Foster Dog Diaries - Day 2

Evan got up early with Ian this morning so, theoretically, I could sleep in or at least lie in bed and maybe read.  The first order of business every morning is to feed the dogs. This was to be Daisy's first meal here and first raw meat/bone meal ever.  As I was laying in bed listening to the early morning noises, dog bowls clanking, Camber whining for her breakfast, the coffee pot being turned on, I remembered that the form Daisy's owner filled out said "food aggressive."  I hopped out of bed and ran down to make sure Evan was aware of this warning for our newest resident.  He told me she had her food already and was not eating it.  I walked into the dining room and she was lying in her crate staring at her bowl.  (We keep our temporary residents in a crate on the first floor for the first two weeks, then when the other dogs and her finally are together they are already familiar with each other. This system works well for us.)

I sat down and opened her crate.  I reached in, she wagged gently and looked at me sheepishly.

I gave her a few encouraging words and told her how good she is.  She licked the chicken back.

I pet her and talked to her and she started licking it a bit more curiously, discovering that maybe this strange looking concoction in the bowl was actually edible.  

I picked up the chicken back and kept speaking quietly to her and soon enough she starting eating the whole thing.  I can't get over how mild mannered this dog is so far...granted its only been 24 hours.  Generally it can take about 2 weeks to really see a dog's personality.

She ended up eating her whole meal with a little encouragement. I sat outside her crate and fed her by hand and Ian sat on my lap, I did not see the slightest indication of food aggression today which is a good sign.

This evening we took our usual walk around the corner to see the horses with Ian.  Daisy was with us and our neighbors invited us in.  She met the horses, calmly and cautiously nose to nose with their newest lease - a gray thoroughbred gelding who was much more anxious about his new accommodations than Daisy has been about hers.  She also wagged furiously for their teenage son and happily received the pets from the whole family, including the father. Her form specifically says, "shows fear and aggression towards strangers, especially men." I guess Daisy didn't read up on how she was expected to behave because fortunately we have not seen any indication of this yet. The most difficult thing I think we need to work on his her leash manners and tendency to bark too much but she's so soft, I think she'll be easy to train.