Fostering a newly rescued female Chow

[KingsGMZanna]

A week ago, my cousin visiting from out of town rescued a Chow who came up to her car "asking for help" while at a local park with her children. Our Humane Society was at capacity & we wanted to avoid the city shelter if at all possible, so i agreed to care for her until her rehab potential could be fully assessed & she could hopefully be adopted. Her coat was full length, thick & matted to the skin from the back of her ears to the tip of her tail. She had obviously been on her own for quite some time unless she had been with someone who severely neglected her & she'd become lost. She was sweet but mentally stressed, anxious about the unknown & miserable from the hot upper 80's humid Memphis weather. She was biting, scratching, chewing, wanting to lay next to our A/C floor vents practically every minute she wasn't eating or toileting. She came to my house 5/24/24, so we wouldn't be able to visit vet until following week bc of holiday weekend, so my cousin got her a dose of oral monthly flea prevention & she had that 5/25, but it didn't stop the constant itching so i gave her a few tiny partial doses of one of my other dog's meds that helps alleviate itching & would calm her & allow her to rest. 3-4 days to wait for a vet visit seemed like forever, but the med was helpful while she became acclimated to our household. My cousin brought a 4' x 3' metal kennel with her bc I had to have some way to contain her away from my other pets: 1. a dog aggressive, 10 year old, inbred pitbull, been segregated from other animals 9 years after killing another dog; 2. a calm, submissive, gentle, very neutral 10 year old male German shepherd mix (rescued after abandoned left on a chain in a trailer park, now blind in right eye with right sided weakness); 3. a 4 month old female kitten (rescued from behind grocery store).
The pitbull has a kennel in the kitchen, the German shepherd & kitten are in my room together & the Chow, we've named Shelby, has had run of the living & dining rooms with being kenneled intermittently during the day & at night. We're on the 3rd day of her not being kenneled during the day & she seems to be settling in more each day, now curled up on sofa when napping in daytime. She finally saw vet on 5/29. He said he didn't like doing complete body shaves on Chows, but in this case there was no choice, that after shaving her the skin was reddened & irritated, the fly-strike wound on her ear would heal on its own, she's a spayed female (per abdominal scar & small nipples), 8-10 years old, 36 lbs, red Chow that's heartworm positive but no murmur or abnormal heart sounds. She received her annual vaccinations, a fecal exam that was negative & a shot of steroids for her skin/itching. He cautioned against letting small children too close to her bc "she's sweeter since she was shaved, she's a sweet dog, not mean but she's reactive around her head & you don't want a child to grab her head." She feels SOOO good now after being shaved, loves her little body rubbed & petted. When she first arrived on 5/24, I didn't want to ask anything of her that wasn't absolutely necessary bc she was so stressed, so I relied on bribery with pieces of chicken breast put inside kennel so she'd enter it. This works so long as I have something of high value to her. Her appetite has declined a bit since she's been better nourished, so she's not as hungry. Now that she's feeling better, planning to work with her on luring & shaping so she'll enter the kennel before receiving a high value treat, shape to wearing a basket muzzle & on basic obedience. Also want to reintroduce my calm GSD mix, Cisco, to her in hopes they could become buddies. She still growls when he gets too close to her kennel. Shelby is now playful, doing play bows, longs to go out front door & loves everyone who walks her. She's a high energy dog & also likes playing tug. My son, 11-year old tall grandson & I working on stopping her jumping up on people using no reward marker. She whines & whimpers when she sees the kitten, so unsure whether she'll eventually be "cat-tolerant" or not. IDK if it's realistic to consider the possibility of Shelby, Cisco & kitten (Bossy) of one day being a pack. If this would be possible, I very well may be able to keep her long term, otherwise adoption to someone else will have to be pursued, as it can be a constant challenge to segregate 3 groups of animals in a small house. The rescues we've contacted so far have not been over anxious to take her on for adoption even though I'm fostering. My vet says for them to work on her behalf for adoption, she needs to like people & other dogs. My plan is to work with her until my cousin returns in 3 weeks so we can reassess. ANY & ALL advice, recommendations or thoughts on how I can set this sweet little dog up for success would be greatly appreciated. Shelby has such an intense & searching eye contact, a little different from my other dogs. IDK if it's their breed's closer relationship to the wolf, but I find it absolutely captivating. Thanks

[Bear2]

Hi, I just read your story, and you are an amazing human for doing this for the poor rescued dog. I just adopted a Chow-Chow from a rescue shelter here in St. Louis, MO. Luckily, I found him through a video posted on Facebook by the animal shelter. His rough fur is matted, but I am slowly de-matting him with my special tools. He was halfway shaved around the neck because his skin was infected due to a tight collar; he also was neutered a week ago before I got him. Due to my former experience with many Chow dogs, I now realized why he was so easily startled and shy, because he is completely deaf. My other dog is a German Shepherd-Chow mix, and she is seventeen old, a wonderful dog. They get along great, but with my cats, there will need more time to adjust. Anyway, it has only been five days since I got my Bear II. In addition, I hope it will be a long and happy relationship between us.

[joaquinmcook]

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