Give her more time. She might be more comfortable in the crate right now because of her previous experience. Gently, without intruding on her space, scratch her ears or back when the family is together watching TV. Close the door to keep her in the room a little longer each time without stressing her out. Keep feeding her by hand. It prevents food aggression and also shows her that good things come from you (people). Inside or when you take her out, play a little bit at a time with a ball or tug toy, but make sure you have a person interacting with her rather than giving her a toy to chew.

Are you feeding her a premium dog food rather than Walmart crap? Make sure she's getting good nutrition. Give her lots of TLC and talk to her. You should see results.

Quote Originally Posted by BJ Slade View Post
This past Sunday, we adopted a 2-year-old (approx) female Aussie Shepherd mix from the Humane Society. She had been living in the shelter for the past year. We haven't really had any issues with her... no accidents, she sleeps quietly in her crate at night and she follows some basic commands that we are reinforcing.

Her behavior around the house I would best describe as standoffish. She lies quietly on the floor near us but doesn't engage very much. She also seems hesitant to go near her food and water dishes and we have resorted to feeding her a few pieces by hand to get her to eat.

The other unusual behavior she has demonstrated is right when she leaves her crate in the morning. I am the first one to go downstairs but she doesn't seem to be in a huge hurry (this after spending maybe 9 hours in the crate.) I have to attach her leash and lead her downstairs and once she is near the door she is ready to go. She finishes her business quickly and then goes right back upstairs. Is that new-house anxiety or is that her nature as a shepherd (and wanting to "herd" the family into one place)? She will come downstairs once the whole family is there.

We have two daughters, ages 8 and 6 and everyone has been good about giving the dog her space and allowing her to warm up to us.