Animal Behaviorist Appointment

We scheduled an appointment for a behaviorist to come to our home to evaluate Darlin'. He's a Professor at a widely recognized school of Veterinary medicine in Alabama with more than 35 years experience. He was here two hours last Saturday, however, he made a recommendation for Darlin' within seconds of entering our home.

I put the dogs outside, but left Toby, our broken coat Jack Russell, in the house so he wouldn't bark for me to let him in. Toby is a velcro dog and doesn't want to be away from me very long.

Darlin' doesn't usually bark when a stranger enters our home. I thought she would run and hide. Not this time. She barked her head off when I invited the behaviorist inside. She was loud and the hair stood up on her neck so I walked over and had her sit and told her to hush, which she did. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. Darlin' then ran to the couch and jumped up turning her body side-ways away from him. She sat quietly on the couch, she turned her head in avoidance and was trembling fiercely as I told him a little about her history with us. He remarked that she was probably born feral and probably didn't have any socialization with people. He was surprised when I let him know that she was spayed sometime before I trapped her. We agreed that given she was spayed and so afraid of people, she was probably on her own a long time and may have suffered some abuse. He handed me some papers to sign and we sat together at the kitchen table. Once he sat down at the kitchen table, Darlin' ran back to our bedroom.

I discussed our concerns about her barking at my husband and kids. If this is your first time reading this blog, Darlin' has become very attached to me, but she barks at my family. Her barking started about a year ago, after living in the house about 6 months. She doesn't only bark when they come home from school or work. She barks every time they move in the house. She barks when my son comes home from school, when he opens my office door, when he goes to the bathroom, when he fixes a snack, if he helps bring in groceries, or if he's downstairs and comes back up. Literally! It's like that for everyone in the house except me. It doesn't matter if they are home all day. If she hears or sees them she barks at them. Darlin' does not bark when she's in the backyard unless my husband or one of my children open the back door. I also told him about her body language when she's barking. She appears to be in an excited state; her tail is high and wagging back and forth. Sometimes her hair stands up the back of her neck. He told me not to worry about her body language unless her ears are straight up and tail is high and centered between her ears. I'm familiar with that posture from books on canine behavior. The dog may be aggressive or even dangerous. Darlin' does not show any aggressive behavior. I think if she were going to bite we would have seen this long ago. She did bite me during a fight with Bonnie, but I do not believe she knew she bit me. She's been living with us for 18 months. I just realized this last week that I have known Darlin' for two years!

I asked his opinion about the dog fights between Darlin' and Bonnie. I showed him the scars on my arm from the fight a few months ago. I felt like he brushed it off. He said he wishes he had only been bitten once in his life and that "you're going to have the fighting as long as you have a dog that is anxious."

He also viewed a few videos that I have on youtube and my computer. He was surprised when he watched a video on youtube where I pointed to Darlin' and told her to hush and sit outside. Darlin' listens to commands unless she is aroused. Usually I walk over to her and tell her "that's enough" and to "sit down" and she will. He ask me to continue to document her behavior using videos. He told us that most people need to see him twice --an initial appointment with a follow-up, but that we will probably need to see him more than that. That's when my husband told him about the extensive progress Darlin' has made since we brought her home.

He was surprised that I asked for a home visit. That was his secretary's idea after I told her how fearful Darlin' is and that she would probably cower under my chair at his office. I will take Darlin' for an office visit and follow-up in three to four months.

His diagnoses was that Darlin' is in a constant state of anxiety and his recommendation for Darlin' is anti-anxiety and antidepressant drugs. The anti-anxiety medicine is actually another antidepressant. She is not in a constant state of anxiety. She is a very calm and well behaved dog when no one is around, but she shows a lot of anxiety when my family members are home. He mentioned several drugs, but we are going to try something mild to begin with per my request. I want her to calm down, but I do not want her to experience weight gain, dizziness, or any possible negative side effects. Of course we can wean her off of the medicine after a while. He will contact my vet so I'm sure I'll need to see him with Darlin' as well. Once I have the prescription I will update that we have started the drug therapy. The drugs are Wellbutrin or the generic form of Bupropion, and Elavil, also known as Amitriptyline.

The crate has been a life saver! All of the dogs enjoy napping in it. Now, instead of rotating Darlin' and Bonnie during the day using bedrooms, I ask one of them to go in the crate while I let the other outside. It took about two days to teach Bonnie and Darlin' to go in the crate. I will never use it as punishment because I do not want them to associate it with something negative. My dogs are good dogs. I can't remember having to "punish" them for anything. I correct them daily if they get loud or too rambunctious in the house. I try to rotate them in my office so that they each have time with me. I'm pretty certain that Darlin' has claimed my office as part of her territory. I bought another crate for my office because eventually I want to leave my office door open again and allow all of the dogs to be with me at once. Right now all of the dogs get along in my office as long as I remove Darlin' or Bonnie. One has to stay out to avoid conflict. I did put Darlin' in the office crate once and she whined because she couldn't see me! She also whines if I leave her in the crate in the living room and go in my office. She shows signs of anxiety when I am out of her sight. She's fine in the crate if I'm in the kitchen because she can see me. She's also been jumping at my bedroom door, barking and whining when I arrive home. She's fine when I leave though. The behaviorist said the separation anxiety will get worse so hopefully the medications will help that as well.

I am my neighbor...

No, not my house, but every since I found this picture I wanted to use it!

I would have preferred to start off the New Year with an optimistic post title that summed up our Holidays. However, about two weeks before Christmas my neighbor and I had a heated argument – on my front porch! December 15, to be exact.

I wrote about my neighbor here when Bonnie and Darlin’ got into the fight. Darlin’ was tense about the commotion on my neighbors back deck when Bonnie acted dominant and buffed up to Darlin’ when I took her rock.

Bonnie’s rock obsession hasn’t gotten any better. Some days it’s worse than others. She finds a rock or digs one up, knocks it around and barks at it. If you go outside she will pick it up and run with it. I tell her to “drop it.” When she does I say “no rock” and I put it in my pocket. We stopped tossing them over the fence because that only intensified her excited state. I’ll throw her Frisbee or sometimes have her sit for cheese and then carry her upstairs.

