Brand new dog owner - Need Help!

I'm so glad to hear that she finally did some "business" and is seeming to come out of her shell more and more. You'll notice that she feels even more comfortable as the days go by, and before too long, she'll seem like a completely different dog!
 
As for the fear of the other dogs barking outside, the first thing that came to my mind was maybe that before, when she was in her pack situation, she knew that she had a large number of dogs surrounding her at all times. I agree with what gina said as well. I would imagine that the strange noises didn't bother her much because she wasn't dealing with them alone. Now that she's an only dog, she's probably realizing that she doesn't have her other dog friends to depend on when strange things happen, so it probably frightens her when unusal things occur, like the barking of a strange dog outside. She will eventually learn to depend on you and your family to draw her sense of comfort from. It will jsut take time.
 
So happy to hear about the positive news though! Sounds as though she's doing well!

Gina, that makes perfect sense!  The place where I got her the dogs DID bark their heads off when the owner and I walked around back to the fence.  They were very territorial about the back yard.  Maddie was the only one not barking (which is why I picked her. lol)  She was also the smallest of all the dogs so I think she was a "lower rank" dog or "submissive" as you stated above.  She may have gotten used to being protected by the bigger adult dogs. 

Although, she has gotten more comfortable in our backyard she still won't let me walk her outside of our yard.  It's funny because it's like she knows where our territory ends.  I would LOVE to give her good long walks aroundt he neighborhood but she's not ready for that yet.  Any suggestions as to how to ease her fears of leaving the yard?  I know it's probably just gonna take time but should I continue to constantly try to get her to leave the yard on leash with me?  When she feels we've gone too far, she'll sit down and if I try to pull the leash for her to move she'll pull back as if to say, "I'm not going any further."

Ok, I have another question. Maddie's first vet appointment is tomorrow.  What are the things that are absolutely necissary for her first visit?  I know she needs her immunizations, Frontline and dewormed for sure.  I want to give her all the attention she needs from the vet but I'm on a budget and will most likely need to space out some of the visits because I can't afford everything at once. The woman said she'd need a full over exam, fecal exam, rabies shot, etc.......  Do I HAVE to have this all done at one time?  

Dr. Jean Dodd's recommends ONLY modified live virus Parvo and Distemper.  She doesn't need all that other crap they throw into the combo shots.  And she really does not need the series since ONE vaccine does the trick.  I would NOT get both rabies and parvo/distemper on the same day.  The reason that puppy shots are given in a series is that no one knows for certain when each pup will loose momma natural immunities.  It's somewhere between 8 and 15 weeks.  So the recommendation is 9 and 12 weeks and then between 16-20 weeks for P/D and rabies not before 24 weeks.  Your pup is beyond that critical period, you KNOW she doesn't have mommas immunities anymore so ONE shot will do the trick...it isn't that THREE shots provide MORE...it's that 3 shots basically protect every pup regardless of when mommas immunity is lost.
 
Yep, get the full exam, get the fecal, get the deworming and I personally would start with parvo/distemper.  You do NOT want a vaccine made by Fort Dodge.  Be sure to ASK who the manufacturer is.  Wait a month before getting the rabies, or if the vet insists on rabies NOW, well, hold off on the parvo/distemper.  Vaccines are REALLY hard on the immune system and rabies is a bear on it.

As for the fear of going outside the yard, this is understandable. She is just beginning to feel comfortable in the yard. I wouldn't rush going outside of the yard jsut yet. Wait until she is absolutely comfortable in the yard before you try to venture out. It may be that she's jsut not ready for that yet. She's still very unsure of her new situation. When you feel that she's telling you that she is comfortable and ready to try something new, I'd revert back to the hot dogs since that worked for you the first time. Take it a day at a time. Bring out the hot dogs, and ease her a few steps outside of the yard. Then, just sit with her there for a little while. Continue doing this and take it just a little further each day. Her comfort level will continue to grow with you - it'll just take time. 
 
As for the vet, all of the things that you mentioned are things that need to be taken care of pretty quickly, and really shouldn't wait. The vet will require an exam since this is her inital visit. There's no getting past that, and it's something you will want done anyway. This will show you if there is anything visibly wrong with her upon the vet's initial look-over. Her vaccines are required as well. I would definitely not wait on the rabies if she is not currently up to date on shots.  You definitely don't want to risk waiting on protecting her from disease. The fecal exam is something you'll want done as well. Dogs' poop tells the vet a lot about what kind of health condition they are in (for example, whether or not she has intestinal worms, which I wouldn't be shocked to find out that she had them, judging by her past conditions). They may want to de-worm her there, which I would recommend having done, just to be safe. They will also test for heartworm, which can be a killer in dogs, and is definitely something you will want to have done. As for the Frontline, this is just my personal opinion, and it's totally your call, but I don't keep my dogs on flea preventative all year long. I only do this if I know that they either have fleas, or are at a pretty high risk of getting them (such as when the warmer months begin). I don't like putting pesticides on my dog unless I absolutely have to. There's certainly no harm done if you do choose to keep her on flea preventative all year long, but that's entirely up to you. One thing that you didn't mention that you will definitely want to put your girl on asap is heartworm preventative. I would recommend Interceptor. Not only does this prevent heartworms in dogs, but it also protects against certain types of intestinal worms as well (roundworms, hookworms, and whipworms). Here's a site with some info on Interceptor.
 
