Pet Lovers

[Ohio St8]

About 6 weeks ago, I was talking to the mgr of the animal shelter. we were talking about dogs in general. Then she said she had the sweetest dog. He arrived when he was 2 months old & has been at the shelter for 2 years & 2 months. I cried knowing a dog had lived most of his life in a kennel. The reason why he had not been adopted is because of his big size. He weighs 85 lbs. (our previous dog weighed 135 lbs.) I showed his I.D. photo to my husband & my DH went & adopted the dog. He truly is a good dog but I need help. He is only 2 & acts as if he is 12. He spends all day & all night in my bedroom closet.  He comes out to eat & go outside. We call him out but he will not stay. He returns to the closet. The shelter said he loves to play with squeaky toys. We have a chest full of toys & he has never touched one. He loves to ride in the car. Something he did not do at the shelter. I am thinking because he has been caged most of his life, he only knows to sleep. We have had him for about 6 weeks. We took him to the Vet''s office for a wellness exam & h would not leave my husband. We want him to spend more time with us & not continuosly stay in the small, dark closet. He really is a sweet dog. All suggestions will be appreciated.

[m0rgan]

You are probably right about him sleeping because of being caged.  You might try closing doors to rooms so he will spend time with you and your husband.  You could try tossing toys for him while being in the room with you.  I think it will take time and lots of love to change how he has grown up but just give him time.  It will be worth it.

[Group 5 minus 1]

God will bless you for your love and kindness.

[Love the Au and Ag]

Maybe make him a den in the room you would like him to stay with you and your husband during the day. It could be a large box or a dog crate that you cover with a blanket and then have a comfortable bed in it. I'm not saying shut him in the crate just have it be a cozy place he will feel sheltered when inside. Give him treats and toys too so it is a very positive place for him. My dogs are crate trained and do choose to go sleep in them at times. I love big dogs I have 2 English mastiffs that are 165 and 240 each. 
I recuse feral cats and it takes a long time for them to learn they are home and it is safe. 
Thank  you for giving him a home. 

[Winkk]

Thank you for giving him a home.  We have rescue dogs and they are so sacred.  One of them stayed in my daughter's room for two weeks.  We just let her be and she slowly started to explore the rest of the house.

She turned out to be such a happy dog. 

[luvmybeetle]

I adopted a big dog years ago from my company's food research center.  They use the dogs (I assume) to taste the food and if they like it the company makes it for the public.  She was afraid to come out of her crate and every time she did she would take a run around the room and then go back and stay there.  It ended up that she had cancer & had to be put down.  But my advise is to be very, very patient with your dog and just give it a chance no matter what.

[GingerHead]

@Ohio St8 

This warms my heart so! I also thank you for adopting your new love.

As for his behavior, please just give him time, I know it's been 6 weeks but remember he lived in the shelter caged up for a long long time. He missed out on so much and just needs to be nurtured and loved out of it.

I wouldn't lock him out of his safe place, I'd instead get on the ground and spend tons of time with him gently encouraging him out.

He needs a lot of positive reinforcement and love and he needs to feel safe.

When we first adopted our little guy he spent a lot of time under our couch (yes, under the couch), so I put a bed under there and let him do that until he felt safe and in no time he was out and is now always on top of one of us.

Good luck, he just needs time and lots of gentle play and love.

[geezerette]

Heavens, the poor thing has spent his entire life in a shelter.  That's all he's known.

I think you're expecting a lot from him in just six weeks.

Please be patient and don't push.  Go back to the shelter and find out what his favorite treats are (if any) and see if they'll give you one of the toys he liked, or buy some that are the same.

High value treats like all meat training bites are usually quite popular with most dogs.  If he seems to prefer your husband right now, have him coax the dog out of the closet with a treat.  Try bringing him into wherever you spend your evenings (on a leash if necessary, but don't force him) and just let him sit or hide in the same room as you.  (If it were me, I'd spend time with him on the floor in his closet just so he could get used to me.)

Take him on walks.  That's a great way to bond.  If he's afraid of the open, take him on a leash in your yard.  Stay calm.  Be patient.  Coax him but don't force him slowly into new experiences.  Try to remember to see this new world as he is seeing it for the first time.  Remember how fearful young puppies can be about new things--he's in the same frame of mind.

You are to be commended for taking this poor guy on.  Especially now with all the shelters overflowing.  🐾❤️🐾

[Kachina624]

@Ohio St8.  It will undoubtedly take a lot of time and patience to bring him out of his shell.  I'd also shut the bedroom door so he has to take refuge in the family room with you. 

I've found if dogs aren't given toys as puppies, they just aren't  interested in them ever.

You need to dream up something that will increase his self confidence.  Any possibility you might have access to an agility course?  Big dogs aren't very good at it but it's a great confidence builder.  How about a group obedience class?  A play date with another dog?  Walks through Petsmart or Home Depot for socialization?  Have treats for strangers to give him.

[OneHappyHiker]

@Ohio St8 THANK YOU for giving this beautiful creature a home!!! Now the REAL fun for him begins!!! Sure some frustration for you while he adjusts, but it will come in TIME!

I'm not an expert at all but will give you some thoughts from readings and experience.

Dogs are definitely like humans where they have been conditioned through their experiences, surroundings, and their personality. It's through new interactions that they become used to new things. That all takes time.

He might be a shy, timid, accommodating dog who ultimately gave in to his circumstances of being caged the entire beginning of his life, minus those two little months before coming to the shelter. Therefore, if it's a busy shelter with not a lot of individual dog-to-human time for interaction, he most likely got to go out on a schedule, eat, have a bit of play time, and each time he completed those tasks, he went back into his cage. His cage represented a place for him to be able to sleep safely and rest, without worrying about any other interaction from other dogs/humans/life in general if he wanted to be quiet. Your closet represents his cage, again, where he lived his entire life and adjusted to that cage living.

Many dogs are cage/crate/nook trained due to various reasons. He might enjoy having a cage/crate/nook in the area of your home where you spend most of your time. Our daughter's dog LOVES her crate and chooses to go into it when she feels like resting or hiding a toy or treat for later. It's a safety net for her, so perhaps an enclosed area he is able to go into and come out of right by you would allow him to begin exposure to having people around most of the day, but he would still feel that safety net of a safe space. I know lots of dogs love cozy nooks and being covered on all sides, so perhaps a snuggly, cozy nook or crate would help.

I would also try enticing him out of the closet often. A little bit at a time but multiple times during the day. Using treats and noisy toys he might like (even though he doesn't right now), you or your hubby waiting right outside the closet coaxing him out to be with you, might spark some interest in leaving that closet. Sitting outside if the weather permits is also allowing him to see what's out there. He most likely didn't often just get the chance to enjoy outdoors. I've done this on numerous occasions with our dogs, and after a bit they seem to get it that being WITH the pack is more than being alone in their safe spot. Again, he would have his safety nook near you both so he can see what goes on there.

Noise in a kennel or shelter sometimes can be quite overwhelming, necessitating some animals to simply tune out and turn inwards for survival. I would give the shelter a call and have a chat with some of the people who took care of him most of the time. You could gain some insight as to what he did when they took him out and hopefully some more pieces of his puzzle.

I think lastly... "It will take time" is something we often hear when dealing with our furbabies. But what really is "time" to us might not be enough time for them. I have always lived by the philosophy that "time" is what my dog has decided was enough time. Of course I always placed artificial time constraints on whatever task might be at hand, only to learn their time was not my idea of time lol. I quickly learned to adopt their way of thinking: "It will take whatever time I need."

The best of luck for your new family member and you in breaking through to him. Love will conquer all! It will just take time.