On Dec. 15, 2009 I spent most of the day running errands and shopping. I called my son to see if he let the dogs out after school and he said he hadn’t, and that Bonnie was sleeping on his bed. I told him to leave her and I would let them out when I got home. I arrived home at 4:00 o’clock and let three of them out. I did not allow Darlin’ and Bonnie in the yard together without me and Toby waits for me when I take Darlin’ out.

My car was full of bags so I toted everything inside and began putting groceries away and making tea. I heard Bonnie bark at a rock. I know the difference in her barks, not just with Bonnie, but with all of the dogs.

I decided to run check my business email since I had been away from my computer most of the day. I heard her bark again, I looked out my window and she was pawing at a rock. It’s not a constant bark. She barks two or three times, stops and kicks the rock around, then barks again. I opened my window and told her to hush. She looked up at me so I sat back down at my desk. The weather was nice so I left my window up. I sat at my desk about five minutes. When she barked I called to her knowing my voice would distract her. Just as she starting barking again I went to put my Crocks on because we have a yard full of poop right now.

As soon as I slipped my shoes on to go get Bonnie someone rang my doorbell. I opened the door and there stood my neighbor. That was the first time in five years since I’ve owned Sam, our blue heeler, that he made a low growling sound at someone at the door. I told my neighbor that I would meet him outside and I put the dogs in my son’s room. The way he looked at me standing there are my porch made me angry and all of those feelings I’ve had when he throws rocks at my fence, or yelled “shut up” from his yard came rushing back to me.

I walked outside and the first words out of his mouth were, “Could you shut your dog up?” I said as I pointed to my feet, “I just put my shoes on to go get her.” Him – “That dog has barked all day long!” Me - “That’s a lie; I haven’t been home 15 minutes!” Neighbor – “And she’s barked every since, I can’t even hear my TV!” Me – My dogs don’t bark five minutes and you’re out there telling them to shut up! I respect my neighbors; my dogs aren’t outside early in the mornings or late at night. Him – “you’ve lived her two years and you’ve never respected your neighbors! I’ve already called the police, let’s not let this go any further!” Me – “Really? I’ve already called animal control because we can’t trust you! They brought me one of these dogs! Him - “I don’t care where they came from!” Me - “I’ll see what I can do to keep my dogs quiet so you can hear your TV.” Him – “Good!”

I know, Animal Control, but it was the heat of the moment. It could have been worse. I could have mentioned that crazy woman on his deck singing with headphones on all summer from morning till after 10:00 o’clock at night! I’ve woken up to her obnoxious singing before. They play their music loud when they work in the yard or when they wash their cars. I never said a thing because I was so pissed off at the time that he had the nerve to come over here. I could have mentioned the blue lights flashing in front of his house and how it concerned us. I was so hoping his wife would leave him and he would have to move because he couldn’t afford the house on his own. No such luck, she came back.

Dogs bark all night around here, to the point that it hurts my spirit. I have prayed for a white tied-out shepherd several times this winter. I wonder how people sleep when their dog is barking all night in the yard. I think because of that it’s so important to me not to disturb my neighbors, but let’s be reasonable here, they are dogs and it was 4:00 o’clock in the afternoon! My dogs can’t chase each other and bark during playtime because of him!

Woodrow Wilson said, “If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.” That’s the first thing I thought when Sam was uncomfortable with my neighbor at our door. He sensed something was up with that guy!

It’s almost 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon and she has just barked for the first time today, not at a rock, I’m watching her look up at the back door. I left my desk and let two of the dogs outside, but instead of them joining Bonnie in the yard, she came upstairs and came in the house. She sometimes barks a couple of times so that one of the dogs will come outside with her. Her barking at rocks started about the time the frogs left for winter.

This neighbor that does not like my dogs has a pond and we have a terrible frog issue because of it. In fact, he has a frog over there that croaks so loud it’s nearly as loud as a dog! She used to catch at least one frog a day from spring through summer. Now that the frogs are gone we think this could be the reason she’s kicking rocks around. I’m going to look into an exercise wheel for her, maybe a treadmill. It’s not as bad as it sounds. It’s become an issue because of the neighbor. Bonnie knows how to leave the rocks and come indoors. She handles us taking them and is easily distracted by Frisbee or food.

Darlin’ stepped out on the back deck at the same time that my neighbor stepped out of his garage door. She barked one time, one woof sound, when I heard him instantly say, “shut up.” I’m almost always with her so I was there too. She got scared and went right back inside so we waited until he left.

I don’t like living my life to accommodate this guy, but it’s not possible for us to move right now or this year, unless by some miracle some things change.

My dad said I shouldn’t have let him upset me. That I should have told him that his first mistake was ringing my doorbell. He said I should have asked what kind of TV he has and offer to buy him headphones. My daughter said maybe he can use the headphones that woman wears outside all summer!

Darlin’s Christmas…

What a blessing it’s been knowing Darlin’ is safe indoors this winter. She has made phenomenal progress recently! She stayed in my room while we opened gifts Christmas morning, but spent the afternoon in her bed by my feet as I struggled to keep my eyes open while watching TV.

Daddy petting her on the couch...

She and Bonnie have been fine together, however I have not allowed them in the yard together because I can’t handle all of the dogs alone should one of them instigate a fight. In the house I’ve had three issues, all were because of Darlin’!

One morning I let Bonnie out of her crate. She was being sweet with her tail down and wiggling her little butt wanting me to pet her. Darlin’ rushes over to us from her side of the bed and nips at Bonnie! She was like a bulldozer and bumped into Bonnie’s side head on. I quickly corrected Darlin’ when Bonnie went ballistic. I picked up Bonnie and put her outside and let Darlin’ calm down because she gets excited to see me upon waking in the mornings.

Two other times it happened in my office, which is a small bedroom. Darlin’ doesn’t mind any of the dogs in here, but since the fight I keep the door closed so that she and Bonnie are not too close. Besides I’m working and can’t watch them closely. I left the door open thinking Bonnie was downstairs with my husband. She was but he left the door open. Bonnie walks up to the threshold of the door when Darlin’ growled and charged at her, but it was dominance, not aggression. Bonnie got scared and withdrew to the hall, but then ran back inside like she was going to settle it. I snatched Bonnie up and removed her.

