Willow is my latest rescue, I have had her since mid November.
She and her sister were left at a shelter, someone dropped them off in the middle of the night, and left them inside the fence. So I have no history.
When we went to get her at the rescue, she was completely shut down, and on autopilot. All she would do is walk in circles, and try to get the hell away from me.
We put her in a kennel in the back seat, and headed home, a 3.5 hour drive. She was as quiet as a church mouse. We stopped for food about an hour later, and I let her out, and she was pretty much in a full panic becasue there were trucks and cars, etc.
I decided to sit in the front passenger seat, with her on my lap. She laid there the rest of the trip without moving, just slept.
Vet check was good, no issues with lab work, parasites, etc. She was only 19 pounds, so we started putting some weight on her.
I think she is about 16 months old, based on her behavior, and the fact she was unspayed, and not pregnant.
I started bringing her into work with me, and for the first few weeks, she just slept under my desk.
As she started to get more confident, she is starting to show "Stranger Danger" and will now lunge, growl, and snap at certain people. She's not a big fan of men, but she's a Daddy's Girl, which I like.
I have been working with a local trainer for socialization and confidence building, but it seems like the more confident she gets, the more she is willing to be aggressive.
Currently I am keeping her penned in my office, and using clicker training to try to reshape the behavior, but I think I may need professional help (for me as well as the dog).
I live in Iowa, but am willing to travel a ways if it will help her.
Dom