# Update to Foster Dog Who Won't Go the Bathroom



## Oaklys Dad (Dec 28, 2005)

Glad she seems to be doing better. I have never fostered but with my own dogs I have noticed some have been better than others in adopting to new surroundings. As far as play goes I would try as many toys as you can scrape up to find the one that excites your pup. Dogs seem to have real favorites in the toy department. 

Thank you for being a "Failed Foster" :::


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## ctraill (Jun 30, 2009)

Oaklys Dad said:


> Glad she seems to be doing better. I have never fostered but with my own dogs I have noticed some have been better than others in adopting to new surroundings. As far as play goes I would try as many toys as you can scrape up to find the one that excites your pup. Dogs seem to have real favorites in the toy department.
> 
> Thank you for being a "Failed Foster" :::


Haha - I've never heard that term before but I like it. The truth is, I've always loved the dogs we've taken in but been very happy to see them go. This was our first golden foster and the thought of anyone else having this dog was just too heartbreaking to bear!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I think in a couple of days or weeks, she will start becoming interesting more in her surrounding and toys. Right now, I think she is catching up on all her sleep she was probably missing. Bless you for keeping her. Love the failed fosters. So far, I havent but it is hard with my girl right now. She is a love bug and a grunter like a pig, it just cracks me up.


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## MyGoldenCharlie (Dec 4, 2007)

As they become more comfortable with the new surroundings and routine their personalities begin to shine. Some are more playful than others.
I have had fosters that really didn't know how to play, it is fun to watch them learn!

Thank you for rescuing!


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

Daisy my foster dog was like that. She hadnt really played with a toy. But my Bama showed her how fun it was to rip them all up and now she is a ripping machine with toys. She loves to throw them up in the air and catch them especially when they are flat as a pancake. It took her alittle while but she is a toy hog now.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

My golden Noah will not go #2 any place but his own yard. He will hold it until he gets home. If we stay some place long enough he just "has to go" so they do go at some point. I think the humans worry more. 

Hope the adjusting goes well.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

Glad to hear she's doing better 

Some suggestions for teaching your dog to play might include:


Take her to Petco/Petsmart etc and let her go ‘shopping’ – if she touches it, it hers.
Roll a ball towards her while you’re on the ground facing her and see if she will play.
Roll a ball past her and see if she will chase it.
Get a long tug toy (or dish towel etc) and kind of wiggle it on the floor while moving around and she if she’ll pounce on it.
Leave a toy or two just around for a few days and she if she starts to display interest in, bats them around, carries them etc
Will she tug on her leash (provided you don’t mind?)
Can you kind of lightly tap her sides or nose (or even grasp her tail) while darting towards her then running away to initiate play – it might help to get down on hands and knees. And keep your speed down while trying this until she is comfortable.
What about lying on your back or side at her level – will she come up and start interacting? This can be turned to play without toys etc.
I have used this one for training tug; fill a sock toe with food, tie the leg portion and start by dragging the sock on the floor. It usually does not take long to get a rousing game of tug going J Then re-tie the sock when the treats start falling out. They sell toys for this purpose (see cleanrun.com ; food stuffable jackpot toys) that are made of sturdy fabric with handles that can give you some ideas.


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## kwhit (Apr 7, 2008)

When we first adopted Savanah she wouldn't play for at least a month. Chance tried every day, but she wouldn't even look at him. Then one day, Chance was doing his usual play bow to her and she took him up on his offer. From that day on, Savanah never stopped. She was more into all the toys they had than Chance. 

Just give her some time. She'll come around when she's ready. Don't push her into any situations too soon, be aware when she's reaching her limit for any given situation. This is a whole new world for her. Let her adapt at her own pace, no matter how slow it seems to you, it's just right for her.


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## mm03gn (Sep 24, 2008)

Awwww....thank you so much for "failing" as her foster  She will have a wonderful, happy life with you - and will forever be showing your her gratitude to you for saving her. It just melts my heart to think of what a great gift you have given her! What is her name, btw?

As far as the playing goes - it took Burg a while to loosen up enough to play - she too, wanted to spend all of her time sleeping for the first couple of weeks. I think they just need to get their bearings and learn that they don't have to be "on guard" and then the personality will shine through. Do you have another dog to show her the ropes, so to speak?


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## ctraill (Jun 30, 2009)

Sunrise said:


> Glad to hear she's doing better
> [*]I have used this one for training tug; fill a sock toe with food, tie the leg portion and start by dragging the sock on the floor. It usually does not take long to get a rousing game of tug going J Then re-tie the sock when the treats start falling out. They sell toys for this purpose (see cleanrun.com ; food stuffable jackpot toys) that are made of sturdy fabric with handles that can give you some ideas.
> [/LIST]


This is such a good idea, thank you! I think the problem is that she doesn't really know what to do with toys and that will maybe help her learn that it's okay to play. Even with food, it's taken a few feedings now to reassure her that the food is edible. I think she may have only been fed scraps before (human food) so introducing her to dog food is taking a bit of time to convince her that it's safe.

Thank you so much everyone else for your suggestions! And Noey, I think you're right that humans worry much more than dogs!

I don't have another dog to 'teach' her so that makes it more difficult but I'm sort of glad for the first little while that she gets to have undivided attention since she's still pretty afraid of other dogs. Tons of dogs next door and in the neighbourhood though so she's really socializing quite well considering it's only day 3.

Kate


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

grins - you are so welcome. I have a new foster (not quite 2 weeks) who spent the first week or so connecting to her new humans and being very attention needy, then she started playing with the other dogs and now she's showing all the signs of wanting to play with toys combined with her people and/or other dogs - she is even gathering toys into piles and coming to me with a toy to tug with! It can take a while for them to feel comfortable enough to start playing, but when they do it is a beautiful thing.

I have also had dogs that never did play, but were very happy 'just' being with us. This was always fine with me as well - each dog is unique.

Good luck


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## esSJay (Apr 13, 2009)

What a happy post! You're a sweetheart for adopting her. It will only be a matter of time before she loosens up, gets comfortable and starts showing interest in playing! I would suggest to keep up the socialization with the neighbourhood dogs... dogs learn a lot from each other so if you can find a playful dog that gets along well with yours, try to get them to spend some time playing in the yard together - with toys and with just each other too!

Please stick around and continue giving us updates, we love hearing happy new beginnings like this one


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ctraill*

Ctraill

Since I first saw your foster girls pic, I KNEW she was so very special.

I am SO GLAD THAT YOU CLAIMED HER FOR YOUR OWN AND SHE CLAIMED YOU.

AGREE WITH everyone else, let her play with other playful dogs and my dogs love the soft toys, anything that squeaks!!

My Golden Ret. Smooch, who we Rescued is 10 years old and my Male Samoyed, Snobear is 9 years old and they still LOVE SQUEAKY TOYS!!


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Kate, congratulations on your new family member! She's lovely. Give her time and attention, and she'll settle into a comfort zone so perhaps she'll play. If you want her to like stuffed toys, perhaps buy a new one and let a friend's dog put their scent on it first by mouthing it. Bring it home to your new girl with an interesting smell on it and she may choose to investigate.


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## cindy58 (Aug 11, 2009)

Sorry for the pun, but she looks "pooped" after her walk!

Hope all goes well with your new girl!


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