The other incident happened just a few days ago. I was leaving my office when Bonnie approached me at the doorway. Again she was sweet, her tail lowered, ears back, she had a little wiggle in her butt because I acknowledged her presence. Darlin’ jumped up and darted at Bonnie! I corrected Darlin and picked up Bonnie and removed her. So the only issue now seems to be territorial dominance for Darlin’. She charges and growls, but I think she’s claiming the space as her own to prevent Bonnie from entering. If she was aggressive we would have had a real dog fight, but we didn’t. Now if these were two powerful breeds, I probably couldn’t have stopped it the way that I did.

Darlin’ has become more confident. She’s pushy, often wanting her treat first and leans over the other dogs to get theirs. She pushes past them to come in the door from outside. At dinner she sits and waits patiently for her bowl to go down.

She’s been playing more, mostly with Toby, although she did give Sam a play bow in the yard last week. She’s not comfortable with the others yet. If they get to close she stops playing with Toby and becomes more guarded. She and Toby are needier and are always by my side whereas the other three are independent. I wonder if that’s why she’s bonded with Toby?

I’m going to work on introducing Darlin’ and Bonnie to my office together this month. December was extremely busy for me that maintaining balance and preventing issues between the dogs was more important than teaching. I’d like to get back to the point when all of the dogs could come and go from my office without any dominance or territorial behavior. For the time being I have rotated Darlin’ and Bonnie, sometimes allowing Bonnie time in here to sleep at my feet and other times Darlin’ gets the office. Toby is always with me and sometimes Sam is here too. Our cat, Baby, has recently decided the office is where she wants to be too.

I have a cat, Lilith, a small black female shorthair that was feral and still behaves a like a feral cat. It's took me almost four years to get her to come to me. She usually sleeps downstairs or in the garage. Recently she’s started coming upstairs more and sleeps in a pet bed in the dining room. Lilith is the cat that always gets scared and growls at the dogs when they see her. Darlin’ has become intrigued with Lilith in the last two weeks. She has to check her out in the dining room when she sees her there. It could be that Lilith’s growling stimulates her curiosity, I’m not sure, but I don’t want her to start bothering the cats so I'm keeping a close eye on her.

She’s been drinking from the community water bowl! I guess it helped that I threw out the old pool because she got most of her water outside until recently.

She played with toys one night! She just decided to play on her own and started chewing on the stuffed toys.

In her bed - it was fun watching her get comfortable and scratch herself.

She is taking food from my husband and son now! She will bark at my husband and grumble as she eats her treat. Someone train my husband, please. I asked him not to give her a treat if she's barking at him. We don't want to reward the barking.

Eating a chew next to Sam. It was great seeing her lie in the floor like a dog!

Four minutes outside without me! I don't always go to the yard with her unless she waits for me at the top step. I was standing on the deck and snuck back in the house. Four minutes is great! I was keeping time!

The only picture I have at the moment with her by the tree.

I love this one. She and Toby had been playing, but she stopped to see what Sam was up to when he sniffed her. The look on Toby's face is priceless! You can click on images to enlarge, then Click your Back button to return to this blog.

The videos are taking a long time to upload. I'll be back within a week to upload more.

This video was taken when I vacuumed. She use to hide and tremble in fear. I guess if you live in a house where someone vacuums once or twice a week, you'll get use to it rather quickly.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday. Best wishes for a healthy happy New Year!

Time heals wounds

I’m still watching Bonnie closely after the fight. Darlin’ is feeling her cheerios, but Darlin’ is also still learning to live with dogs. Bonnie was a little hellion over the last week, but I think the negative energy may be subsiding.

Bonnie was growling and barking as though she was about to go into full attack mode when she saw Darlin’. Saturday night we had Bonnie on a leash downstairs on the couch before I came down with Darlin’ following behind me. Bonnie had to be removed from the room a few minutes until we all took our seats. She went nuts after she saw Darlin’.

The last bloody towel to be washed. This was outside, I had two others that were a lot worse. I took Bonnie to the vet and when I came home the paw prints were still wet on the floors - there was that much blood.



A couple of nights ago Bonnie scratched at her kennel at 4 am, so we tried putting her in bed with us. A short time after she jumped out of our bed growling and ran after Sam, who just happened to be walking out of our room. He looked back as though she had lost her mind. I don’t think she knew it was Sam, I think she thought it was Darlin’. She loves Sam. We put her back in her carrier and she went back to sleep.

Yesterday morning my husband let Bonnie out with Sam. The other dogs won’t budge until I get up. Instead of putting Bonnie back in bed with me, he closed the door and left her in the living room. I put her in bed with me after hearing her scratch at the bedroom door and she slept fine. He put her in bed this morning and again she was fine. She was actually on the floor with Darlin’ for a few seconds before I snatched her up to carry her as I let Darlin’ and the other dogs outside. I didn’t want to start my day with dogs turning on each other before they ever left my room.

As of last night, the energy is only slightly better. I’m aware that Bonnie would walk up to Darlin’ holding her head high and might growl or provoke a fight. Based on what I saw Darlin’ do, I’m still on alert. Bonnie is on “Nothing in Life is Free” (they all are) she is sleeping in a crate, and we are still rotating. She knows Mom means business, her tail is down when I talk to her, and she won’t hesitate sitting for any treat. There were times I would take her a dog biscuit, but not now.

They have spent time in the same room resting, but neither has walked around together or brushed against the other. I have to prevent a fight at all costs. Five dogs is more than I can handle alone if a fight were to start. It’s raining today. Once the weather clears this week, one afternoon after my husband comes home, I think we will reintroduce them in the back yard together without the other dogs.

Last night Darlin’ and Toby started to play in my bedroom floor. Chloe (the rambunctious one) came running and barking. It’s just her way. Darlin’ raised her hackles and chased Chloe out growling at her. I saw it and quickly corrected Darlin’ telling her “no” and “sit”. Chloe is not a fighter, but she is expressive. Nevertheless, I’m still learning about Darlin’.

