Community Chat

[SophiaMarie]

We love Scruffy more than anything - she is very protective of us. (me, DH and our daughter who lives at home)..... One day my daughter walked in the front door and Scruffy went to greet her, NOT knowing there was a friend right behind her... Well, then she started growling and barking and keeping her distance from the other girl..... She got so excited, we had to take her outside in the back yard while the girl was here for those few minutes.

Today, my husband and I were outside looking at the plants with Scruffy on a leash, and my neighbor (male) walked across to talk to me... I started walking towards him and Scruffy started with the barking and growling again... DH had to bring her in the house... I realize she is protecting me, but I would hate for her to be growling and barking at everyone we decide to talk to outside...

If I walk her across the street to talk to another woman with a dog, Scruffy is fine... She'll just sit there... She doesn't pay much attention to other dogs either.. We have a little poodle next door, and they sniff each other at the fence, but Scruffy is very cautious, even with her... She will go over, sniff noses, and then not bother with him at all......

In a nutshell, Scruffy will not socialize with anyone she doesn't know who comes into the house... She'll go into a corner and if anyone wants to pet her, she growls at them....

I suggested to DH that we should maybe put a muzzle on her (outside).... I would hate for him to be walking her and someone walks towards him and starts to talk, and Scruffy just "might" bite... I don't think so - but you never know... Remember, she was found at a rest stop in Kentucky - nobody knows how long she was there, and she probably was running wild for awhile and running FROM things (other animals and people who teased her).... Hubby says she shows all the behavior of an abused animal, most likely a male... He was in the MP and they handled dogs after they had been socialized......... She is friendlier towards women but mostly if they are NOT in our territory.

We could take her to PetSmart, put her in a cart, and she'll let anyone touch and pet her... She is Miss Personality someplace else, but not in her house or property. I don't know if that's a good thing or bad.....

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated..... TIA