OMG she's beautiful! I love huskys, malamutes, spitz, and the like! Does this gorgeous girl have a name yet?

 

We rescued her from someone's home in which the city was saying they couldn't have 4 dogs. She is 6mo old and Malamute (maybe mixed with something), and they had her named Takaani, which means "wolf" in Eskimo language. I think we'll leave the name since she is already 6mo and responds to it.

She is VERY skinny, can easily feel a lot of bone, and she is quite submissive. She also ducks down if we make any fast movements. Very possible that her previous home abused her, in my opinion. She is super sweet though! The cats already met her and she doesn't care at all. Hachi and Howard are a little hesitant, but very curious and attentive.

 

She is so beautiful.

 

Takaani is a great name. And I'm glad to hear the kitties are doing ok as well!

As far as her condition, yeah, it's very probable that her previous life was abusive. My dearly departed Dalmatian acted very similar when we first liberated him from his previous "owners"...it was heartbreaking to watch him shy away from even a simple pat on the head. I'm sure with your time and love, she'll come around soon enough.

Best of luck with this beautiful girl. And when she's ready give her a hug for me.

 

Oh goodness, that is a gorgeous dog and you can tell just by looking at her face that she's an absolute sweetheart. Congrats on the new addition! I'm so glad she's with you now in a loving home... judging by her fear of a hand, it definitely seems like she was abused to some degree.

Also glad to hear her and the kitties aren't having any problems!

 

She's beautiful!

We had a Malamute and fear is NOT a typical trait of that breed. They are very confidant dogs if raised properly and socialized properly. It infuriates me that someone would mess with her enough to make her afraid (or neglect her enough to make her that way). Also, they are a stubborn breed and I think that with inexperienced dog owners it's easy to become frustrated when trying to train them. They seem dim but we found with Luna she learned things really fast... but once she learned it .... sometimes she just didn't feel like doing it and no amount of treats, commands, or DEmands would change her mind.

@ 6 months old, thin is pretty normal unless she starved thin (as compared to growing pup can never eat enough thin). They are a pretty high energy dog with a giNORMOUS appetites. Luna ate more in one meal than our other 3 dogs ate all day...combined. She was lean and ribby until she was almost 2 years old.

Also, remember that this is breed has a very high prey drive. Even if she seems fine with the cats at first if one takes off running it may tickle her fancy enough to give chase. Luna learned that the house cat was off limits (he made sure she was afraid of him from a VERY young age) but we were never able to teach her not to go after the feral cats from the farm next door that wandered into our fenced yard. There were lots of times she'd come into the house with cat fluff hanging out of her mouth. She was a champ at recall, I could almost always stop her with one word.... except when she saw one of those feral cats.

 

She looks at home congrats!

 

Thanks! She is a big cuddlebug. She slept in bed most of the night.

Thanks for the info MowMow. She will fit in to her doghood with some love she is already doing a little better today.

Makes me feel really bad when I turn around quick and she is there though. She cowers down to the floor with her ears back and then I give her lots of love

 

I wouldn't make a big deal of it with her. When she cowers, just walk past her with an encouraging word. If you can reach her easily (without crouching over her) just a quick stroke to let her know it's all good. I wouldn't go overboard with loving her in that situation.

Once she's STOPPED cowering and is doing something else, that's the time to praise her and make a big deal of her.

The first time she doesn't cower at all, that's the time to make a big deal with lots of treats, love.

You COULD keep some treats in your pocket and when you turn around don't make eye contact, just toss it a few feet in front of her and walk away.

 

My dog ( a Staffordshire Bull Terrier X Greyhound) who is wonderful with cats was also abused. When we had her she was terrified of so many things - even of toileting.

To say she has recovered is an understatement. you'll get there.

The rescue would only let her go to an experienced home who had had nervous / abused dogs in the past - we had had both. Our only criteria was that she amiable to training and would respond to living with cats. It worked - she now lives happily with 9 cats!

With blessings this will work for you - thank you for taking in a dog with problems.

 

Ohhh, unless I'm confused, I think you posted a complaint, and I was wondering what dog you were talking about! Well, she seems very sweet, so I hope things will work out.

 

Haha yes yes she is very sweet

 

Thanks, Arianwen! She is already doing better. It is a little embarrassing when people ask why she is so submissive or scared and why she is so skinny. Never really had to deal with that before