Need Help/Suggestions with Maven (suspected MC/Generic Cur Mix)
Hi Reddit!! My boyfriend and I recently adopted this sweet girl. Though we had not heard of Curs at all, we now think she may be predominately Cur of some sort. No DNA yet, and obviously she is highly unlikely to be a purebred anything. I have tried to include photos from multiple angles, and one of her paw. Speaking of, I have never seen paws quite like hers before. They almost look like raccoon feet when she really spreads them to grasp a toy or such and they are VERY webbed. She stands about knee height on me (I am a 5'7" woman) at her haunches and weighs 35 lbs, though she needs to gain some more weight.
Not much is known about Maven up until a bit over a month ago when she was found with a litter mate by animal control (the other dog photographed above). They were abandoned in a wildlife refuge area in Louisiana. No collars, no microchips, and no familiarity with people. Estimate age at that time was 5-6 months. She was/is severely underweight but has no health issues and is gaining weight well. She was 25lbs when found five weeks ago, is 35lbs today. She came home a week ago and though timid at first has warmed quickly and I believe bonded with me already.
My partner and I each have significant experience with high energy, intelligent, 'dogs with jobs' and how to provide them with the stimulation and boundaries they need to thrive. For me, DKs and for him Collies. We felt equipped to deal with an older puppy who needs to catch up on socialization, obedience, etc. She shows no signs of having been harmed by people and though timid is not aggressive whatsoever. She is extremely submissive.
We live in a very small town with a large yard (though not fenced or e-fenced yet) and have no kids or other pets. I work from home with a flexible schedule so I am able to devote about 4 hours per day to her training & socialization on top of her basic needs at home for the time being so she can get "caught up." The summary of her housebreaking, training, and socialization right now is that we are doing LOTS of it, and trying our best to 'rig' it for her success. For example, she does not have the ability to roam the whole house - she is limited to a room where one or both of us can supervise her and correct & redirect any unwanted behavior. She's getting enough exercise/mental stimulation to be relaxed at home (for the most part lol she is still a pup!) and does not cause much trouble beyond the usual things we'd see at this age; some counter surfing, some attempts to make non-toys into toys, etc. And, she responds very well to a simple verbal correction, and then praise for appropriate behavior. For example, we haven't seen any counter surfing in 3 days so she's at least learned she can't do that right in front of us and right now she's always in front of us!
She and I get out of the house regularly; 3-4 walks per day, plus about 2 hours total lounging in the yard, as well as at least one 'special' activity for further desensitization. We sit at the busy park and let the world go by, walk the perimeter of the dog park and ignore the dogs, go to Tractor Supply Co, having a friend stop by, etc. All the usual ideal socialization things, just hitting them extra hard since she's behind. I carry kibble with me when we're out and when the situation is right I allow strangers without dogs to offer kibble. I do not allow strange dogs to approach on leash since I don't know their temperament, and leashes often cause issues in dog meetings. She is being pushed out of her comfort zone, but just enough to grow. It's a lot of just sitting and letting her take in her surroundings until she relaxes, then continuing on until we come across something else that is unknown. Rinse and repeat.
However, in the past two days, she has quietly growled when someone approached me on two occasions. This has ONLY happened on our property and while she's right by me. Each time, she did not take on an aggressive stance, move toward them, bare teeth, or raise hackles. Both times, once the person got to me and I greeted them she relaxed substantially. Both times occurred in evening or at night - but in lower light. The growling seemed to be more as an alert to me as it was too quiet for someone to have heard. It appeared to be more of a "HEY there's a STRANGER coming toward us, PAY ATTENTION." and less of a "if you come any closer I'll bite."
The thing is, neither time was a stranger. Once was a friend I had over - we'd been out back by the fire pit and she went in to use the bathroom and when she returned she came around a different side of the house than we'd been using all afternoon and that's when Maven 'alerted.' She growled at first, then bayed, but stopped as soon as my friend got back to her seat. Maven went over and sniffed her then laid down.
The second was my partner returned from an errand yesterday evening, and Maven had been jolted from deep sleep when he opened the door and he immediately came by us and she was barely awake and growled some. she ended up being fine later, and wanting to cuddle with him.
It seems like this might be more confirmation of her being a Cur based on the AKC description, but would love some insight from MC/Cur owners on this behavior - is this normal? growing pains due to her rough start? Should I leave it uncorrected or are there training tips?
Additionally, I'm curious to hear what you think - does she look like a Cur? What to expect outside of what's typical in most hunting/high intensity dogs?