BlueBelle spent the first few years of her life as a
breeding dog in a puppy mill. She was taken in by a kind New Rattitude foster
home and was helped to heal physically and begin to learn what it's like to
live in a home. She came to my home about four weeks ago.
Miss Belle is currently semi-feral, but is developing at
her own pace with a little help. She spent the first week exhausting herself
with panicked flights. I slowed down every household routine, stayed far away
from her, and did not look her in the face. I did have to herd her from the
yard into the house in the beginning. It is true that I could have cornered her
and restrained her as she shut down and I could have penned her in a small area
as I've been advised by several trainers. For this specific dog and for my specific
personal aversions, I instead gave Belle the most and the safest choices I
could give her. That is working for us.
At first, I fed her outside while the rest of the dogs
ate inside. When the back door closes with me inside,
Belle knows she can count on a respite from humans. I would talk to her without
looking at her as I set her bowl down,
and then I'd go inside. If she skittered away before eating all of the food, I
would go outside and drop something new and yummy in the bowl while talking to
her, and then return to the house. I transitioned her feeding place to my
bedroom and by the end of the first week, she had learned the meal time routine
and had associated my presence during this time with yummy food.
At the start of the second week, she was anxious but not
panicked as I followed her into my bedroom with her bowl. I lay quietly on my
back on the floor and stretched my right arm out behind my head with a handful
of her favorite Wellness Core kibble mixed with 95% meat canned food. For
twenty minutes, Belle didn't move from her crouch in the corner behind me. I
got up and took the bowl out of the room with me. A few seconds later, I
returned and resumed my position. Ten minutes later, I suppressed a happy giggle
as I felt the first brush of whiskers on my hand. She slowly ate her dinner, one
carefully extended handful at a time.
It is almost three weeks since I began the hand feeding
and we have progressed, as of this morning, to her taking food from my hand while
I am sitting on the floor. Each tiny change that's made has to be made one at a
time and she needs enough repetitions of the "new look" to be
satisfied that nothing bad will happen to her. This sitting change is very big.
So the hand is still on the floor, it's still behind me (good for the
upper abs), and I'm absolutely not looking at her right now.
Beautiful Belle continues to make progress in adjusting
to life in a home with a human. I will post updates on her progress as I can.
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