Dear Dog Lady,

I adopted Lovey, a six-year-old Maltese, from a local rescue group. She has many issues. She barks fiercely at moving cars, school buses, joggers and other dogs on the street. She only eats her food alone in the kitchen and looks over her shoulder to see if anyone else is in the room. She is food aggressive.

She is very sad and hides in corners all over the house. She curls up in a ball like a cat. I do crate her when I leave the house. When I come home, she shows enthusiasm and pleasure to see me. She wags her tail and runs all over the family room like a creature possessed. This exuberant behavior gives me hope things could improve. I discovered that she came from a home of divorce where there was lots of shouting. I am a vibrant senior and live alone.

At the local pet shop, I heard about a play group for small dogs, which meets once a week for a couple of hours. I was thinking about trying this to socialize her.

Frances

Dear Frances,

Yes, yes. A play group would be perfect. Scared, skittish dogs need the company of their own kind. Other dogs teach them to be bigger, braver, and bolder — in a good way.

Lovey sounds like a love. The dog never got the advantages of a calm home and keepers who were willing to train her. She still recovers from all that chaos. In addition to mixing it up with other dogs, Lovey needs a routine. Try to do the same things with her every day at the same time (more or less) such as walking and feeding. Dogs are creatures of habit. Because you're a vibrant senior, pounding the pavement with Lovey will be good for you too. Also, getting out will help her adjust to the joggers, buses and other dogs.

Her food aggression is most troublesome. Yet, as long as she eats alone at the same time in the same protected place she may overcome her fear. Also, give her a cozy safe place to retreat—a dog bed in a corner or at the back of a closet. The more peacefulness and security she feels, the more she will come around.


Dear Dog Lady,

We have a Shetland sheepdog. I have bought everything and tried everything and he still barks at everything! Is there anything I can do to stop this annoying behavior? He's very smart, but this is really hard on our family. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Connie

Dear Connie,

No, you haven't tried everything. Everything requires you give the dog much more exercise than you probably do; everything means you offer plenty of healthy distractions. Your pet comes from a hearty working breed of dogs with jobs. In the city, you can't give him a bunch of sheep to herd so you must find some other task so the Shetland sheepdog works through the boredom issues. You must think of creative ways to engage your pet—agility course, work, exercise and more exercise. When a dog barks at everything, the animal is in a state of confusion and chaos. Soothe the savage beast by providing an active lifestyle.

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