Dear Everyone,
I am new to this forum, and am not totally sure if this is the proper place to post this topic, but I hope it is.
A brief history:
My wife and I adopted a golden retriever named Sonny about a year ago. Before he was rescued by a local rescue agency, him, his parents, and his sister lived in a metal swimming pool. Basically, as it was expressed to me, his purpose was to bark when someone came on their property. They bathed him by hanging him by the neck and hosing him off, and I assume that the feeding ritual was competitive between him and his peers. This abuse took place during the first 4 months of his life, then he was rescued and stayed with a foster parent until we adopted him.
Sonny:
The behaviors that he exhibits are, he is very timid towards everyone, my wife is really the only one who can actually approach him without him running away or avoiding. He does better with women, but still avoids being touched at all costs (has even jumped over couches to get away). He is very anxious, if I get up he wants to know where I am at, at all times, and if I walk towards him he makes sure to keep distance between us. He has gotten better, he used to pace a lot, but not he just paces sometimes before going out side. He is not leash trained, we can put a harness/collar on him and he is OK with that, but if we put a leash on him he flips out. We are not sure if this is due to the foreign object touching his back or his inability to escape us when he sees it necessary, or both. He has slowly become more comfortable with us, but we are afraid that he is going to be stuck in these behaviors forever, and we want him to live a more full life. If anyone has any suggestions they would be much appreciated! Thank you for your time.
Kevin
Abused Dog Advice
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
I'm sure someone will be along with more advice for you soon, but I just wanted to reassure that it will get better. It was 6 months before my dog would relax enough to sleep if we were around, probably around 12 months before we made much progress with him being collar shy. Several years on that is something we still manage rather than something that has been 'fixed' but it has minimal impact on his daily life now.
The only suggestions I have are carry on taking it slowly. As much as possible let him approach you, rather than you approaching him. If he does approach you, don't touch him if you can see he is uncomfortable with it. Hold the back of your hand out where he can reach it, low down and moving slowly, let him sniff/lick it if he wants to. Back off if he doesn't. Don't let other people bother him or touch him. Let him know you'll protect him from the things he doesn't like.
When you are moving around doing something avoid staring at him, just glance over and then ignore him, carry on with what you are doing without making a fuss or drawing attention to him. Let him watch.
Start carrying treats and tidbits around with you. Whenever he shows any interest in you offer him a treat in a very casual way. You don't even need to look at him, just hold it where he can see it. If he comes over and takes it don't react at all. Eventually he should start looking hopefully at you for treats, then start adding lots of calm quiet praise when you treat him. Build up to touching him lightly when you praise him. Try touching the side of his body. Avoid patting him on the head, a lot of dogs find that intimidating. Avoid the top of his back while you are working on the harness/leash issues.
Encourage your wife to do lots of positive training with him around collars/harnesses/leash. Clicker training is great for this. Use the methods they use to leash train puppies. Have him wear his harness in the house. Then tie a piece of string to it, so it just hangs down, move on to a longer piece that drags on the floor, then work your way up to heavy string, light fabric, a short lead, a longer lead. Never push him harder than he can cope with. If it makes him uncomfortable, go back a step and stay with that a little while longer. Once he is less concerned about having things attached to him, go back to a lighter weight lead and get him used to having it handled while he wears it. Just hold the lead, stroke it, whatever, but don't lead him around by it. Again gradually work your way up to being able to use it as a leash. But build it up slowly, always slowly.
The only suggestions I have are carry on taking it slowly. As much as possible let him approach you, rather than you approaching him. If he does approach you, don't touch him if you can see he is uncomfortable with it. Hold the back of your hand out where he can reach it, low down and moving slowly, let him sniff/lick it if he wants to. Back off if he doesn't. Don't let other people bother him or touch him. Let him know you'll protect him from the things he doesn't like.
When you are moving around doing something avoid staring at him, just glance over and then ignore him, carry on with what you are doing without making a fuss or drawing attention to him. Let him watch.
Start carrying treats and tidbits around with you. Whenever he shows any interest in you offer him a treat in a very casual way. You don't even need to look at him, just hold it where he can see it. If he comes over and takes it don't react at all. Eventually he should start looking hopefully at you for treats, then start adding lots of calm quiet praise when you treat him. Build up to touching him lightly when you praise him. Try touching the side of his body. Avoid patting him on the head, a lot of dogs find that intimidating. Avoid the top of his back while you are working on the harness/leash issues.
Encourage your wife to do lots of positive training with him around collars/harnesses/leash. Clicker training is great for this. Use the methods they use to leash train puppies. Have him wear his harness in the house. Then tie a piece of string to it, so it just hangs down, move on to a longer piece that drags on the floor, then work your way up to heavy string, light fabric, a short lead, a longer lead. Never push him harder than he can cope with. If it makes him uncomfortable, go back a step and stay with that a little while longer. Once he is less concerned about having things attached to him, go back to a lighter weight lead and get him used to having it handled while he wears it. Just hold the lead, stroke it, whatever, but don't lead him around by it. Again gradually work your way up to being able to use it as a leash. But build it up slowly, always slowly.
Thank you so much for your reply, I will just continue to work slowly with him. He has almost completely come around with my wife, and pretty much listens to her, but he is still timid around me. I really like your idea to keep treats with me to give to him when he shows interest in me, to help positively reinforce that behavior.
I guess I always wonder if there is a something I can do to just snap him out of these behaviors, it seems like a lot of TV shows how easy it is, but I find its more of a challenge than expected.
Thanks for your advice!
Kevin
I guess I always wonder if there is a something I can do to just snap him out of these behaviors, it seems like a lot of TV shows how easy it is, but I find its more of a challenge than expected.
Thanks for your advice!
Kevin
