Doggie Detox Days 1-5

Day 1
Shiloh (soon to be renamed, haven't thought of anything good yet but it won't contain the word "shy") is transported from Adams county into my care along with four other puppy mill rescues. Shiloh has not been out of the kennels like most of the other dogs that were rescued. She is a complicated case, extremely shy and a biter. Unlike the others she has not had a chance to be in foster care or warmed up to her caregivers. Long car ride for her in her little kennel but she managed just fine. I did not let her out of the kennel until I got back home, and even then waited an hour or two to bring her out. One thing you don't do with a biting dog is stick your hand in the kennel to get a leash on, so I unceremoniously turned the kennel upside down and shuffled her out. First thing she does of course is hide in the corner, but at least I was able to get the leash on her without being bitten. Off we go outside. First time she's seen a leash, so i dragged her out the door (first time she's seen a sliding door, steps, and grass). Lucky me, she had on a regular cheap collar that broke. One free puppy mill dog loose in the back yard. Oh dear god are my thoughts, how stupid was that that I didn't put the martingale collar on her right away. Thank god for Brian's excellent fencing, there is no place for her to make the escape. If there was it would have been game over as she ran around the perimeter looking for her escape. Brian and I managed to corner her inbetween the house and the shed. He kept her from escaping while I ever so gently held out my hand (carefully sealed inside the puffy winter jacket). She snapped, snapped, snapped and then let me get my hand up behind her ears. If you ever have to pick up a biting dog the easiest way to get them without being bitten is to scruff them like a cat. Hold on to their neck folds nice and tight so they can't swing their heads around to bite you. Scruff her I did, holding on for dear life as I knew I was only going to get this lucky once. Into the house we went and on went the martingale collar so she couldn't slip another one.
Detox has begun, I put her in her kennel with the non-slip collar and a leash attached. This is essential so they a) don't ever figure out that slipping their collar works to get away; b) the attached leash gives me easy access to the dog without being bitten; and c) I can interact with the dog at a distance.
Days one and two consist of complete kennel rest away from commotion, on leash potty breaks only and fasting.
The kennel rest away from my herd helps the new dog to settle after the noise of a shelter and cold concrete plus they do not have to try and establish themselves in my group. As well, this allows me to see if the dog has any contagious diseases or extra critters. On leash potty breaks only helps the new dog learn that pottying in front of me is not a bad thing (many dogs have been punished for going to the bathroom in front of people) and I get to see what the dogs behaviour is like in general with the security of the leash. Fasting has three purposes. First is to help the dog get whatever food that their previous home or shelter has been feeding them out of their system so their gut can handle the new diet I give them. Secondly shelters, transferring homes, crate training, new environment etc. is very stressful. I find that if you feed new dogs in the first day you end up with a diarrhea problem and then you have to further stress by bathing. Third is I am making the dog hungry so that it will want to take food from me (this is really the most important I think). It is essential that I develop a relationship with the new dog so they can learn to trust and learn how to earn reward for good behaviour.
For Shiloh, Days one through three were all focused on getting her comfortable with the leash and going outside. I tied two leashes together so she could have twelve feet between myself and her. By day two she was doing better and following along for the most part so long as you don't look at her. The lino is still scary but she is getting over it. I have been dropping the leash for her as she gets outside so she can potty with me standing in the yard. It is too much for her to potty on the leash even at twelve feet but she can manage with me in the yard which is great. Her kennel is in the computer/t.v room so she sees us regularly now, sees the dogs and is getting used to house noises.
Day four I cut her back to one leash. Again, very stressful for her to be a mere six feet away now but as the day progressed she got better and better. She also was subjected to being forced to be near me at a distance of four feet while I watched t.v. on leash with no access to her kennel. This met with a lot of resistance, she was trying desperately to chew through her leash, back out of the collar, and find any means of escape. After about a half hour she gave up somewhat and lay down on the dog bed next to her closed kennel and gave me the evil eye.

Today (day 5) I have taken the leash off in the kennel and left the kennel door open. With no other dogs in the room she has come out of the kennel a few times, success! As soon as I turn to look at her and tell her she's a good girl she shoots back into the kennel though, and she refuses to come out with another dog in the room. We have two goals today. First is to get the leash on her to go outside without being bitten. The second is to get her on my lap for fifteen minutes of touch the person time. I have been hand feeding her her meals. She has thus far refused to take anything from me but yesterday was the first day she ate something in my presence (yay for chicken necks!). She is making steady progress, a little bit each day.