I'm starting to crack down on her "I don't waaaaannnnaaaa" behaviors now she's getting cleaner bills of health. She's EASY to teach new things, a but harder to break older habits.

She comes across as having been running stray for a while, she'd an expert forager (and so delicate it's actually easy to NOT be mad at her when she hops up onto your desk filled with fragile things to forage...she doesn't break ANYTHING), she's bombproof, and I mean BOMBPROOF environmentally....she can climb and walk on about everything, she'd okay with things crashing, banging, people, crowds, etc. She gets fired up at gunfire but not so much in fear, it seems like it maaay have been a trained response (either accidently or intentionally) nice rythmic confident bark. She tracks on her own (turn her out with Ryuk and no rabbit is safe....she'll track them out in the field, drop to a down at the end of the track and let out a bark, rabbit bolts, Ryuk kills...they've done this three times, I've started putting Ryuk in a down when I see her start trailing something....

However all of this combined with having to do things entirely on her own presents some issues, she's not used to working FOR a person. If she wants something she'll try to get it, no concept of asking for help and in a house situation this isn't really idea. She's not used to NOT being able to do something she wants so when you move her away from something she has a tendency to "lead butt" and work harder to do it. She she wants to stop and play in grass she can ask, but if we're supposed to be walking I'm going to keep walking. I've got a nice padded harness on her now and am not above dragging her (obviously gently) away from what she wants and waiting for her to get up, she's rewarded for following me and allowed to go back and do what she'd like.

Yesterday we did the grass patch....you'd have thought I was killing her XD bucking, whining, barking, flopping on the ground......all because I was a horrible person not letting her go play in grass.

We also worked on not letting Gamble out of his crate. While I'm in the room I will let Gam sleep under my desk while she's out, she's relentless, he's....a dork. Other than that they're separated by at least a crate and a half, even if I leave the room for a few seconds. While I'm very confident that if she's receptive it would take Gamble way more than a few minutes to figure it out on his own. I'm also extremely confident in her ability to teach him...and he's a quick study. At first to give Gam a break I'd occasionally crate him while she's out and give him a toy. He loves crate time and she'll lay against his door which is a good distance for her, he gets quiet time in his safe box where she can't touch him (which she does...a lot...usually with a paw to the head) and a toy, and she can practice settling outside her crate. However we're run into an issue....this is a dog that if she wants something, she works indepentantly to get it....she's learned that by bracing her jaw against the bottom of the crate latch she can paw at the top and release him.

To combat this when she starts to do this i have her come to me and sit, then I'll let him out as a reward. While for actual safety it's her I put in her crate when I need to step out of the room a few minutes it has started her depending a bit more on a person to get things done. She no longer jumps into the sink in the bathroom to paw at the facet, she's no longer constantly searching for food or water, she's stopped opening my closet to "den" and she's settling much nicer in the house

" .... she's learned that by bracing her jaw against the bottom of the crate latch she can paw at the top and release him ...."

Omigosh!

Very interesting post all through, but that sure jumped out at me!!



PS

"While I'm very confident that if she's receptive it would take Gamble way more than a few minutes to figure it out on his own. I'm also extremely confident in her ability to teach him...and he's a quick study. "



I'm picturing her running a slide projector and gesturing to the steps with her pointer (a la fifth grade).

Picture Update!

Glamour Shot
http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy189/Blitzava_Ryuk/P1050765.jpg

Outtakes
Sry...grass to soft...need to roll more: http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy189/Blitzava_Ryuk/P1050746.jpg

Tbppppt!: http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy189/Blitzava_Ryuk/P1050747.jpg

Is she a sable or not? I see a saddle.

She looks VERY bright... on your toes Jamie!!

I had a grim thought.

Sometimes dogs with cancer have a smell. And are thin. With bad hair. And sometimes owners have somebody else take their dog to a shelter after they find out it needs treatment that they can't afford, or if a veterinarian recommends euthanasia. They aren't bad owners, just sometimes can't face reality. Easier to tell the kids that someone else is going to adopt Fido.

Just a thought. Whatever, she is a lucky dog that you have her, you are a saint to try to help her.

Betty: I considered that...which is why I sprung for some of the weird tests....everything has come back functioning normally, her smell is rapidly going away and she's been here for a week and put on about 1.5lbs and almost has what could be a muscle in her hind end (super light daily trots...about 100ft, then a nice slow .5 mile walk) so I'm thinking her skinny-ness is just lack of proper food.


She has come down with some form of kennel cough, I contacted the pound (as the incubation time seemed a bit off, I kept her away from my guys at the beginning and they weren't allowed to share water) and they described a strain going around that's her symptoms exactly, it's supposed to pretty mild, just slimy, right now I'm just watching her. Her appetite is normal, she's drinking normally, stool is normal. Unfortunatly while my boys are vaccinated, yesterday was when I finally I started letting her share the water dish, symptoms popped last night...so they'll probably get it as it's probably not the strain they're vaccinated for...however having younger healthier immune systems may help. Either way we're on lockdown for a bit, no petstore training or any of that, no shared water, and her crate is moved out to where she can get a bit more air and it's less stuffy.

Better color picture (not as flattering as far as condition...I swear it's a dramatic improvement from last week XD she just started with at a REALLY low bar. On the other side the large belly makes her look a LOT larger than she is, there's a considerable tuck in behind her ribcage and you can feel every one of her vertebrae and ribs). She's also attempting to stack in this picture...if you pat her on the side she attempts to stack but can't keep her balance yet while she's not moving...it's a awkward position but improves every day with exercise. She does make the conscious effort to place her feet....it's odd considering she doesn't appear to have any other real training at this point, I've tried english, german, spanish, french, and italian with no luck.

She's sable by what I've always been taught is sable (agouti throughout)...then has a saddle? As we get more coat out of her and she fills in other parts of her coat the saddle has moved around a bit. A majority, if not all of the black hairs in the saddle have tan banding at some point I'm not sure what her "proper" color would be called. I'm not sure if it's just her lack of conditioning but it keeps looking like she's two different dogs grafted together in the middle.

http://i790.photobucket.com/albums/yy189/Blitzava_Ryuk/P1050779.jpg

She's definitely a black sable (there are varying tones). My sable is almost solid black on her back before she blows her coat. After she sheds or gets brushed out, the tan and white show through, giving her that two-toned (ermine-like) appearance that you associate with sable. The black face is also a sable trait.

It is believed by more than a few that the original Alsatians were all derived from sable breedstock and that the modern colors (black-and-tan, black-and-red, black, and even white) were all derived through selective breeding.


The depth and darkness of those brown eyes also suggest to me, IMHO, that she is well bred.

 Quote: Jamie Craig

She does make the conscious effort to place her feet....it's odd considering she doesn't appear to have any other real training at this point, I've tried english, german, spanish, french, and italian with no luck.

http://www4.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/languag1.htm

Maybe try dutch or czech? Some conformation people won't teach obedience so she may never have learned it. Your girl is certainly a riddle though.

 Quote: Jamie Craig

She tracks on her own (turn her out with Ryuk and no rabbit is safe....she'll track them out in the field, drop to a down at the end of the track and let out a bark, rabbit bolts, Ryuk kills...they've done this three times...