52 replies to this topic

[LibbyTea]

Awww, she sure is a happy girl

[Arda]

Lori:  What's going on with Keiko?  Starting to worry a bit.  Hope they aren't working you this hard.

[Cheri]

I'm starting to get worried, too.  I hope Lori will update us soon.

[Lori]

I'm here..! I'm here...!   lolol Sorry so long without talking..we had family flu adventures and lots of 3rd shifts because other employees were busy infecting the rest of us with their bugs. Keiko likes the yard better without the snowdrifts so she can really run and chase squirrels while spinning in circles. Her ears flap in the wind and she does the Dobe shriek that tells me she has that squirrel in her sights. I'll be back with more and pics too.  {{{hugs}}}

[Arda]

About time!

[Lori]

She likes her little toy and carries it with her alot  .  kids and furkids 001.JPG   119.38KB   0 downloads  kids and furkids 003.JPG   167.16KB   0 downloads  kids and furkids 006.JPG   178.31KB   0 downloads  kids and furkids 019.JPG   173.45KB   0 downloads

[Arda]

My kids would rather have my shoes and socks or camera case.  They have me well trained to close doors after myself.  You are so lucky.

[Lori]

So now Arda put a bug in my ear about some bonded girls .... and of course I can't stop thinking about them or how Keiko howls at the moon when I leave for work. She doesn't like being alone. {and neither did I before she got here } My daughter just got her 3rd dog 2 months ago..if I keep thinking so much i'm gonna get dizzy and short something out. Oh, and don't mind my ugly garage in the last pic..it's another project in the works..one of many..lol. And Arda said they have beautiful ears....Sigh....lolol I love all the Dobe ears, but something about the willowy soft way a crop looks makes my heart melt. And theres nothing like the love my girls Ghost and Nova had as a bonded pair. They had their spats, but they really loved each other.

OMG..my grandson Santiago is STILL talking about his good friend Chaos, and how they are going to hang out again so Chaos can give him hugs and kissy faces. It's funny to explain that Chaos isn't some random guy kissing him, because he tells everyone who will listen all about him. Here's a pic of Keiko's back ..her hair is coming is really well.

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[Lori]

I know Arda...I keep coming home thinking I'm going to find some torn up or gotten into stuff. It's almost unreal how Keiko doean't get into anything. I'm sure she's gonna surprise me eventually and show me she's really a normal dog.

[Arda]

Hey, I'm praying.  The things these guys have tore up over the years is amazing.  We were out in the yard last summer when some adopters came by.  Hunden would not go to the house, so we stuck her in one of the big pens out in back while they were here.  All of a sudden she's out and making a fool of herself.  Tore half the gate to the pen off.  She wasn't staying in there like a common dog.  I can't tell you how many crates they have destroyed over the years.  Nickie can bend the front door to his crate so that the latch won't latch and away he goes.  The little fawn female that came out of the mess in Ohio, ate three holes through the closet wall in the basement from within a crate.  Monsters.  Just plain old monsters.  And I dare any of you to live a week with Dennis.  And I can't even hate him.  Awh, the love/hate relationship of dog ownership.  Not for the weak of heart.

[dobeluvr]

What an enjoyable read.  she is a real cutie!

[Lori]

Keiko gets a little skittish and scared sometimes and pees on the floor..not alot, just a little bit. It only happens around tall boys and grown up men. I wondered if maybe a man was mean to her at her former home. As long as they speak to her and don't move fast towards her, she is okay. I don't want her to be afraid and fear bite. Once she gets to know people she's just fine. I don't really let her around any people other than family anyway, but should I take her out more and let her socialize ? She will growl to warn strangers away from her {or me, I don't know for sure} But I am a worrywart at heart and I feel for her being fearful. Maybe she just needs more confidence. She seems more sure of herself and her place in the pack with each day that goes by. I'm worrying too much...she's only been here a little while and she's still adjusting. That's the only thing I've seen about her that isn't full of hearts and kisses....lolol  When I picture Keiko in my mind I see little hearts and flowers floating up and around her head...it comes directly from her thoughts...lololol.

[Arda]

Then you need to know Nickie.  I got him at 5 months.  Broken leg.  The owners were teaching him to go up and down stairs.  He was a nightmare.  When ya let him out of his crate, ya had to walk fast to the door without speaking to him or touching him or he would leave a Hostess squiggle of urine all the way from the crate to the door and out.  Outside it went all the way down the driveway.  If you stood in front of him and spoke to him or touched him, he squiggled all over your feet.  I thought it would never stop.  But day by day over a couple of years and he is down to a mild roar.  Only men when he doesn't expect them or know them.  The more you take her for those little walks, the better.  Peanut was a mess when Jane and Larry got her and she sure came around with time and LOVE.  Nickie also does the hip sucking when I leave the house.  Doesn't have to be much of a leave either.  Go out on the porch and feed the birds and he is sucking away and bouncing off the crate door.  He's a mess but it's getting better.  No squiggles in a long time.