One afternoon before the fight all of the dogs went running and barking towards the back fence. This is the picture I took of Darlin’ as I called her to distract her. For a dog to raise his hackles gives me concern, although it doesn’t always suggest that a dog is going to act out in aggression. I’d rather not find out and distract her.

These were taken seconds apart. Click on photo to enlarge. Hit your back button to return to this blog.







Because of Bonne’s aggressive behavior this weekend, we did not walk them together. Darlin’ is so fearful that it probably wouldn’t have helped anyway. Getting her to walk on a leash is a lesson in patience itself. My husband walked Toby in front of us. In order to keep Darlin’ moving I had to walk fast which meant my husband had to drop behind me. Darlin’ still doesn’t care for my husband so she was more distracted looking back. Something I have noted on our walks. She must have found shelter in street drains because if she sees a drain she pulls as though she would climb in. She doesn’t realize that she wouldn’t fit, but I’m sure she did when she was skinny.

We only walked up the street a couple of blocks. As I tried turning a corner she sat down and wouldn’t budge. A guy stepped outside on his porch and she did not bark, yet she has barked at my family at the same distance. A woman was pushing a baby stroller and commented that Darlin’ was pretty. I told her she was a fearful stray. Darlin’ just sat there stiff and didn’t bark at that woman. So her barking at my family in the house and yard is definitely a territorial issue.

Last night. My husband was sitting on the other sofa. She finally relaxed, as close as she could get to me. This is common behavior for her.





Hopefully I will see this again soon.

We’ve had a dog fight!

And I’m finding it hard to relax today.

A couple of days ago, Laurie, from Three dog blog left some comments and asked if I had concerns about Darlin’ biting. No, I do not have concerns about her biting my family, myself, or other people. I do keep a watchful eye on her with the dogs because she has shown some instability – whining, whimpering, and head and chest held high. Whenever she did that I would correct her to snap her out of it because I didn’t want any of the dogs to feel they had to defend themselves from an unstable dog.

That said, I don’t think anyone could have five dogs and never have a dog fight of some sort. We’ve have had them here, but they didn’t last a minute where the dogs work it out amongst themselves. Animal behaviorists probably wouldn’t consider what has happened fighting, but more one dog correcting another.

I have learned to watch the way they communicate and avoid situations that might trigger aggression or dominance between the dogs. For instance, Bonnie, my Jack Russell, is a dominant female. She used to take her chew to bed and guard it. If Sam, our blue heeler, walked in the room late at night she would growl and jump off the bed letting him know to stay away. He could care less and she usually jumped back in the bed as fast as she jumped out. This sort of behavior leads to fights so I stopped giving them chews that they couldn’t finish or took the chews away before we went to bed. In fact, no one in my home is allowed to give the dogs chew or treats that are not eaten immediately. This way I have more control over any guarding or aggressive behavior that one of the dogs might exhibit. Dinnertime is not a problem, everyone eats in the kitchen, and sometimes one dog will eat what another walks away from. Sometimes they rotate bowls eating a little out of each others bowl. I haven’t had food aggression issues with any of the dogs eating dinner or when giving treats.

Yesterday afternoon I went out back with the dogs just like I do everyday. Darlin’ will not go downstairs without me, although sometimes now early in the morning she will go pee and quickly run back up. If I want her to spend time in the yard then I have to be there. If my neighbor is outside cutting the grass or if she hears unfamiliar noises in the neighborhood she is hesitant to go down even though I escort her.

You should know about my neighbors.

We thought it was strange that when we moved into our home that our neighbor on one side didn’t speak to us. They didn’t wave or welcome us to the neighborhood, nor did they seem friendly. Maybe you have neighbors like this, but I have not. We have lived here two summers now. Our dogs are playful outside and only bark for a minute or two when they hear something unfamiliar. Sometimes they bark and they chase each other around the back yard, but it’s not often, maybe once a week. Usually they will go off when the black Lab two houses up is out barking, but there are dogs that bark in the night and my dogs don’t make a sound. When we’re outside, they walk the yard, go to the bathroom, and a couple will lie at my feet while one paws at the water in the pool. I promise you most times you wouldn’t know I have five dogs. Besides that, they are house dogs so they don’t spend that much time outside.

They have barked when my neighbor is on the other side of the fence. They have a detached garage where he keeps his ladders (he’s a painter) and sometimes he’s banging around and a couple of the dogs will run the fence and bark at the noise coming from the other side. What does my neighbor do? He hits my fence and yells, “Shut up!” What do they do when he hits the fence? They bark more and run the fence line. It’s a privacy fence, they don’t know what’s on the other side.

The steps to our decks face each other so if he’s walking down his deck and my dogs are on my deck, it appears that the neighbor is walking towards the dog. The dogs will bark, but only for a minute, probably just seconds. What does he do? He yells, “Shut up!” Although I was outside with my kids a few days ago so instead of saying “shut up” he said, “hush.” He has issues with dogs, I have issues living near him. I’ll be glad when we move into a home with a little more distance between the houses or to a home where we are not sharing one side of our fence with a neighbor. If my next neighbor likes dog, even better.



This summer a woman started showing up and spending time with their son. The son is 28 years old and has the appearance of down syndrome. He doesn’t work, he is home all day, but I see him outside, or checking the mail. I found out his age when my neighbors were outside and I offered them two large bags of clothes that my son outgrew. The woman was nice as I helped drag the bags to their garage, but her husband gave me a weird look. That was this past Spring.

So now they have a woman in her early 40’s that spends most days at their house. If it’s not raining she and their son will sit out on the back deck all day laughing and singing, sometimes hollering. She wears headphones and sings loud, but because of the headphones she can’t hear herself. Let’s get one thing clear. She cannot sing, not at all, not in no way shape or form.

One night I was standing out back with my dogs waiting for everyone to go potty and they were out there at 10 o’clock at night. The dogs and I were quiet until I called them to go back upstairs. As I was walking up the steps and the dogs were racing to the door, I heard, “We’ll be back tomorrow night.” That’s when I realized she was a trouble maker.

Most days my dogs don’t react to what’s going on because they are used to it now. However Darlin’ becomes fearful and shows some anxiety when they are noisy. She will usually sit by my chair or sit in the yard looking over in their direction. She has to go down because they are out almost everyday when the sun shines.

So what about the dog fight?

