Mistreated Nervous Dog Kabul

[neilwill1979]

Hi, I am looking for some advice on the following situation.

I'm from the UK currently work and live in Kabul Afghanistan, whilst out and about I noticed a yard with many dogs in, in particular one dog was chained underneath some wooden stairs cowering in the corner, I approached her and she just hid and peed herself, all the other dogs were barking walking etc. but not this one, so I told my interpreter to ask how much he wants for her and I took her to my house. She would not walk on the leash so I had to carry her to the vehicle and brought her home, immediately on entering the room she ran for the nearest corner to hide, she is extremely submissive due to obviously being mistreated.

Therefore my question is how do I get her to trust me and people around me as other people I work with live here also. I have had her for 48 hours gave her a bath and some food which she only started eating today including taking from my hand and walking 2 steps from the blanket to pick some food up then ran back, I also try to get her to go outside however she refuses to move, if I push her bum she will finally pee then get up and go. I don't want to push her but she has to go out right?

I have read many forums and watched videos on this which stated submissive peeing, to include head down and tail between the legs, one good sign was she wagged her tail for the first time today when I was trying to coax her down the stairs but quickly ran back up. I also spent the last 48hrs looking for a vet in Kabul not easy BUT there is a British charity here called NOWZAD who are going to see and treat her tomorrow.

Any advice on bringing her out of her shell just to even walk about the room instead of lying on the blanket would be much appreciated. She is about 6 month old German shepherd and I'm sure she has been tied to that post for most of her life. Also should I just leave her on the Blanket all day or make her get up and go outside, I do this gently whilst talking to her nice, it's not just a shove.

Thanks in advance

Neil

[bendog]

Hi
You might want to check out www.fearfuldogs.com

Basically, especially as you have only had her such a short time, hands off approach is definately best.
Toss treats to her whenever you move around near her but don't touch her, don't approach her head on, just leave her be as much as possible. Get everyone you live with to do the same.

It's great if she's taking food from your hand.

She doesn't need to go on walks and stuff, but obviously she will need to go out to the toilet. I would try putting a lead on her and encouraging her to move rather than physically touching her (but don't drag her either!)

However if she really really won't go out then maybe for time being it would be worth while putting a tray of dirt in one corner and hoping she will pee there.

[gwd]

hey neil, welcome to the forum

firstly, please make sure she's inoculated for rabies immediately. that is a serious issue with dogs in afghanistan.

secondly, the less you can push her emotionally the better. .....approach her by kind of sidling up to her as oppose to straight on avoid direct eye contact that might raise her stress level, glance and look away kind of stuff. don't push her to take food directly from your hand but make sure she associates you with the food delivery. place it near her and then move back to give her some space. ....make sure she has a water bowl that she can access without having to leave her blanket. .........

basically, try to avoid doing anything that is going to cause her stress (other than the rabies jab) and allow her time to decompress and exhale. just let her get use to the sight and sound of you without it being social pressure on her......

[jacksdad]

I highly recommend as well www.fearfuldogs.com. I actually got to attend a 1 day seminar by the Debbie at fearfuldogs and she GETS fearful dogs.

another great resource is the books by Nicole http://www.nicolewilde.com/

The key to helping your dog is time. you have only had her for 48 hours, that is not enough for her to learn to trust and bond with you. giving her space and time and not forcing or coaxing her to do anything unnecessary is going to be important. An exceptions maybe things like bathing and medical care or taking her out for bathroom breaks. but beyond life needs, she doesn't need to be touched or approached by anyone who is just trying to say HI or be friendly etc. in fact forcing those things could make your job of helping her take longer and more difficult.

Top priority is going to be her learning you are safe, can be trusted to protect her and care for her. And this will take time.

Given the situation though, I have to throw something out that needs to be considered. It will sound cruel or cold or even like I am suggesting not even trying this dog. But I know what it will take to turn this dog around from a fearful dog to one that is able to function in the human world. Scared and fearful dogs have a VERY special place in my heart. So I want nothing more than to have this turn into a happy ending.

Sooooo......

When your time in Kabul is up, are you coming back to the UK? And if so, will you be able to bring this dog with you? if the answer is no, I would give some serious thought to maybe euthanizing this dog. as cold and giving up on this dog as it may sound and if I was in your shoes, looking at this frightened dog I would be VERY resistant to the idea. So I am not bringing this up lightly or casually, but IF you can't go the distance and we are talking years in all likelihood, euthanizing this dog maybe the kindest thing you could possibly do for her.

IF you are able to take her back to the UK....and you can commit to going the distance, we can absolutely provide advice and support that will get you started.

[neilwill1979]

Thank you for your replies, I will most certainly check out the website suggested.

As for taking her with me? most definitely as long as she is OK at the vets today she will get Jabs, Chipped etc. I will be in Kabul for the next 2 years. It's not cheap to fly her back but as I mentioned above the Charity Nowzad do some great work.

I also understand it was only 48hrs with her and I'm not expecting miracles, I just require advice.

Last night she obviously found herself a bit perkier as the previous night she just lay on her blanket curled in a ball face hidden and did not move all night, last night she was stretched out by my radiator for me to wake up and she has chewed all my xbox games, dragged a few of my clothes and robbed her treats from the side also, obviously no reprimand was given.

