She’s a flight risk” was what I took from the conversation I had and videos I saw of Faylee the Shar Pei while she was in the high kill shelter. I had been in touch with a rescue on another dog but that one was never actually received by the shelter so the volunteer reached out when she saw Faylee. Since Faylee was so shut down and had eye infections she was going on the euthanasia list as soon as her stray hold was up.
Two points I’d like to make with this story:
- while she had a shaky past, I thought she would be a good fit and why
- how I managed her as a flight risk
A couple decades ago, I spent a couple years as an adoption counselor at the humane society in Colorado Springs. In that position, I found myself really analyzing a home’s dynamic and how a new pet may fit in. If you haven’t looked at the 3-3-3 rule of rescue dog adoption, I encourage you to do so… but also consider that the 3-3-3 rule can be applied to existing dogs in your home and just because you can bring home a dog, it doesn’t mean you should. I had a submissive young female (Abby, under 2 years old, 50 lbs) and an older male (11 years old, Bubba about 60 lbs) with medical issues. So I was looking for a small female dog that would play a bit with the younger dog but respect my Bubba-dog. In turn, I did not want my old grump dog to be threatened by this new dog. Most dogs are more accepting of opposite sex dogs (and especially when spayed/neutered before bad habits form from hormones… that’s another topic). Anyway, fundamentally, Faylee fit the bill at 40 lbs and approximately 6 years of age. Also, she appeared pretty respectful to older male dogs. Granted once she started to settle in we did have some odd behaviors crop up but the basics worked.
But sadly, due to her rough past (picked up as a stray more than once) she was very fearful of people in a “freeze” or “flight” sort of way. While in the shelter, she was frozen in the kennel, when in the shelter’s outdoor runs, she anxiously paced, trying to find a way out and in the car, she wouldn’t sit still and paced or freaked out when contained.
So, when she arrived at my house, she went in a kennel with an X-pen around it so my existing dogs wouldn’t crowd the kennel until everyone was relaxed. When we went out, she wore her harness with a leash and a slip lead. I didn’t know if she could jump a four foot fence, so she was on leashed walks for a few weeks gradually increasing the “size of her world” in our home.
When we went off the property (like the vets or after a few weeks, the park), she also wore the harness and either a slip lead or a martingale collar and leash. I kept up the double leashes until she would come to me and I knew she wasn’t a jumper. Double leashes with double contact points are your friend if you have a fearful dog. My next step was to use a 20 ft training lead (not a retractable leash) in fenced areas and treats to work on getting her to come and it worked!
It’s been a little over a year and a half and I think we have a pretty good connection. But being a runner is a hard habit to break so I have to add she is rarely trusted off leash without fencing involved… in my eyes the risk is too great that the feral piece of her will override her good sense.
