammy" and her son...) drove 250 miles to pick out and pick up this little doggie. "Tammy" said that the little doggie was frightened to death - tried to jump out of the car when they stopped for food, then pooped and peed all over the car when they struggled to keep the dog in the car - because it was so frightened.
When they got home, "Tammy" allowed the dog out into their (fenced) back yard, but the dog just tore around the yard in a frenzy. "Tammy" thought that the dog was enjoying the freedom until she realized that the dog was simply terrified [lived in a cage all of its life], then "Tammy" tried to pick it up to bring it indoors. The dog bit her.
Finally she opened the back door, and the dog shot inside. The dog is basically cowering under their kitchen table, won't eat, won't approach ANY humans, and is just a quivering bundle of nerves and fear.
I've told "Tammy" that she needs to become "Doggie Mommie" - be the "pack" leader, but like a MOMMY doggie - provide FOOD and SAFETY for the doggie, so that the dog will BOND with her.... THEN she can move on to other issues, like teaching the dog to use the "doggie" door to use the potty, go for walks, and so on - and I'll say right off, that the first month or two of "walks" should consist of walking the dog IN THE BACK YARD and ONLY in the back yard...
I also told "Tammy" to get one of those doggie harnesses - and she might even need to buy a CAT harness, as the doggie is SO tiny - just so she'll have something to CONTROL the animal with, when she needs to take it to the vets [Friday; and I guess I'll be going along - whee...], and to take it outside to go potty, and so on...
Right now, the doggie has a "puppy pee pad" by the back door, next to the doggie door that the other family dog is using to go out to go potty...
I think that the harness would be a kind way to control the dog until she calms down; much safer and kinder than a "choke" collar, which is what someone else recommended to "Tammy". As crazy scared as this dog is, I'm afraid something bad might happen with a collar and DEFINITELY with a "choke" collar - those damned things have killed as many dogs as highway traffic, I suspect...
Anyway, to make a long story short - TOO LATE! - if anyone else has EVER had to deal with such a situation, and was successful at socializing the dog, I would LOVE to hear about it!!
P.S. I found Cesar Millan on "FaceBook" and left a LONG plea for help!!
[Whadda ya know? Facebook actually IS good for SOMEthing, after all...]
Thaniks to any and all that can help!!!
Zid