Pet Lovers

[hyacinth003]

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@kittyloo wrote:

@hyacinth003   if you are the one feeding her everyday,  she will come around. Not knowing what her past is, or how she was treated it will just take time. 

please just be consistent, and patient. never raise your voice to her.

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No, I never raise my voice.  I just praise her.  I thought of the feeding thing and called her tonight for her bowl of food.  She wouldn't come down the stairs!  So I just left it for her.  Maybe she realizes I put it there!

Hyacinth

[Foxxee]

It would be helpful to know more about the background of your dog, but you may not know. 

Your little sweety could have been abused, dropped off the side of the road, lived as a stray a little while, picked up by someone and taken to a rescue, fostered for a month, then you adopted her.  

Quite a history for a one year old dog and a tiny one at that.

The abuse and drop off could have been by a female considering your dog prefers your husband and appears to be mainly fearful of you.  

Not saying she was abused and dropped off the side of the road, or she was owned by a female, but something happened to her to make her afraid of you and not so much your husband.

There are a few very good sources on the internet on how to handle fearful, timid, abused dogs.  

Dogs usually bond and eventually trust the one who feeds them, plays most with them, trains them to sit, stay, wait at the door, potty trains them, and takes them for walks.  Correct her when she is a bad girl, praise her lavishly when she does what you want her to do.  

I think if you do that, your doggy will come around.  You just will need to show a lot of kindness, patience and understanding of what she might have been through in the past.  

Hoping you won't give up and take her back to the rescue.

[CrazyDaisy]

I would try hand feeding her meals.  Sit on the floor and avoid eye contact.  She will learn that good things come from people.  That may be something she needs to learn.   Can also use her leash or a long line to work with her recalls.  Call her name and use the leash to gently bring her to you.  Find high value treats such as meats or cheese for this training.  She really seems to be doing well.  It often takes rescues a longer time period to adjust.  Having fear issues will take even a little longer, but from experience very rewarding.

[Josmad]

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@hyacinth003 wrote:

We adopted a one year old chihuahua mix about a month ago.  She was found as a stray and may have been abused.  She was taken in by a rescue and spent about a month with a foster family.

She has picked my husband as her "person."  She pretty much sticks to him, which is rather frustrating for me, but at least she likes someone!  She is doing fairly well on the leash, though needs more training to walk beside better.  She has had a few accidents in the house, but mostly is going outside.  She eats well.  She has spent the night in the crate we prepared for her, and sleeps in our bedroom with us.

The issue I have is that she acts like I am out to kill her!  She seems to be a LITTLE more comfortable being closer to me to get treats.  She will actually reject treats from me an run upstairs instead.  I have tried to give her a lot of space, not approaching or chasing her.  She will sometimes even run from my husband.  She will not respond to her name.

Would appreciate any suggestions if anyone has them for how to work with a timid dog.

Hyacinth

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   If she was picked up as a stray the rescue would have named her, since she was only with the foster family for a month, she may not be used to her name yet.  Also, if she was abused she does not trust people yet and it could have been the female in the house was the abuser so she would be more comfortable with your husband.  I had a foster that was adopted by a family and she was terrified of the man.  He would come home from work every day and give her a treat and within a few months she was his buddy.

Give her time and she will come around.  

[hyacinth003]

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@Foxxee wrote:

It would be helpful to know more about the background of your dog, but you may not know. 

Your little sweety could have been abused, dropped off the side of the road, lived as a stray a little while, picked up by someone and taken to a rescue, fostered for a month, then you adopted her.  

Quite a history for a one year old dog and a tiny one at that.

The abuse and drop off could have been by a female considering your dog prefers your husband and appears to be mainly fearful of you.  

Not saying she was abused and dropped off the side of the road, or she was owned by a female, but something happened to her to make her afraid of you and not so much your husband.

There are a few very good sources on the internet on how to handle fearful, timid, abused dogs.  

Dogs usually bond and eventually trust the one who feeds them, plays most with them, trains them to sit, stay, wait at the door, potty trains them, and takes them for walks.  Correct her when she is a bad girl, praise her lavishly when she does what you want her to do.  

I think if you do that, your doggy will come around.  You just will need to show a lot of kindness, patience and understanding of what she might have been through in the past.  

Hoping you won't give up and take her back to the rescue.

We won't take her back to the rescue.  There's nothing so bad that we would consider that.  She is scared, not bad.  I am frustrated because I want to love on her and she won't let me!  She can be worked with I think.  She is not consistent in her responses.  One day she will approach me for treats, other days she won't.  I figure I must be consistently kind until some kind of trust is gained.

I can pet her a bit if my husband holds her.  She is not shaking if I pet her anymore.  I read not to approach their face with your hand.  So I pet her by approaching the back of her head.  And I only do it for a really short time.

At first she would not take the biscuit from my hand.  She would go to the back of the crate and I had to set it down.  Now she will take it from my fingers.  I give it to her and walk away.

She will try to resist the leash even with my husband.  Even though she likes going out.  She has met many neighbors, but hides behind my husband.  That will take time!  We just tell them she is very shy and they don't touch her.

She is a work in progress, but I think she's worth it.

Hyacinth

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[hyacinth003]

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@Josmad wrote:

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@hyacinth003 wrote:

We adopted a one year old chihuahua mix about a month ago.  She was found as a stray and may have been abused.  She was taken in by a rescue and spent about a month with a foster family.