[linkhttp://www.ah.novartis.com/products/en/cab/interceptor.shtml]http://www.ah.novartis.com/products/en/cab/interceptor.shtml[/link]
 
Your vet will typically work with you if you're concnerned about finances. They tend to be pretty flexible. If you feel like you won't be able to pay for everything up front, I would ask about splitting the payment in two. I doubt they would have a problem with it.
 
Sorry for the novel, but I hope that helped. It's great that you're so concerned about your new girl. She's certainly found a great new home. Feel free to pm me anytime with any questions! []

Good idea given by Glenda as well. I didn't even mention anything about the parvo/distemper shot in my post, but she's right. All those vaccines are hard on your pooch, and it certainly wouldn't hurt at all to split those vaccines into seperate visits.

Thank you for the all the feedback! I really do appreciate it!  I'm hoping to get this all done on the first visit now that I'm realizing how important it is for her so hopefully it won't go over my budget or my vet will work with me on that.  I'm thinking they will since they are also my cats' vet and know that I've always paid them.  My cat's first visits weren't this expensive though. LOL 

Thanks for the link about interceptor. I'll look at that asap.  It's raining here and I need to take Maddie out. Yuck! LOL

Glenda, if you don't mind me asking, what is the problem with Fort Dodge vaccines? I've never heard of this before.

Ah, Fort Dodge....makers of PH6 and PH12.....which killed, maimed and crippled thousands of dogs,  makers of Permarin (HRT for women) which is made with pregnant mare urine...and the horses are kept in deplorable conditions....makers of a FAILED and recalled rabies vaccine just this past summer.  Not a drug company I trust, and I ALWAYS ask my doc when he prescribes something for me if it's made by Fort Dodge...if so, I request something else, EVEN if something else is not as good.

It sounds like everything is going really well! I wouldn't worry about forcing the walks, wait until she builds up more confidence and then she will be itching to get out and explore! In the meantime, have people over as much as you can so she can still socialize. Have them give her treats and all that good stuff. If you know anyone with a friendly dog/pup that's fully vaccinated, maybe have them over too so she gets some dog-dog socialization in.

Max isn't a scaredy dog at all, but he also acts weird and gets his hackles up if he can hear a dog that he can't see. No problems at all if he can see the other dog, but if the other dog is barking at him from behind a fence it's a whole different story. That could be her problem with the other dogs - she can't figure out where the barking is coming from.

Joyce

Glenda, I've actually read quite a bit about the PMU mares and foals, and the awful lives they lead. Thank you for the information. I will certainly make sure I ask in the future, and insist on them using otherwise on my animals. I definitely don't want to encourage that corporation's success. [:@] 

No problem.  Now and then I get a thorn in my paw about a certain company and just can't get it out of there.....

I have not read anything about crate training here, yet.  The best way to potty train a young dog is to confine her, either to a crate or to a line tied to you when she is inside.
 
You should introduce her to a crate gently and possitively.  Little by little.  I'll bet that she will potty train pretty quickly since she lived outside and learned to potty in an appropriate part of her yard.  She might actually enjoy her crate and consider it her retreat.
Even though she seems really confused now, the way to make her confident is to give her some structure in the house.  Don't constantly pamper.  Give her rules, schedules, eating times, areas that she can inhabit and areas that she can't inhabit.  Take her outside about 1/2 hr after she has eaten and make it enjoyable.  reward her when she goes potty. 
It's a mistake to pamper her constantly because it can leave her wondering about who makes the rules.  She is probably use to having an Alpha who calls all the shots.

I don't have a crate to train her but we have given her our spare bathroom as her own room.  She seemed to really like that area for the first 48 hours and would go in there if she was feeling overwhelmed or tired.  However, since we shut her in there all night with the door closed (about 7-8 hours) she now doesn't want to go in and I had to lure her in there last night with hotdogs. lol    Anyway, is that the same as crate traning?  Or would I need an actual crate?

As far as structure, I'm afraid right now she's gotten nothing but affection (besides her designated sleeping area at night).  She seems to draw her lines in the house right now. For example, she won't go into the kitchen or our master bedroom. I haven't told her not to enter those rooms but for some reason she won't go into them.  Not sure why? 

I am aware that she's used to being in a pack and needs an alpha and I am going to try to be that for her.  I really have no idea how to do it yet but have been doing plenty of reading up about it.