Rescued stray dog - how to stop her escaping

Today, we have brought home a young (2yrs ish) collie that has been rescued from walking the streets. We are fostering her for a few days to see what she is like in a home environment opposed to the kennels.

She is very skittish, timid, but walks well on the lead with no pulling. She doesn't bark or whine and whilst we remain seated, she has settled at home. If we move or get up she is really nervous and runs around shying away from us but following us at the sametime - in her hurry to get away she is bumping into furniture, thats how panicky she is.

When we first walked her at the kennels on Tuesday she wouldn't let anyone stroke her however on her walk today and now she is back home we have managed to get her to trust us enough to let us stroke her. So a little progress.
She is eating and drinking which is also a good sign.

Because she was on the streets, she wants to be outside and as soon as the back door is open she is pushing past to get out and has absolutely no recall infact she cowers behind bushes and will not come out to us. Even with titbits of cheese and ham, she would only come so far and then quickly retreat.

How can we teach her not to push to go out and also recall as she doesn't know her name at all (I think it's one that the kennel gave her).

I would keep a light line on her at all times without a loop at the end (when you are with her) and I would prevent her going out without you on the end of the line. A piece of nylon coated washing line would do.

This is also useful for toileting and it means you can just bring her in without making a song and dance about it.

I would also start to condition her to a whistle or if your prefer a word for her meals.

So "sound" means "food" and I MEAN food, not titbits.

There is no reason you should feed her from a bowl at all.

I would weigh out her daily ration, and then feed her throughout the day in instalments.

this has two advantages.

1) it classically conditions the dog to link the sound with food

2) it means you increase your opportunity to interact with the dog

A whistle means that you do not need to KNOW her name and neither does she and, if you do not keep her, she is already starting good associations

HTH

Well done you!

She sounds like she could be a star, and SB has given you some very good ideas.

For what it's worth, I don't always call my dogs by name. If I'm looking at one and say "here" I assume they know which one I mean. You can teach loads of commands without a name.

Good for you for taking her on
Just take things nice and slow
A house line is really useful
Also when walking out of doors and stuff it can be helpful to walk out backwards - facing the dog you can keep an eye on them and they are less likely to head towards you when you are facing them

and thats a top tip for recal too - dont face her and call
drop some treats on the floor then run away from her
when she finishes the treats and sees you running away she will prob try and catch you up - when she does drop some more treats and run away again
once you know she will chase call her when she is already running to you

I think hand feeding her is a wonderful idea. I think when she shows signs of stress you need to put her outside. She obviously feels more comfortable outside and it may take some time to get her acclimated to the indoors. Some dogs take to it right away, but others need more time.

When you are at the point that you can stroke her face, make gentle strokes on her muzzle. From there, make gentle strokes to the top of her head. When she will accept it, rub a bit at the base of her ears. Then, gently massage each ear. Ears are full of reflex points and I think you will find her fears lessening after massaging her ears. Deep circles on her shoulders will also help to calm her.

Hand feeding for sure. Also give her a den in the house so she can retreat if she wants to. A cage is easiest but it can be a room.

We have a feral dog who we couldn't touch for a year, he adapted to a crate quite easily and then he used the sofa. It was years before he was confident in a room with only one door to escape from.

She will be well worth the effort, well done on giving her a chance.

rune

Give her time and space. Dogs want to be part of the family. I would simply ease off , watch and wait.