How is this young "feral dog" with other dogs (preferably with a "helper dog" that has good dog skills)? Sometimes feral dogs do better with other dogs than humans. For those dogs, I use the helper dog to lure the feral dog closer to interactions with humans. By pairing their good interaction with a dog with closing the threshold of comfortable proximity to humans. Also, other comfort exercises paired with novel experiences. Such as things like feed using a snuffle mat with a human, initially with the human putting zero extra pressure on the dog (such as human's back turned and not moving while the dog eats). Then with each positive feeding, gradually and slowly increase closer proximity and turning sideways to the dog but do not make eye contact or reach out for the dog. Anytime you stand up to leave, roll high value soft treat in the direction of the dog and turn away from the dog and lean away from the dog as you stand up. I hope this makes sense. This is just one example of B-mod for feral dogs. Hopefully, you can build and expand on this if you haven't already done so. Also, you can utilize a remote feeder at the back of the run, away from humans, to dispense treat away from human to help the dog learn to fix any pressure itself.
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Megan Alexander
Pit Bull Rescue Central,
https://www.pbrc.net"where education meets rescue"
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Original Message:
Sent: 04-03-2024 10:06 AM
From: Maddie's University
Subject: Meeting dogs' fundamental needs w/ Michael Shikashio (Camp Maddie: Behavior Edition Day 2)
Unanswered question from the chat:
"We have a feral dog, about 2 years old, which we rescued from a wooded area. We are slowly building trust and she allows us to pet her now. I've been trying to find a way to stimulate her mind while she is in the pen. She ignores chew toys, ropes, etc. What would you suggest?"
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Maddie's University
Maddie's Fund
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