Adopting a previously abused dog (vet, aggressive, skin, rescue)

[lmw36]

First thread in this forum, but I'm excited to hear what the doggie lovers out there have to say!

I'm currently living alone and a female in my early 20's. I have had dogs my whole life (family) and absolutely have passion for them. My dogs are my life, I've volunteered a few times, and have watched family/friends dogs alone for several days. I know how to care for dogs. I know shelter doggies can be a handful.

I'm at the point now where my job is stable and I can afford a pet. I have a decent cushion in my savings account for surgeries, vet bills, and my daily life.

I have been applying to shelters like crazy to adopt a young(ish) dog that I can have due to my "active" lifestyle. I have nothing against senior dogs, but I'd like something spry enough to go on longer walks with me and do some light hiking (not a dealbreaker though). I also can't have a special needs dog in terms of medicine since I DO work full time.

I have been offered a meeting with a sweet dog who was previously abused. I will share the facts:
-Beagle mix of some sort (around 20 lbs, emaciated)
-Healthy other than her weight. Vaccinated, spayed, microchipped.
-Good with other dogs (ad says ALL dogs she has met so far, not sure about cats, but I don't like cats anyways)
-Is hesitant, but warms up quickly after learning she can trust you

I will obviously ask many more questions, such as how old she is and if she is afraid of men, etc.

A little more about me:
-23 year old female, financially stable as stated above
-LOVE dogs. Have patience for dogs and have read a lot of books on behavior
-Am willing to train
-Have lots of support (fellow dog lover at work who already said she would watch any pup I get)
-Have two male dogs in my family home (a few hours away that I would be visiting once a month), but the males tend to NOT mind females whatsoever.
-Willing to walk several times a day
-Work the typical 8-5
-Willing to do doggy daycare to socialize her if we can't find her enough "friends", and weekends can be devoted to her and I having fun.

The only reason I think I would be a good match with her for now is because I am without children and living alone. I would have an absolutely quiet environment for her, and would be patient.

If I am to get this dog, does anybody have any pieces of advice in general for me? Like I said, I just got an email today saying I could meet her, and I haven't had my other questions answered. They may never know who abused her. I have heard success stories about abused doggies and also horror stories.

Perhaps recommended reading? Tips? This would be my first dog "alone".

Happy to answer any questions you need to know me more. This is a big emotional investment. I plan on offering her everything (I am set on a female because of my males) so I want to do it right, whether it's her or another pup.

Thank you!

Edit: Before anyone spews out boarding costs, I know what they are. If I were to take an extended trip, she would be left under the care of my father who has raised many dogs and I would trust him with my life. I am also aware of doggy daycare costs, and wouldn't want to drop her off daily, but maybe a few times a week since it is such a great expense.

[chiroptera]

Yay! My only question would be, since she is a hound mix, will she be vocal and noisy in your absence? This can be an important criterion.

Also, drop the whole "abused" tag. That is a desperately overused term, and very common with rescue folks who try to drum up sympathy and reel in adopters. Plus it's very often inaccurate; unsocialised or untrained and never "abused" dogs often get tagged with this descriptor in order to get attention and people with halo complexes love to throw the "abused" term around along with "rescue" so they can get the abused rescuer halo. So drop that nonsense right now, both for you and your new dog. It is tiresome.

The dog does not care about her past, she lives in the moment. So no drama or pity for the dog because she won't recognise it. Dogs are strong and resilient creatures, let her move forward in her, and your, present.

She sounds lovely. My only concern is her being a hound (both group-social and vocal) and you being away for 8 hours a day. As long as that isn't an issue, I say go for it!

[lmw36]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Yay! My only question would be, since she is a hound mix, will she be vocal and noisy in your absence? This can be an important criterion.

Also, drop the whole "abused" tag. That is a desperately overused term, and very common with rescue folks who try to drum up sympathy and reel in adopters. Plus it's very often inaccurate; unsocialised or untrained and never "abused" dogs often get tagged with this descriptor in order to get attention and people with halo complexes love to throw the "abused" term around along with "rescue" so they can get the abused rescuer halo. So drop that nonsense right now, both for you and your new dog. It is tiresome.

The dog does not care about her past, she lives in the moment. So no drama or pity for the dog because she won't recognise it. Dogs are strong and resilient creatures, let her move forward in her, and your, present.

She sounds lovely. My only concern is her being a hound (both group-social and vocal) and you being away for 8 hours a day. As long as that isn't an issue, I say go for it!

Thank you for your advice.

She really was abused though, she was bloodied and bruised and has a lump on her head. Poor thing.

I wouldn't hold it against her, of course! It's not a question of pity, it's a question as to how to build trust back. I wouldn't baby her any more than anyone else, but I was wondering if there should be some extra precautions. I don't believe in much discipline, my own dogs had done well with reinforcement for good behavior. I know she is young, so she has that going for her.

[chiroptera]

Originally Posted by lmw36

Thank you for your advice.

