Naomi

My name is now Naomi, which means Beauty.  The name I had at the shelter was Burgundy.  I was in pretty bad shape, only 48 lbs and my lovely long coat filthy and matted.  In spite of that, I passed the temperament test with flying colors and the shelter personnel were really taken with my personality.  One day they told me that a "rescue" group had found a foster home for me and I would be leaving on my way to a better future.   The rescue lady came, I was brought out to meet her.  She talked to me softly and took me for a long walk before putting me in her van.  I sat between the seats and she petted me as we drove, her telling me all about the foster home I was going to go to.  We arrived at her house, and once in her yard I playbowed trying to entice her into playing with me, but my rear legs, so wasted away  with no muscle tone, shook as I tried to run and play.  She put me inside a crate in her house and I hated it. I peed immediately I was so stressed out.  But they cleaned up and put me back in...she had other dogs and would not let me meet them face to face.  I did not react to them when they came over to meet me through the crate...they were all friendly so no reason for me to take offense.  My new foster mom arrived and off I went.  The first few days were bad ones for us both.  I was very anxious when I could not find her and of course, the anxiety went to my bowels and bladder.  But after several pep talks and suggestions with the rescue people and some time, things started to get better for both of us.

 Below are some comment from my foster mom.

" I took Naomi to Petsmart tonight. She was great. She interacted well with all the people, men, women & kids. She was very polite to a cute little 4 month old Pom wearing a dress. That was the only dog that was in the store while we were there and she did great. The little Pom was a bit unsure about Naomi, but all went well."

By the time she was ready to be spayed, about three weeks after coming from the shelter, she was up to 64 lbs and looking much better

After her spay:

"She's doing great. Everything looks to be healing well. I do have a few positive updates on her....she walks very well on a 6 foot leash and can pull a bit on a longer leash, but very nice on the shorter leash. She knows how sit when asked and she met Steve the cat this morning. He was determined to come upstairs and he froze after he got through the basement door. She had all the time in the world to check him over. She did a little rooting around and he split, so she chased him, but when I said "no" she stopped. I picked him up and sat on the couch. She was excited to see him but would not come over to check him out. I even encouraged her to and she would only come close and then turn around. After a few minutes I put Steve on the floor and left my hands on him and she came over the sniff him again. She's very high energy but I don't think she will be mean. The high energy may wear off the more she's around them, I don't know. Steve then darted off and again she chased him, but once I said "no" she came back to me and left him alone. Her energy level freaks my other cats out too much to try at this point...they just run and panic.
 
The peeing in the house is getting better, she is wearing the e-collar( elizabethan collar) all the time and I have to say that she seems calmer when I leave. Maybe since it limits her vision she does not have as much to worry about? Not sure but she has not been peeing when I do my chores and she seems a little more relaxed. I take the collar off to walk her and usually leave it off for about 5-10 minutes when we come back in. I give her a chance to rub her face, and scratch her neck and I brush her. She's pretty high energy and once I put the e-collar back on, her energy level seems to drop a bit, not like she's depressed, just takes it down a notch.

A few days after being spayed:

"Today was a fantastic day...no accidents so far. She's really filling out. You will not believe how much weight she has put on when you see her on the 5th. Now if the hair would come back before then she'd look fabulous!"                    

We decided to try a "thunder Shirt" to see if it would help her anxiety.  It is based on the principal  of swaddling, like you do with fussy babies. 

                                                             
"Naomi and I had an interesting day yesterday. On our walk, we ran into 2 huge BLACK BEARS! One of them was very, very large looked to be about 300 lbs. I'm pretty sure Naomi wanted to play with them. I raised my arms over my head and one the bears stood on their hind legs and we had a stand off. Finally the bear went back onto all 4's and sloooowly went away. I was really just admiring the bears ability to be so smooth as they move around.
 
Today we went to Petsmart and bought a thunder shirt. They were on sale. It appears to be working, I'll let you know how it goes. The staff noted how much better she looked, it had been 10 days since I'd had her up there. She was also smitten with several little people that were her height. She was a delight and got lots of lookers. "

A few days after buying the "thunder shirt"

"Naomi did great today. I put the thundershirt on her after I walked her. I wanted to put it on her way before I left, don't want her to associate it with me leaving. I had lots of activity going on here at the house while I was gone. All outside, but I had some trees removed  behind the house and the tree guys were in and out all day. She had no accidents. I think the shirt's working."

 Naomi really loves all the humans she has met, including children.  As with many dogs who are so human oriented, there is sometimes some separation anxiety.  The first day Elizabeth had someone come in and check on Naomi and that seemed to make her anxiety worse.  So then no visitors and restricted water when her foster is not home (sometimes nervous dogs drink and drink) and as time progressed, going potty in the house became less and less.  So far with the Thunder shirt,  her anxiety levels seem to have gone way down and no accidents.  

She is good with kitties until they run but her chase is not predatory but playful. She responds quickly to a verbal correction, rides very well in a car, walks well on leash, loves attention and play.  She has shown no aggression to date with other dogs. She panics in a crate, but does no destruction when left loose in the house. 

For a dog who was so badly neglected, she has a shining personality.  I was quite taken with her when I picked her up at the shelter and moved to tears when she tried to get me to play with her in spite of her weakened condition.  Once her coat comes back she will be an adorable fluffy Akita.  Is your home the one in which she can blossom?  If so, contact us and we will be happy to introduce you.