Yesterday I went down with the dogs and sat in a lawn chair while that woman was out hollering. She was laughing obnoxiously throwing soda boxes off the deck. I realized later that she was trying to make the city trash can sitting near their garage. Three of my dogs were roaming the yard, Bonnie (my JRT had a rock), and Darlin’ was frozen stiff next to me on the porch watching the neighbors and breathing hard.

I walked over to Bonnie and took her rock because once she’s had it a few minutes she’ll bark at it. Rocks are a new obsession for Bonnie. The day before I bought a mini Kong thinking I could swap the rocks out for the Kong with some peanut butter inside. She wanted her rock back losing interest in the Kong right away. Bonnie thought I had the rock, but I had tossed it in a flower pot. She turned and buffed up to Darlin’ warning her not to get near me with the rock.

Bonnie is alpha dog here. She has looked at Darlin’ several times over the last seven months and Darlin’ looks away. Usually it’s when Darlin’ is whimpering within the pack and the dogs look at her like she’s unstable. This is how they communicate with each other and I’m not one to try and change what works.

Yesterday when Bonnie buffed up to Darlin’ over that rock Darlin’ reacted as though she had been provoked. Within a second they were fighting. When you have more than two dogs you are bound to have other dogs wanting to fight too. This is called misplaced aggression. So Darlin’ and Bonnie were fighting and my Blue Heeler reacted. To keep from having three dogs in a fight I grabbed Sam. He was bucking like a horse. Then the other two dogs ran over to get in on the fight, but I held Sam because he’s the most powerful. I could barely hold him, couldn’t get him in the house, and at one point he slipped his collar so I got him by the scruff by the neck and put his collar back on. Normally Sam will submit by giving me his belly, but not yesterday. I called out to Bonnie and Darlin’, now 25 feet away out in the yard fighting and the other two dogs fighting with them too. I wasn’t worried about my other two (a small JRT and my Eskie) because they are not dominant types. There wasn’t anything I could do. If it had been Darlin’ and Bonnie with no other dogs around, I would have broken the fight up regardless of what the rule books say.

Finally it stopped, although it only lasted a minute or two. Bonnie was on her back, Darlin’ was on top holding her down and the other two dogs came running to me. I managed to get Sam in the downstairs door as Bonnie and Darlin’ walked to me. Bonnie was limping and had a lot of blood on her. As she walked towards me she kept looking over her shoulder. Darlin’ was walking almost beside her looking down at Bonnie. If either of them had turned it would have started all over. Gosh, I was afraid it was about to start again! I picked up Bonnie, did some quick maneuvering and left everyone out back, except Bonnie. I took her inside the house to clean her up and look over her wounds.

Bonnie wanted down; she doesn’t like to be held. So I put her down and watched her walk. There was blood pouring down her legs, but she managed to walk upstairs carrying one front foot up leaving wet bloody paw prints everywhere she stepped. I quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped her in it and grabbed my purse to take her to the vet. I was worried a main vein in her leg was punctured and that her leg was broken. It looked bad and in all my years I have never seen so much blood.

My vet was closed for lunch so I sat with Bonnie in the car and waited four minutes until they unlocked the doors. She was probably more upset about being in the car than she was her injuries because she hates riding in the car. They know me well at my Vet because I have five dogs and because I have had other rescue dogs treated there. Terry, the assistant, took Bonnie from me and said they would call and let me know when to come get her. I was calm, not my strongest characteristic, especially when it comes to one of my dogs. However, Bonnie is ten foot tall and bullet proof like other Jack Russell’s and she is a healthy and robust little dog so emotionally I did pretty good if I say so myself. This is the same dog I was crying over when I had to leave her to be spayed!

What you don't see is the inside of her leg is black from bruising. I noticed when uploading this picture that her back leg below her knee is also bruised.



I examined Darlin and only saw this small spot on her face.



Bonnie is a dominant female, but she is usually very easy going. She is no trouble at all unless she’s found a frog. We have to chase her down for her frogs; she’ll throw herself against the fence as you toss the dead frog over. She plays with all of the dogs, but her and Darlin’ haven’t had much interaction. Bonnie was my biggest concern when I brought Darlin’ home because of her dominance. She would walk up to any dog with her head held high. Bonnie is the kind of dog that as long as you don’t interfere with her frogs or rocks she just ignores you and does what she does best – hunts.

Darlin’s anxiety was already high because of my neighbors. Bonnie had anxiety because I took her rock. If I had it to do over I wouldn’t have tossed the rock in the flower pot, I would have thrown it over the fence. Bonnie would have ran towards the fence and there wouldn’t have been a fight.

The Vet had to sedate Bonnie to clean her wounds. They found a few small puncture wounds, but the worst damage was done to her leg. He said that Bonnie’s leg is punctured front and back, completely bruised, and it will be sore for a while. He thought it might be broken because of the way she held it, but the x-rays showed that it is not. If she doesn’t have enough circulation while it heals then we could be looking at a lifetime issue of the skin dieing off and wound care. He gave her antibiotics, pain medicine, and an anti-inflammatory.

We brought her in the house and put her in her bed on the couch. She jumped right down and wobbled to the back door so I picked her up and carried her to the yard. She went potty (both) and started to wobble walking across the yard. I picked her up and carried her back inside where her favorite person (my daughter’s boyfriend) sat next to her. Sam, our blue heeler, wanted to sniff her, but she growled at him, not wanting anything to do with the dogs. Sam knew and walked away. She rested most of the evening. We decided to put her dog bed in our room so she wouldn’t have to use her leg jumping to get in the bed. She stayed in her bed about 5 minutes then she jumped up in the bed and tucked in behind my legs like she does every night. At some point she jumped down and laid on a blanket under a cabinet in our room. We found that out at 3:30 this morning when we heard a dog whimpering. It was Darlin’! She was in the floor whimpering at Bonnie and Bonnie started to growl. I picked up Bonnie to take her for a drink of water, I knew she must be thirsty. Darlin’ ran down the hall beside me leaning up to sniff Bonnie. Bonnie kept growling and I knew I had a problem on my hands. I put Bonnie back in bed with us and she went back to sleep and Darlin’ eventually went to lie down as well.

