Fearful Dog

[embreeo]

I am currently fostering a 4 year old female golden retriever who is extremely fearful. She appears to be particularly fearful of men. My household consists of me, my husband, two sons (ages 19 and 23) and three other dogs (a 10 ½ yr. old male, a 7 ½ yr. old female and a 3 yr. old female). I have had the foster (“Jessie”) for a few weeks now and have observed the following: She plays well with other dogs, is NOT aggressive in any way, submissively urinates when my husband or either of my sons approaches her, is NOT food driven … in fact, I can hardly get her to eat (have tried several different foods), is not interested in any kind of treat, and is not interested in dog toys. I DO have a little history on the dog and am positive she was not physically abused, although she may have been somewhat neglected. So far, she seems to have somewhat bonded to me – she DOES wag her tail and seems happy to see me. However, the minute one of the other family members enters the room, she immediately runs away. When she is out in the yard, she behaves like a “normal” dog. If my husband or one of my sons should go out into the yard, she immediately runs as far away from them as possible. I have put a leash on her and had my sons (one at a time, of course) sit and pet her. Initially, she shakes, shivers and urinates, but eventually calms down. One son sat on the floor petting her for over ½ hour, but the minute he stood up, she bolted. We have done this repeatedly but do not seem to be making any progress. I do have a crate for her in the house and she uses it as her “safe haven.”

Ultimately, I would like to re-home this dog, as I am unable to keep her myself – as stated above, I already have three of my own. In addition, my city/county has very strict laws as to how many dogs one may own and I am already over my limit!

I welcome any suggestions/comments as to how I should proceed.

[dogforever]

Some of the forum members here are very helpful ... i hope someone will help you out very soon.

[DoggyMom]

Do you know for sure that she was not abused? I know you say you have a little history, but unless you know for sure she wasn't abused, it might be wise to consider that she might have been. And her abuser was probably a male.

My thought would be when she sits quietly and lets the males of the house pet her, treat her (only when she is calm). Treat her each time she is calm and lets them give her attention. Hopefully, after time, she will associate their attention as good, not only good treats, but good attention as well. As for her bolting when your son pets her, have him get up slower maybe? Then she will be less frightened, or perhaps pet her and talk soothingly to her as he gets up.

Here's a bit of info I got off a training site:
Abused and neglected dogs should be trained with the same methods that all dogs should be trained with - positive reinforcement and an owner who understands how to be a benevolent leader. Use treats, play and petting (No slaps on top of the head please! Most dogs hate those!) to get a dog to do what you want rather than correcting your dog for doing the wrong thing. Get in the habit of teaching your dog what you DO want, and out of the habit of correcting the dog for what you DON'T want. If Fido is barking out the window, ask yourself: "What DO I want him to do?" and go about teaching him how to do it. What's important for all dogs is for you to use clear visual and acoustic signals, to start training a new command in a quiet, non-distracting environment, and to gradually ask the dog to respond to your signals during increasing levels of distraction. Be sure to use lots of positive reinforcement each time the dog does it correctly, and be sure it's really something that your dog wants at that moment in time. (Just like you, your dog may love to be petted or massaged, but not at every moment during the day. Use treats or toys when your dog is hyped up and not in a cuddly mood.)

Positive reinforcement is good for any dog, but is especially important for dogs who have learned that they may get hurt if they do something wrong. Be very patient with these dogs. Keep your voice quiet (yelling just sounds out-of-control to a dog anyway!) and work on teaching them that wonderful things happen if they learn the "tricks" you are teaching them. Most rescued dogs will eventually learn to trust you, if you yourself are consistently kind. Do resist the urge to try to make up for years of abuse by spoiling an abused dog, however. That can end up making the dog even more insecure, because what she wants is a benevolent leader, not someone on whom she can't count.

[embreeo]

Thank you for your response, DoggyMom. Yes, I am positive she was not physically abused - neglected perhaps, but not abused. She belonged to one of my friends' parents (an elderly couple with no children living at home) and they are no longer able to care for her. The husband suffered a stroke a year ago and is now in a nursing home. His wife is busy commuting back and forth everyday and there are no other family members or friends who have the "appropriate" home for her due to her fear issues. Since my last post, we have taken a slightly different approach with Jessie. My sons have been COMPLETELY ignoring her - they do not address her, nor do they try to approach her. She is still VERY fearful ... she seems to know when they are home (even though they spend most of the time in their respective rooms and are usually only home to sleep and/or eat). She paces back and forth, pants, and is constantly looking towards the hallway. It's as though she is curious, but afraid - anticipating that they may come out of their rooms at any time. She also is still not eating very well - I offer her food twice a day (a.m. and p.m.) - put it down for 1/2 hr. and if she doesn't eat it, I take it away. I can only get her to eat the equivalent of 1 measuring cup a day. I have tried feeding her alongside my other dogs (none are food aggressive) AND separate (both indoors and outdoors). Nothing seems to work. She is not interested in treats, nor human food for that matter. She has been checked by a vet and does not have any medical issues.

Although Jessie has primarily bonded to me, my husband has made a little progress. He is the one who lets her out of her crate in the early morning before everyone else gets up. After letting her out to go potty, he brings her back in and sits at the table reading the paper and drinking his morning coffee. She will allow him to pet her and her tail wags slightly. We do not pet her on her head - we usually pet her under her chin or on her shoulder.

I like to think of our family as being very dog savvy - we have all had dogs since the day we were born - as young children, we had a variety of breeds, but for the last 30 years, have had nothing but goldens. This breed is USUALLY very adaptable and people oriented. My main concern now is letting Jessie get too attached to me and then having to rehome her. Keeping her is absolutely out of the question - is it better to rehome sooner rather than later??? Obviously, finding the right home is not going to be an easy task.

[turnerlvv]

I would suggest making the males of the house do all the work with her. Make them feed her, walk her, etc. That way she learns that they are there to take care of her and not to hurt her. Also just put them all in a room together and tell you sons and husband to sit down (lol). Just let her sniff them. Tell them not to move. Don't reach out to pet her or anything. Just let her sniff them for a few minutes.

[allmywebsite1]

ok if u r not able to keep just send it to me bcoz i love dogs and i have so many so he will be added in my group ok