Very scared puppy

[CleverQuacks]

I am a dog foster carer for a small local rescue. I am fairly new to this so have only fostered one dog so far and he was very calm and sociable. He has now gone to his forever home and the rescue have asked me to foster another dog. This is a female approximately 12 weeks old. She was found straying, no microchip and no one has claimed her. She is a lab mix, possibly with some border collie in her.

The problem is she is absolutely terrified of everything. She just sits frozen and won’t interact at all. She is currently in kennels and not coping at all which is why they want me to foster her to try and see if she will relax a bit in a home environment.

The rescue are very supportive and have helped me come up with a plan to start socialising her but I thought I would also ask on here because I know there are some very knowledgeable dog owners on this site.

Any hints or tips for the first few days? I know socialising puppies is really important and being 12 weeks she should have already started seeing the world but I also don’t want to over whelm her.

I stand corrected then.

Well we have made a bit of progress. She will now go from bed to food bowl (approx 2 metres away) when people are around and she will toilet around people now (not ideal). She has also been having a little sniff round the room but only in very short bursts before she runs back to her bed. I am trying to decide when to start taking her into the garden to encourage toileting out there. I think she is still a bit nervous but I am worried she is getting into bad habits by allowing her to toilet inside.

I honestly would not worry about the toileting at all. I normally don't use puppy pads, but if she is OK with using those, just keep letting her use them and then when she is less worried you can transition her out. My last foster had to use them as she was on extremely restricted movement (and didn't go outside until she was 16 weeks), and when she could go out eventually it was no more hassle than usual toilet training.
Just keep taking things at her pace

This. Hate pads as it just teaches them to wee inside not outside but in this case it would be the option I would use. The smaller the steps the faster you get there!

Sniffing, licking and chewing is a great way for dogs to de-stress. Maybe try a licky or snuffle mat to occupy him and get him to use his nose as this may help to calm him down too.

Definitely stick to pads. You don't want to take her outside or introduce her to anything new- until she's reassured by you being with her.
She'll get there soon. Feed her by hand if you can, or move her bowl a little closer to you each day, get her used to being near you and seeing you as a support not a threat. Then you can support her as she meets all the scary new stuff outside!

OP are you on twitter? You might be interested in the #SoohieFromRomania story. The owners are tweeting their journey with a dog who sounds very similar to yours. It's taken weeks but they are starting to make slight progress. It's pretty heart warming stuff.

Have a look at #sophiefromromania on Twitter

Thank you for all the replies. I will check out the twitter link!

Sounds like it's going well. I wouldn't try going outside until she's much more comfortable around you.
Personally I would wait until I could get a harness and longline on. A scared dog can get over or through all sorts and the last thing you want is for her to bolt.
I second giving her licki mats. Licking really helps them calm down and feel comforted. I'd also suggest getting some rescue remedy and giving her that 4 times a day on food on a mat. It has really helped my rescue dog.

Please ensure your garden is super secure as too often timid rescues escape.