Answer

Hi XXXXXXX~

 

First of all, I'd like to commend you on rescuing a dog who obviously needed a better home. You get a big gold star for being a dog rescuerer!!

 

As for your little girl...many rescue dogs are traumatized when they come to a new home, and sometimes they need a little help calming down or becoming less anxious in their new surroundings.

 

As someone who does rescue work myself, I've used 2 products exclusively with my fearful/anxious dogs for quite some time:

 

Melantonin is an over-the-counter drug that can be used to treat some anxiety issues in dogs. The dose you would give would be up to 3 mg given orally whenever necessary up to every 8 hours. More information can be found here: http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/melatonin-melatonex/page1.aspx , which includes risks, warning signs to watch out for and other bits of useful information.

 

Try a DAP collar. These are collars that are impregnated with a man-made version of the dog appeasing pheromone, which is a pheromone that nursing bitches give off to their pups to help them feel calm and secure. It's something that humans can't smell, but it has an amazing effect on dogs with anxiety and other issues. Although you can find them at your vet's office..you can also find them online at places like Amazon.com and Ebay for much cheaper. Just make sure they're DAP brand, as they seem to work better than some other versions.

 

I would actually try the collar first, and then if that doesn't seem to help much, you can add the Melatonin as well.

 

Another thing you're going to want to do is to reward her for coming to you every time. What I do when working on recall (coming to me) with a dog is to find a treat that they love more than anything else (the current dog I'm working with loves chicken jerky) then I carry those treats with me everywhere and when the dog comes anywhere near me, I say "Yes! Good dog!" and give them the treat. Soon, they learn that coming to me means they get something tasty and they will come to me when I call. You can make sure the people you have coming in to help you also have treats on them so that she equates their coming and going with good things.

 

It's often a long, hard road to getting a dog more socialized, and in your case you have the hurdle of your own surgery, but with a great deal of patience and compassion, you'll get her to come around..I'm sure of it!

 

I hope this helps!!