Bonnie has made tremendous progress already. She is using both front legs so I don’t think we’ll have to worry about circulation problems. She is going outside and using the steps as always. I've even seen her out digging. She's a tough little dog! However, she does not want to be around Darlin’ so to avoid conflict between the dogs I have kept them separated today.

Darlin’ is showing too much confidence and is not as submissive as she has been around the dogs. This morning I decided to put a leash on her to give me better control just in case I needed it. As soon as I brought the leash she tensed up. Chloe, our Eskie, loves the leash (it means a walk) so she ran over excited to sniff it as I tried to attach it to Darlin’. Darlin’ snapped at Chloe!

So today I have rotated dogs all day. I can’t take the chance of another fight breaking out. Bonnie does not want to be in the same room with Darlin’. I do think it’s partly because Darlin’ is over confident walking up to Bonnie and sniffing her while Bonnie hasn’t forgot what happened yesterday. There is negative energy between them and I will continue to do this as long as I can manage or until I see signs that they can be in the same room together. Darlin’ has spent time with all of the dogs except Bonnie. I let a couple of dogs out, but when it’s time for Darlin’ I make sure Bonnie is in the house. When Bonnie wants in my office, I take Darlin’ to my bedroom. I can’t live this way, but I will this week. I may even feed them in different rooms tonight. I'm unsure. Bonnie is usually the last one in the kitchen and doesn't eat much of her canneed dog food. At this point I want to avoid any triggers that might result in further aggression between them.

Well, I've heard the stories, watched the shows, and read about dog fighting between family pets. I know that I can control most of what might provoke a fight. Now I'm hoping Bonnie will forget what happened so we can live peacefully again. Wish me luck, I'm going to need it!

Fearful submissive dog becomes Territorial

I mentioned in previous posts that Darlin’ had been growling and barking at my family when they entered our home or a room where she and I are. Usually she reacts this way in the kitchen, out in the yard, or sometimes in my office. She is still fearful of my family, but has never shown signs of aggressive behavior.

She has been living upstairs with my family for five months so I had hoped she would be comfortable with everyone by now. Her barking started once she was comfortable walking through the house. Before that she spent so much time in hiding under my desk or in the corner of my bedroom, either in her bed or behind her bed against the wall. No one ever knew she was around.



Her body language has shown me she is becoming territorial. One paw up as though she is stalking her prey. Sometimes running to the corner of the room to get a better look at the one who walked in or who is approaching. Then she’ll run back to my side and bark her head off. Even my husband recognized that she seemed to be protecting me when he walked in the house after work.

Other times she’s caught by surprise while eating dinner with the rest of the dogs and she’ll stop eating and bark. If I don’t stay with her in the kitchen she will not eat. If she gets nervous and stops eating I tell her to eat and she will continue, but the one that caused her to feel threatened has to leave for her to eat. Gee, I just realized I’m standing guard for her!



If we are out back in the yard and anyone walks out on the deck or to the yard she runs to the middle of the yard and barks at them. I tried correcting her with words, “hush, that’s enough, knock it off.” About the only thing that stopped her barking was poking her and giving her the sit command. She would sit, but she was grumbling too. She has hound in her mix so her barks are hollow and loud. I realize I am repeating myself from pervious posts, but this is where we are now.



Some days when my son walks in from school I can’t even hear him say hello. He’s 16 and hasn’t had a lot of patience. Not only do I have to rehabilitate a dog, but I also have to educate my family on canine body language and make sure they don’t make matters worse by their approach or reaction to the situation.

I finally got to the point that I didn’t know what to do about her barking. I have a submissive gentle dog that never made a sound now turning territorial. Before this change in behavior I heard her bark one time, the night I approached the trap with her in it. Even then she only barked once and it stopped.

I wrote canine behaviorists for suggestions. She has recommended I teach her the “Go to” command. I am to designate an area and teach Darlin’ to go by tossing food. Well, this girl isn’t motivated by food, but she does love her chicken and cheese. Since I have four other dogs and considering the layout of our house, this method does pose some problems.

Her second recommendation was to put a short leash on her and as soon as Darlin’ barks to remove her to another room, closing the door behind her and leaving her on time out for 30 seconds. This way she will associate the bark with having to be separated from me. The behaviorist did recognize by my description that Darlin’ is protecting her most valuable resource – me! Also, Darlin’ does not behave this way when left alone with my family. It’s only happening when I’m at home!

I have removed her from the kitchen, but all I have to say is, “Go”. I point my finger and walk to my room and she goes without any problems. Of course she would, she wants to be with me at all times. I shut the door, go back to whatever I’m doing, and allow her a few minutes alone. When I go back for her she’s standing at the door. She does not like to be alone when I’m home. I think this may work for us, but I’ll have to be consistent. I have not been consistent this past week.

She follows me downstairs to the den, lies under the kitchen table at dinner, usually under my chair, and is doing well around my family. The only time this happens is when we are in the kitchen or out in the yard alone. Last night we were outside going potty when my husband walked out and she started barking her head off. I have neighbors that I don’t want upset by my dogs barking so I ask him to go inside. Darlin’ probably thinks she’s done a good job of warding off the enemy!





I think this is our only real issue right now. I do wish I could leave the kitchen when she’s eating, but when she loses her fear of my family this may also correct itself.

She does go downstairs to the yard without me first thing in the morning! That’s one less trip I have to make downstairs. I sit or stand on the deck and watch her in the yard, but at least I can stay upstairs. Other times during the day she won’t go, she’ll stand at the back door waiting for me. This dog has a ten gallon bladder, she can wait 12 hours easily.

We went for our first walk yesterday since the first time I took her out in July when she slipped her collar. I bought her and harness and she’s gained so much weight and filled out I could barely get it on her. I had a harness on her and a leash on her collar which I wrapped around my wrist. It wasn’t the easiest thing to manage having two leashes on a dog. The first walk in July was good, she was nervous, but walked well beside me.

Yesterday she was back and forth, in front of me, beside me, just all over the place and we only walked a few blocks down the street and never turned a corner. As soon as we got next to my neighbors property she froze. When I tried to encourage her to walk she bucked like she did the day she slipped her collar only this time it didn’t work! There is something about that lot that makes her want to bolt to the woods. She may smell water in the creek just beyond their yard, I don’t know. My husband came up behind her thinking she might move forward because he’s not her favorite person, but instead she submitted and rolled over on her back to give him her tummy.

