SAN DIEGO — Scoop took a trip back to the Rancho Coastal Humane Society for some extra TLC.
Not much is known about her life before she walked into our lives at News 8.
"She was in a rescue with a woman and many other dogs. She had come in pretty matted. It's possible she had been on the streets for awhile," said Libby Kovalcik, a behavioral and training specialist at Rancho Coastal.
"I say everyone has baggage that includes dogs."
Scoop has had a couple of incidents where she's nipped at people when she's uncomfortable. Kovalcik says it's something she can get training on to help build her confidence.
She says food is a great way to build trust.
"Respect her boundaries and let her build her confidence. If she approaches you, she's feeling pretty confident she gets rewarded for that. And its going to reinforce that confidence," said Kovalcik.
She says its important to read a pet's signals.
"If you start to approach a dog and they look away that means they don't want to engage. Also, dogs who are really nervous tend to go belly up, saying 'Please don't hurt me I wont hurt you.' Its not an invitation to pet my belly."
Other signals include wide eyes and yawning out of context.
Kovalcik says give dogs space when they give these signals.
"You don't want to just force yourself on them," she said. "Options are what we want to do for our animals give them choices."
Scoop also gets a check up at the vet just to make sure she's feeling all right. She gets her ears and her teeth checked. She's doing great.
The bottom line, says Kovalcik, "We try to just respect what they're telling us when they're telling us."