She really was abused though, she was bloodied and bruised and has a lump on her head. Poor thing.

I wouldn't hold it against her, of course!

And that may be.

But just don't pity her or anything. Dogs don't get pity or coddling, they really don't. They get here and now and they won't understand pity for whatever was yesterday.

I really do believe that infantilizing and anthropomorphizing dogs does them a huge disservice. They are amazing, mature and complex creatures with mature and complex drives; not "fur babies" or causes. Treating them like infants, and not dogs, is not fair.

I'm not lecturing you; just that these threads show up on google searches with alarming frequency so I wanted to get my word in. I think she sounds lovely and I think you would be a great dog owner too. And she will probably end up ruling the boy dogs in your family, you are 100 percent correct about that!

[chiroptera]

IMHO, dogs trust and love whoever sets and enforces firm and fair rules, and they don't love and trust those who do nothing but feed them and pet them. Because dogs are heirarchal animals by nature...

Of course a LOT of loving and petting and cuddling and butt scratching and attention is a wonderful thing! But IMHO it should be somewhat conditional.

Google NILIF.

[Hopes]

My beagle basset mix came to me from a rescue at 11 months old. I have no idea about his history. The rescue said he got loose and nobody cared to find him. I think rescues assume the worst. There might have been a family out there looking for him, who knows. What I do know is he was pulled from a shelter in Ohio and put in a foster home in Ohio and then transported via volunteers to Pennsylvania when I adopted him. I hadn't met him until he was delivered to us.

He was cautious at first. I remember sitting on my bed reading a book. He found his way upstairs and appeared at the door. I called to him. He jumped up on the bed and tiptoed slowly towards me in a cautious, submissive way. It was the sweetest thing I had ever seen. I'll never forget it. I petted him and he hung out with me for a while. I don't remember what happened next. He might have left to sniff the rest of the house. What I do remember is he pretty much settled into our house almost immediately like he had lived there forever.

After 10 years of living with us, I have only seen hints but I can't say they are due to abuse. He stops dead in his tracks if you say NO. Always did, even when he was 11 months old. He came here very well trained so that might not mean anything whatsoever. He sneaks off upstairs if my voice gets slightly tense while "bantering" with my husband. That doesn't mean he was abused either. It just means that he doesn't want to be around people when they're tense. Heck, I don't like it either and I was never abused.

My point is that this dog might be perfectly normal. The fact they say it warms up to people quickly is an indication that it's not a lost cause.

My only word of warning is to make sure you adopt a dog you can care for throughout it's entire life. You might be single and childless now, but the odds are you will marry and have children while this dog is still living. If you adopt this dog, I would make sure you socialize it as much as possible. If you isolate it from people and the world, it will have a difficult time adjusting to changes throughout your life---like new people living with you. That has nothing to do with the dog's history. That applies to any dog you adopt.

[Hopes]

Originally Posted by chiroptera

Of course a LOT of loving and petting and cuddling and butt scratching and attention is a wonderful thing! But IMHO it should be somewhat conditional.

I totally agree. I would not be in a new dog's face giving it tons of attention as soon as it walks in the door. I described my dog's first hours in my home. I let him come to me. I'm the same way with children. I think nothing is worse for a shy dog or child than to have people coxing them to interact. I basically ignore them until they indicate they want to interact with me.

I'm doing something right because many parents and dog owners comment about how their children and dogs like me more than anyone. They always say that their children and dogs never take to people like they do me. I'm serious. I'm like a magnet. Once, I was sitting on the steps at the zoo and a toddler just climbed onto my lap without me even talking to her. The girl's mother was amazed and she went on and on about how shy her daughter was with everyone else. The same with my neighbors' dogs.

I'm the shy-child/dog-whisperer without even trying. Children and dogs are overwhelmed by people being in their faces. I think keeping a distance and letting them set the boundaries is the key to gaining trust.

[Dogmama50]

My best advice for an abused dog is patience, once you gain her trust and she feels safe she'll be a great dog.

Sophie was burned as a puppy, we don't know the whole story, but she came with a lot of issues. Food aggression, trying to eat the cats, terrified of younger men in hoodies, hatred of pickup trucks, loud noises and anyone who raised their voice was aggressively barked at. Food issues and the cat eating were pretty easy to conquer, the others took a bit longer but we made sure she had lots of socialization and positive reinforcement. She's a great dog now, not perfect, but truly so much better than I had hoped for.

Hope it works out with you little beagle girl, we expect pictures if it's a good match.

[cleosmom]

Along with asking how she is with men, find out how she is about children. Your friends, relatives or future gentleman friend might have younger kids around.

[couch coyote]

I think the replies by chiroptera and Hopes are just outstanding! I have nothing to add. Well, except that I'm sitting here laughing at the mental picture of Hopes with 16 random kids and dogs clinging to her like static electricity.

You asked about books, and I highly recommend The Other End of the Leash by Patricia McConnell.

Good luck, and more importantly, have fun!