It took a couple of minutes to get her to move forward, then she ran up the steps and sort of cowered in the corner by the door. When I opened the door she ran through and wanted desperately to get to my office. I quickly removed the leashes and harness and she ran under my desk. She was hot, nervous, and drooling as well – mostly nervous. I realize two walks in three months isn’t going to do much to get her comfortable walking on a leash in the neighborhood, but I have had some fear issues myself after almost losing her in July. Now that the weather is cooling off we will try a few times a week.

Regarding her weight: One day shortly after bringing her home she ran from me and hid behind the hot tub. There is a small gap between the hot tub and the house. It took a few minutes to get her close enough to me where I could pull her out. She was still very fearful at the time. Two weeks ago we were outside when my daughter and her boyfriend walked out back. Darlin’ got scared and ran to hide behind the hot tub. The only part of her that fit into the small space was her head! Her shoulders are so broad now she doesn’t fit so we heard a loud thumb when she crashed into the hot tub!

My friend stopped by unexpectedly over the weekend. Friends and family live miles away so the only guest we ever have is my daughter’s boyfriend. Darlin’ has adapted to him as well as she has my own family. Darlin’ barked at my friend when she saw him, but she quieted down right away and ran to my bedroom. While we sat at the kitchen table I noticed she had been running back and forth to the kitchen doorway checking us out there on the table.

Toby, our rough coat Jack Russell, is Darlin’s favorite playmate. She doesn’t seem to know how to initiate play with the others, but she wants to. She’ll sometimes run past them in the yard and whimper. She’s done that for a few months. The dogs just look at her confused when she whimpers. There have been two or three occasions when she got excited and ran circles around the yard. I get pretty excited myself when I see her so happy. Bonnie, our smooth coat Jack Russell, caught on and chased Darlin’, but it didn’t last long. Bonnie likes to be the one leading in a chase. Darlin’ treats Toby like her puppy. She will play wrestle with him, but it always ends in a thorough cleaning. She’ll lick him in every crack and crevice. I have never seen anything like it between two dogs this age. Darlin’ had puppies in her life; perhaps because of Toby’s small size she thinks he’s her puppy. I know it’s social bonding, I just don’t know why she chooses to clean Toby. When I pick him up she will stand on her hind legs and sniff him while he’s in my arms. She gets excited like I have her baby. One day he jumped in my lap while I was at my desk. Darlin’ actually stood and put her front paws on my legs, sniffed Toby, and when I leaned over she licked my face! What a wonderful surprise it was to get a kiss from her!







A few weeks ago when I posted an update I went to fearfuldog.com to make sure I had the link for Brandon the dog correct. I noticed they had a link for lost pets there. Being a curious type I scanned the lost dogs in our area. There was a dog listed from one and a half years ago with no real description. Since I’ve known Darlin’ a year I decided to send an email and ask if they found the dog. They had not. The lady provided me with the description of her dog and it sounded like my Darlin’. The owner of the lost dog lives in our county, but at least 30 miles away. Dogs show up in the strangest places so the distance didn’t concern me.

I sent her a picture and she wrote back stating that she wasn’t sure if Darlin’ was her dog, and that she needed to look at her dogs pictures to be sure. Not sure?! My heart stopped! She asked if I was keeping Darlin’ and in my reply I told her our story and confirmed that I was going to keep her. She sent me another email, but I was inundated with work at the time so I didn’t have a chance to reply. She did state in her last email that even if Darlin’ was her dog that she wasn’t suggesting I give her back.

I have always wondered about Darlin’s past, how she ended up a stray, and how long she was on her own. It’s probably better for me that I don’t know. And I realized after I wrote the owner of the lost dog that I don’t want to know because I would never want give Darlin’ up. I spoke with my family after the lady said Darlin’ looked like her dog and we agreed that the only way we would let her go was if they confirmed it was her by providing pictures. Darlin’ would have to show us that she was excited to see them and that she loved them. If someone had one of my dogs I would want my dog back no matter how much time had passed. Darlin’ is not her dog, Darlin’ had puppies, her dog had not.

Darlin’s history began the day I saw her running around that grocery store parking lot just over a year ago. She was mine long before then, it was just a matter of time before I found her.

Response to Love

My friend emailed me a few days after I trapped Darlin'. She said that she had read a recent study where research showed that all animals (except snakes) respond to love. Kathleen has opened her heart and home to several cats that were abandoned or dumped at her farm. They were cats that most people would consider feral and unadoptable, yet she was able to domesticate them. I needed to read that email because I had been feeling blue that night thinking about Darlin being so fearful and how long it could take to rehabilitate her. Lots of love and a good home was what I hoped she would thrive on.

Darlin’ was here a little less a month when I moved her indoors to the garage kennel permanently. It would become her new living quarters. The first few days she would get fidgety when I approached her. I sat with her and continued with the same feeding schedule; bringing her treats twice a day and dinner in the evening. She still wouldn’t eat anything in front of me, but she began giving me more eye contact and started sitting up a little as I approached her gate. She looked more like she was trying to get comfortable, but it was her way of raising her head and chest up. Within a few days she was not looking away unless I offered her food. That week she showed me another side of herself, her gentle nature and her ability to respond my love for her.

She was happy there in the garage. I carried her outside to go potty and she would go limp in my arms when I carried her. I knew she was attached to her kennel so I started leaving all the doors open hoping that she would follow me back inside. She was heavy and I was exhausted having to lift her and carry her through our downstairs den to the backyard. My plan worked! It took a lot of encouragement from me to get her to walk back inside the house, but she did it!! And she mastered coming back inside within a day or two. It was scary though, she had to pass a TV and her eyes would get huge, she turned the corner at the couch so fast her feet slid out from under her, and when I put a rug there, she turned so fast that the rug slid too. She showed me how smart she was one morning by stopping at the corner of the couch, jumping up on the couch, then she jumped over the arm so that she made it just inside the garage before she ran to her kennel!