[Lori]

Awww... that poor baby...Ghost took a long time to slow down sucking on her side. It was so gradual it was a while before I noticed the wet spot was getting smaller. Though she never completely stopped, the spot was like the palm of my hand in size and not the huge area it had been at first.  A "hostess squiggle"...I love the descriptors you use. My daughter's rescue Daisy use to squiggle all the time too. She spent the 1st year of her life in a crate, and the outside world terrified her. She's 3 now and rarely does it anymore. I'm sure with patience, love and a pee mop Keiko will gain confidence. She's still "puppyish" to me..lol I'm used to the senior girls who have mellowed with time. Keiko gets super excited and hops/spins everywhere. Oh, and she is in mortal fear of the stairs. The first few days she would sit at the bottom of the steps and shiver, so daily we would take a step or 2 up while I held on to her by my side. Now she will go halfway up cautiously and go back down to the bottom all by herself. Of course she gets a whole hot dog after her ordeal. Eventually she will make it all the way upstairs and find the scooby snacks waiting for her in my sisters kitchen...lol Even though this is technically a duplex we treat it as a single home, and the dogs have access to the entire house. Ghost and Nova loved that they had 2 kitchens to snoop through and counter surf....lolol

[Joaquin]

She's looking good!

[Lori]

I can't believe how affectionate this girl is....she is always Dober-hugging me, twining her body around me like a cat, and rubbing her face into my hands. She loves me without reservation. I am consistently amazed at how forgiving of humans our Dobe's are. My house really feels like a home again. I was so darn lonely without a Doberkid !

[Joaquin]

Yes our Six would love nothing better than to unzip our skin and hop on in so we could carry her around inside us all day long!! 

[Cheri]

It does sound like Keiko would benefit from a little work on socialization and working through her fear issues.  I think she would benefit from getting out with you and seeing what the world is all about, but of course on a very gentle and gradual basis.  You want to desensitize her, but be careful not to overload her or flood her with new things.

 

Are you doing any basic obedience training with her where you ask her for sits, downs, etc. in exchange for a yummy treat?  This is the kind of stuff I would work on in new and different places with her.  Try to keep her within her comfort zone, in other words, don't allow strangers to approach her, but perhaps work her in a place where she can see and hear new things but at a distance that doesn't cause fear.  Then do lots of fun, positive things with her that can be rewarded with a treat.  Nice and slow and gradual, always safely leashed with you, no strangers getting too close for her comfort, and hopefully you can help her get over her fears.

 

My adopted Doberman had a lot of fear issues when I got her, and honestly, it took years of work, but she did relax considerably.  Never got completely over some of her anxieties, but she made considerable improvement.

[Lori]

Good Idea Cheri, and I do ALL new stuff with her very slowly because she gets so skittish. She is very good at sit/stay , and really listens to me well. When she is unsure of something she looks to me for a cue. Staying relaxed and mellow helps her alot. When she sees something that makes her bark she comes and gets me to see. She seems to be adapting to my habits in a good way. She hasn't growled at anyone since the initial few times. Maybe she was overwhelmed with all the big changes at first. It had to be a scary thing for her. She was pretty clueless about toys and chew bones and fun stuff. Now she has a toybox, and her favorite things to carry around and chew. If it ever gets warm again we can play outside for most of the day...lol  She really likes tennis balls and squeaky toys. She gets 2 or 3 and puts them on my bed and naps with them...it's just too cute.  She gets excited in a good way now when people come over because she gets scritches and hugs. I still need to take her to different places to meet people.  She loves riding in the car and is well mannered while I drive. I have been soooo lucky with every one of my girls from Arda. Every one of them were love bugs, and interestingly quirky too. I LOVE rescues... a little effort, some affection, and they give you everything they have.

[Cheri]

It sounds like you are making fantastic progress!  I agree, the growling in the beginning was probably just an expression of anxiety over all the new things in her life.  Even though getting adopted is a wonderful thing, all they really know is that their world just got turned upside-down again, and it does take a while for them to settle in and be comfortable. 

 

I have to laugh at the fact that she comes to get you to see what she's barking at.  My beautiful girl, Savanna, used to do that all the time.  I always said she had a bit of "Lassie" in her!