She has picked my husband as her "person."  She pretty much sticks to him, which is rather frustrating for me, but at least she likes someone!  She is doing fairly well on the leash, though needs more training to walk beside better.  She has had a few accidents in the house, but mostly is going outside.  She eats well.  She has spent the night in the crate we prepared for her, and sleeps in our bedroom with us.

The issue I have is that she acts like I am out to kill her!  She seems to be a LITTLE more comfortable being closer to me to get treats.  She will actually reject treats from me an run upstairs instead.  I have tried to give her a lot of space, not approaching or chasing her.  She will sometimes even run from my husband.  She will not respond to her name.

Would appreciate any suggestions if anyone has them for how to work with a timid dog.

Hyacinth

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   If she was picked up as a stray the rescue would have named her, since she was only with the foster family for a month, she may not be used to her name yet.  Also, if she was abused she does not trust people yet and it could have been the female in the house was the abuser so she would be more comfortable with your husband.  I had a foster that was adopted by a family and she was terrified of the man.  He would come home from work every day and give her a treat and within a few months she was his buddy.

Give her time and she will come around.  

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She was named "Lilo" by the rescue or foster home.  I didn't care for the name because it sounded male to me.  So, I decided to go with "Lila" because I liked that and it sounded feminine.  They thought she looked like the "Lilo & Stitch" movie character, and I can see it!  I should contact the foster home and ask if she responded to her name from them.  We have gotten several compliments on her name!  She's a cutie.

The rescue told me she picked her up shaking in the corner of the cage in the animal control.  She was covered in excrement because she was too scared to move.  So she's had it tough for her year or so of life.

Hyacinth

[Josmad]

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@hyacinth003 wrote:

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@Josmad wrote:

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@hyacinth003 wrote:

We adopted a one year old chihuahua mix about a month ago.  She was found as a stray and may have been abused.  She was taken in by a rescue and spent about a month with a foster family.

She has picked my husband as her "person."  She pretty much sticks to him, which is rather frustrating for me, but at least she likes someone!  She is doing fairly well on the leash, though needs more training to walk beside better.  She has had a few accidents in the house, but mostly is going outside.  She eats well.  She has spent the night in the crate we prepared for her, and sleeps in our bedroom with us.

The issue I have is that she acts like I am out to kill her!  She seems to be a LITTLE more comfortable being closer to me to get treats.  She will actually reject treats from me an run upstairs instead.  I have tried to give her a lot of space, not approaching or chasing her.  She will sometimes even run from my husband.  She will not respond to her name.

Would appreciate any suggestions if anyone has them for how to work with a timid dog.

Hyacinth

---

   If she was picked up as a stray the rescue would have named her, since she was only with the foster family for a month, she may not be used to her name yet.  Also, if she was abused she does not trust people yet and it could have been the female in the house was the abuser so she would be more comfortable with your husband.  I had a foster that was adopted by a family and she was terrified of the man.  He would come home from work every day and give her a treat and within a few months she was his buddy.

Give her time and she will come around.  

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She was named "Lilo" by the rescue or foster home.  I didn't care for the name because it sounded male to me.  So, I decided to go with "Lila" because I liked that and it sounded feminine.  They thought she looked like the "Lilo & Stitch" movie character, and I can see it!  I should contact the foster home and ask if she responded to her name from them.  We have gotten several compliments on her name!  She's a cutie.

The rescue told me she picked her up shaking in the corner of the cage in the animal control.  She was covered in excrement because she was too scared to move.  So she's had it tough for her year or so of life.

Hyacinth

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Lila is not too much differnet then Lilo so I would think she would come if she had been coming to Lilo. There is a book written by Patricia McConnell called "Cautious Canine" that might help. It is only 30 pages so it would be a quick read. She is a very good behavioral dog trainer. There is also one by Nicole Wild "Help for your Fearful Dog" but it is a much longe book and would take more time to get through, 

[Catty2]

Her previous life is unknown so who knows what she went through.  Maybe sit on the floor to be more at her level and talk to her, pet her, give her treats.  She is a lucky pup that you adopted her and I'm sure she just needs time to adjust.  I have a doxie mix rescue that was a stray and have had her over 9 years.  Good Luck! 

[doxie1]

I have had timid rescues. I think you are doing the right things. I agree with Crazy Daisy about the hand feeding of the decadent treats.

I used cooked chicken and cheese and these liver treats. I also ran a tether from the harness to myself so the dog followed me all over the house .When I sat down the dog was still tethered. When they approached me they got a decadent treat.

We got to the point where she would sit beside me and let me pet her.

Then the vet showed me how to massage while holding her. Told me the compression would help give a secure feeling and the massage would relaxe her.

In a week she would sit in the chair beside me for her daily massage. It went from there to her thinking she needed hourly massages.

I took her around a lot of people and told them to ignore her.

She is a different dog today.

The tethering taught her to run to me so if she is uncertain in a situation she will run to me and sit by my feet.

I think the name is fine. She maybe did not have a name before the rescue so you are doing the right thing.

doxie

I am so glad that you got her

[doxie1]

This dog that was so timid brought her dog food dish to me in the kitchen today when she was ready to eat. I carried something to the den and turned to go back to the kitchen and there she was again with her dish in her mouth. I fixed her meal and watched her happily eating and wagging her tail. It is hard to believe she is the timid dog I rescued!

Then she was ready for another massage! Haha