The stance you are referring to is a female's way of marking. Just give her lots of love and hopefully you can undue all the bad things she has been through. I am sure it is very difficult getting use to a life outside of a 2 foot square cage. I am so glad she found you. It might be a lot of hard work, but I am sure in the end it will be very rewarding. Good luck to you.
http://furrycritters.techiebear.com/...ngadultdog.htm