Posted by jif on July 07, 2000 at 07:06:37:
In Reply to: Taming the wild beast posted by Baxter on July 06, 2000 at 19:39:37:
I have been working with a 5 year old female that was kept in a 90 gallon aquarium her entire life. She is aggressive and very non-trusting, seemingly hates to be touched. For the last 5 months she has been living in a small room, 6x8(used to be a 1/2 bath, now the fixtures are removed). I visit her several times a day, just standing close to her with her at about chin level, and talk and talk and talk. I carefully touch her all over except near the head and she swipes at me with her feet and sometimes scoots away. A few times a week I will carry her upstairs to the large bathroom and just sit on the floor and talk to her for a while. She will roam, hide in a corner for a while, climb across my lap occasionally. Lately she has been leaping to my shoulder which in a way makes me feel good but also scares the bejesus out of me. I *always* protect me face!! Try to remember to do things that will invoke trust....always approach slowly, talk softly, never grab from above. Handfeeding has helped with Ellie altho I just get her started with a meal that way. She finishes on her own. It takes time, alot of time, and a lot of patience. Think about it, it took 6-7 years to make him the way he is now.....gonna take a heck of a long time to gain this animal's trust and he may never be "dog" tame. I wish you the best of luck and if you have any questions about what I've been doing with Ellie feel free to email. I recently picked up another rescue female, 5 years old, that is going through the same process........*sigh*.