Thank you again for your advice.

[neilwill1979]

Pic of her.

[gwd]

Pic of her.

awwww. she does seem to be stretched out and relaxed........not the timid , try to disappear so no one will notice me curl! she looks remarkably in good weight. .......and she's lovely.

you just never know how it's going to go.........each dog is different and some have emotional scars that take years to get them to a point where they're normal and functioning............other dogs seem to realize that their circumstances just got waaaaaay better and bounce back from the abuse rather quickly with a new person.

[Louisehg]

You are doing a wonderful thing in taking this obviously abused animal and trying to give it a better life.
Try to keep track of all of the tiny positive steps that you will take together it will give you hope when you have the inevitable bumps in the road!
Good luck!

[neilwill1979]

Took Dusty to the vets this morning, she was micro-chipped, vacinated and rabies jab, she was brave and is now chewing on a huge bone.

[Louisehg]

Great news!

[jacksdad]

Thanks for sharing the picture of Dusty. She does look relaxed in that photo. And in remarkable good shape all things considered.

Really pulling for you and Dusty.

when you do take her out for walks, be sure to always keep your self between her and anything she reacts freighted to. This really helps.

Keep note of what she reacts to fearfully, and try and work out how to keep a safe distance from it. the safe distance is the distance she needs to not react. a fearful reaction can be a very clear tuck tail, try and be small. But it can also be a "offensive" looking response. growls, barks, lunges...the old get you before you can get me response. This type respond is often just a bluff.....BUT never take that for granted. pushed too fare a dog will bit/attack. So deal with scary for her. which most of the time just means you stand between her and scary and if possible ask scary to leave.

being where you are, since you intended to take her with you when you leave. I would right now start putting together plans to get her out with you. the security situation as you know can change on a dime, so I personally wouldn't wait until it gets closer to the end of your 2 years. I would try and have your plan and options in place as soon as you can.

she is a VERY lucky dog to have found you or you her. keep up the good work and please, please do not hesitate to ask questions if you have any. Oh and keep the updates and pictures coming.

[neilwill1979]

Thanks for all the comments, that's one area I could do with some assistance is making her walk, as she refuses to walk on the leash. What I did last night just to get her upstairs was put the leash on her then offered her a bit of corned beef (she loves corned beef) she walked 2-3 steps and would stop again I repeated the process until I ran out of the beef I had then just coaxed her by talking gently until finally we reached our goal 30 mins later. Was this an OK way to do it? any alternative solutions?

Thanks Neil

[gwd]

Thanks for all the comments, that's one area I could do with some assistance is making her walk, as she refuses to walk on the leash. What I did last night just to get her upstairs was put the leash on her then offered her a bit of corned beef (she loves corned beef) she walked 2-3 steps and would stop again I repeated the process until I ran out of the beef I had then just coaxed her by talking gently until finally we reached our goal 30 mins later. Was this an OK way to do it? any alternative solutions?

Thanks Neil

it's great that she's at a point where she can be lured with food. if she was in complete shut down mode she wouldn't even look at the food

just to be clear, was it a 30 min process to get her upstairs?

[neilwill1979]

Thanks for all the comments, that's one area I could do with some assistance is making her walk, as she refuses to walk on the leash. What I did last night just to get her upstairs was put the leash on her then offered her a bit of corned beef (she loves corned beef) she walked 2-3 steps and would stop again I repeated the process until I ran out of the beef I had then just coaxed her by talking gently until finally we reached our goal 30 mins later. Was this an OK way to do it? any alternative solutions?

Thanks Neil

it's great that she's at a point where she can be lured with food. if she was in complete shut down mode she wouldn't even look at the food

just to be clear, was it a 30 min process to get her upstairs?

Yeah she will be lured a few steps with food I can even lure her away from the blanket for a couple of steps then she runs back.

Yes it was 30 mins to get her 8-10 meters.

[gwd]

Thanks for all the comments, that's one area I could do with some assistance is making her walk, as she refuses to walk on the leash. What I did last night just to get her upstairs was put the leash on her then offered her a bit of corned beef (she loves corned beef) she walked 2-3 steps and would stop again I repeated the process until I ran out of the beef I had then just coaxed her by talking gently until finally we reached our goal 30 mins later. Was this an OK way to do it? any alternative solutions?

Thanks Neil

it's great that she's at a point where she can be lured with food. if she was in complete shut down mode she wouldn't even look at the food

just to be clear, was it a 30 min process to get her upstairs?

Yeah she will be lured a few steps with food I can even lure her away from the blanket for a couple of steps then she runs back.

Yes it was 30 mins to get her 8-10 meters.

i'm assuming this is what you're needing to do to take her out to potty? ..... i have no problem with using food as a lure. right now she needs anything that you can do to make it a choice she's making (and being encouraged) rather than being pulled.

one thing that might be worth trying is to switch her over to a harness rather than a collar. since she was tied up when you found her, there might be some bad memories associated with pressure on the collar.........she might respond better with the leash being clipped on a harness as it's a different pressure in places that she doesn't have those negative association..........might be worth trying.