Pet Lovers

[Zebsmom2]

Poor guy is so freaked out. He is not food motivated. Praise and calm voice do nothing. He goes into a kennel fine but getting him out, he bites at me. He has drawn blood on my husband. He is so skittish. Normal household noises frighten him. It’s difficult to get him to go outside. I have kept a light leash on him in the house so I don’t have to catch him (and corner him) to go outside. He growls when we walk by him. Any ideas what to do? I don’t want to be afraid of my dog!!!

[CrazyDaisy]

It often will take some time for a dog to adjust to the new home.  He is apparently very frightened.  Take it slow, he will come around.

[waterlily]

Poor thing has obviously been abused, try not crating him and see what happens.  He wants to love you but may take a little longer than usual.  Good luck and thank you for rescuing him.

[mariadomenica]

You may have already done this...Take him to a vet you know is good. Have the guy medically evaluated to rule outanything that may be distressing him physically.  Then  I  suggest STRONGLY using a PHERAMONE spray or color for calming.  They work well.  There are many on market..Felway is a good one.  Google for help on that.  Don't give up...Remember where he came from and what got himthere.  I will say a prayer.  I have been through so much with dogs.  They need us ......you will be rewarded with unconditional love.  It will not happen oernight.  let us all know how things turn out.

[Mz iMac]

If your dog is a "rescue" did you get a "history/background" report?

How did the dog act at the place you rescued it from?  Dog aggressive when you picked it up?

Have you asked for aggressive behavorial training advice from your vet?

[Still Raining]

After 12 years my grand pup still freaks if a hose is turned on anywhere in the yard.  This is DD’s baby and DD sleeps with her on the floor when SIL is out of town, so you know she is a wee bit spoiled.

I had a rescue once that was scared of newspapers.  I had never before seen a dog lay her side and scream.  All I was doing was motioning her away from the top of the stairs so I wouldn’t die, I never dreamed that would happen after I had her for several years.

It it will take a while to calm down.  Sometimes just being left to listen and watch your movements will cause them to creep out and watch.  Ignore them a bit.

[K9buddy]

Thank you for adopting a rescue. How long have you had him? Did you adopt him from a shelter or a rescue?

[Fressa]

Poor thing. Time and patience is the key. We had an English Shpherd that we adopted and had been abused. Crating seemed to just add to his issues. Try not to crate him for long. I would put those puotty pads down near the door and see if that helps with the bathroom situation. Ours was skidish with everything so here's my list of things I tried to calm him down: night lights (worked well) / ticking clock (some results)/ soft music (no result --tv seem to upset him). I had a soft blanket for him in multiple rooms so he could have a "spot". Some times they want to pick one themselves instead of being placed in one. (Who knows what happens to these poor things?  We found out with ours that you couldn't use any kind of tool around him...) I kept talking to him in a soft voice and eventually he started to come around. He won't take a treat from me but I would leave it near one of the blankets. Eventually, he did. Have a few soft toys around the blanket spots. it took a longer time than usual but eventually our dog developed into a fine dog.

[K9buddy]

I agree about not using the crate.  Spend as much time sitting on the floor around him but ignoring him at the same time. Have a treat (maybe hot dog or chicken) near you as well. Eventually he’ll come around and want to approach you. It’ll take time tho. Good luck. 

[chprsp]

I just found a fb group called Well Behaved Pets. You may want to join it for advice. They use only positive reinforcement.