Even though I knew she felt safe in the garage, she was spending too much time alone and she didn’t want to spend anytime outside anymore. Considering that I spend most of my time in my office, I was at the furthest point away from her in our home. I needed to move her upstairs, at least a few hours a day. It was time for her to get use to the noise and people in our home. My husband built a gate for our formal dining room and I set up an area for her there. I remember thinking, “An antique glass collector moves fearful dog into her dining room.” Oh boy! I didn’t know what I was getting into, but this way she would have a place away from everyone, but see what was going on around her. She was still afraid of the dogs and would hide in the corner of the yard when I had them out together. At least upstairs she could get familiar with everyone’s routine, including the dogs.



That Sunday I was gone all day, transporting a Jack Russell to her rescue home. I felt bad about having to leave Darlin’ in the garage, but we had severe weather alerts in the area. She was alone 10 hrs that day. This dog has a ten gallon bladder and even though her kennel has puppy pads on the floor at the other end, she will not make a mess in there. She never has messed on the floor indoors.

Not only was she spending too much time alone, she was inside too much and needed to be outside watching the other dogs. I was told by a few Pet Finder members that one day I would walk outside and her tail would be wagging, just like it did when I use to drive up to feed her. That’s exactly what happened on 4/20/2009, just 5 ½ weeks after bringing her home!

I had put her in the outdoor kennel and let my other dogs out. I walked out on the back deck and she ran to the gate, but quickly ran back to her house. I went down to talk to her and she ran to the gate with her tail wagging! I was overcome with joy! I also realized she did not want to be outside! She gave me a play bow and dropped to the ground so I went inside and gave her a tummy rub. I had just witnessed behavior in her I had never seen before! She wanted to go inside and thought I was coming to get her! I did leave her there because we have had so much rain I wanted her to have some sunshine. She was so sweet, but when I walked away she had the saddest expression on her face.





And she spent more time out of her house that day than she ever had, including when the dogs were in the yard. She may have thought they would let her out!





Darlin’ was home six weeks when I started introducing her to the upstairs…where we live and spend most of our time. At first she spent a few hours in the dining room in her bed, but I took her to the garage to eat and sleep. Since she wasn’t comfortable eating around anyone so I wanted her to feel secure and relaxed during dinner. Carrying her up and down the stairs was no easy task either. After a couple of days I decided it was time for her to live upstairs permanently, although I was dreading having to take her outside. The only way to the backyard is to walk down fifteen deck steps - just something else to add to my already aching knees.



Those first few days upstairs were easy. She wanted nothing more than to lie in her bed, eat in her bed, and watched me pass by her. That weekend was more challenging for Darlin’ because my husband and children were home and she was exposed to new scents and sounds. I have to admit, I did, and still do, ask my family to consider that there is a fearful dog in the room. Right or wrong, I don’t want loud music or voices to scare her into a setback. There wouldn’t be a day go by around here where everyone is tip-toeing around anyway.

The dogs weren’t sure about having a dog in the dining room that they couldn’t sniff. I kept them away from the gate so they wouldn’t get overly excited. They ate their dinner, while she let hers sit until no one was around, so the smell of her food attracted them to her gate as well. She acted like she had never been around dogs before and still showed no interest in socializing with them. I was concerned about introducing a fearful dog to five dogs too. I have never brought a dog home that wasn’t introduced to them right away. And I have a dominant female JRT (Bonnie) that is quick to move forward in an introduction. I knew I was going to have to watch her body language closely. I had introduced all of the dogs to her out in the yard, as a group and one on one, but I kept the two females on leashes.



That Sunday night we had another round of thunderstorms come through around midnight. To my surprise she was out of her bed behind the gate; she was panting and uneasy, just like she had been during other storms. I opened the gate and brought her to the couch with me and she managed to settle down, but she continued to pant and breathe heavily. Darlin’ obviously has a noise phobia due to thunderstorms, but she hasn’t lived with me long enough to determined whether she has Neophobia (fear of the unknown) or other phobias. Yes, she has fear of the unknown with me now because she was living in the wild for a long time. She may not have had human contact for years and may have ever been inside a home before. It’s too soon for me to determine or predict her behavior as she is still being introduced to new surroundings and I have no prior history on her.

I have a small Eskimo Spitz that has fear of thunderstorms and I do not comfort or console her when she becomes anxious. Well, I have pet her if she’s in the bathroom when I use it, but I don’t seek her out to nurture her during a storm. I had an Australian Shepherd for 10 years that was also fearful of storms and I learned early on with Daisy that there was no amount of comfort or ignoring her behavior that could change her fear of thunder. She was six years old when I adopted her so her fear of thunder was already well established. If you have a food or toy motivated dog, you may be able to distract them, but once you stop they are likely to show a fear response again. Darlin’ is fearful of everything right now, so much so she didn’t touch the bacon I gave her and I threw it away two days later. Can you imagine a dog not eating bacon?

Canine Behavioral Experts recommend that you NOT comfort or pet a dog during any type of fearful situation. They tell us by doing so we nurture the behavior and condition the dog to continue to respond anxiously. Or that we are telling the dog through positive reinforcement that there is something to be afraid of. In my opinion this may be true depending on the dog and the dog owner, and whether or not the dog owner comforts the dog during every fearful situation.

I did take advantage of Darlin’s fear that night by petting her until the storms passed. I sat quietly and calmly on the couch watching television with one arm draped over her neck while I scratched her behind the ear. She moved closer to me on the couch and at one point she laid her chin against my leg. That night was another turning point for Darlin’ as she seemed so much more relaxed in my presence now - at least during a thunderstorm!

Since she spent time on the couch that evening, I left her there and went to bed. She was in her bed the next morning, but she sat up as though she wanted to come out on her own. Seeing her front feet on the floor made me feel like she was greeting me! I started encouraging her to go outside with the dogs, but it was obviously hard work for her getting her body to move forward and in sync with her mind. She did walk outside, with her tail tucked tight between her legs, moving as quickly as she could through the kitchen, with her head and body low to the floor. She began to trust more and I was so excited by her progress! I started leaving her gate wide open and removed yet another one of her protective layers. Toby, the broken coat Jack Russell, wanted to make friends with her right away.