meandmy4? Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Has anyone had a abused puppy as a foster before. Bluey came to us a week ago and has been abused but not sure how although has 4 cigarette burns on his tummy. But cant think about that gotta move forward. He is so frightened it breaks my heart. He adores the company of my dogs and am hoping that they will in time give him confidence. I tried taking him out for a walk with mine today but he violantly shook in car and after sat on park floor on extendable lead just couldnt get him to walk on it. He is inquisitive but just wont participate.He will only just take a piece of food of my fingers with arm out stretched. Helen says I have to act normal so as not to confirm his fears by cuddling him when he is scared of everyday things, but so heartbreaking when he hides under table. Has anyone had a pup like this before? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alison Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Has anyone had a pup like this before? A dog like that yes, but not a pup Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happylittlegreensquirrel Posted February 19, 2008 Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Yes with my Holly , she was very nervous when she arrived and would wet herself if you looked at her and she could not walk on a lead ( her legs used to give out under her when a lead was attached ) Helen's given you good advice you don't want to confirm his fears ( and yes its hard ) , I am off to bed soon but am happy to post more in the morning about how we worked with Holly to improve her confidence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meandmy4? Posted February 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2008 Would appreciatte advice from people who have had a dog like this. Another thing is he is very scared to give you eye contact although has made a bit of improvement will bury his head under a cushion and avoid looking at you. If I try to stroke him he will hide in dog bed but when I greet all my 4 like you do all happy and high pitched he pushes in amongst them for a stroke. He is fully housetrained only 1 accident in a week. Would love to overcome the lead thing as when I walk my 4 he is hysterical and howls house down but cant take him as refuses to walk and to heavy to carry. Helen has told me to put lead on him in house and let him drag it around for 10 mins here and there so will start that tomorrow. Oooooooh has jumped on couch next to Keira who is sat next to me and letting me stroke him. Just so sad to see a dog so young so frightened of people. He is even more nervous of the kids but they are brilliant have completely ignored him so he hasnt had to deal with them yet at all. I have giving him the whole larder as a "his" place as feel he needs it where no human is allowed and where he feels safe although he tends to hide under dining table although is always peaking and watching when he hides. Helen is coming out for a walk with me and Bluey Friday to assess him and see what she thinks but any tips most welcome. Despite his over whelming fear he has shown no signs of aggression just shakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redditchlady Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I had an old Dobie girl like that. I posed as a buyer. She was under LARC at the time who I used to work for voluntarily. Queenie was covered in cigarette burns, any slight movement she hid wherever she could. My advice is don't make a big thing about wrapping pup in cotton wool etc. Let him come to you when ready. If needs be set up a corner or crate covered over so the pup has somewhere to go to when he feels scared. It will take time, but less pressure is the best option. I hope that makes sense. Kazz xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooandboo Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) Laura (elricc) will be able to give you some good advice I'm sure - Vena's thread might be worth reading from the beginning too. I have no experience but would be tempted to ignore him as much as possible until he feels brave enough to come and investigate you. Your kids sound lovely ETA Didn't see your post Kazz, I'm so slow Edited February 20, 2008 by mooandboo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 I haven't had to deal with this in a pup, but I have with an adult dog. I found the best tactic was to leave him alone at first and give him lots of space to do his own thing and not to approach him, I left it for him to come to me when he was ready and avoided eye contact, which he found very threatening. As far as going out is concerned it may be a daft suggestion, but could you try taking her in a buggy at first, so she gets out with the other dogs but doesn't have to deal with the scary business of walking on a lead? I'd agree with the idea of putting a lead on in the house for short periods and letting it trail, then move to holding the lead and following her so she's leading you at first. A lot of abused dogs have issues with having their collars held, so a harness might be better if she'll tolerate it. It sounds as though she's making progress already, being a pup let's hope she will soon forget about the past and bounce back. Loads of luck with her, please let us know how she gets on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meandmy4? Posted February 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 It seems definitly ignore him is the best option. I think he will be a long term foster which is fine as my 4 are great with him. He seems to have really latched to Keira must say even though she has slowly ate my house at 9 months she is turning into the best foster sister. She is over confident to hopefully she can give Bluey some LOL. Thanks guys I think the immediatte problem is to overcome getting him out on a lead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cackie Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Zan was a very frightened little boy when we adopted him back in October. Similar problems to your foster dog although I don't think he'd been as badly abused. He was nearly 6 months and had never even had a collar on so his first walk on a lead was very traumatic for him. He was terrified of cars and barked hysterically when anyone walked into the room or made sudden movements. Nobody could stroke his head as he had been picked up by his ears and was very sensitive in that area. With time patience and a routine he is blossoming into a wonderful young dog who is loving, cheeky, clever and wanting to please and interact with me. I have heard that his brother has similar behavioural problems so this must have something to do with what has happened to them in their first 6 months of their lives. Zan's walks for the first few weeks consisted of being taken to a quiet field only a short distance away in the car. There he could be on a long line attached to a harness (he found this much less traumatic than a collar) and go at his own pace. Because he was in an open space he would stick close to me and I would reward him for this with treats and praise. He has definately found confidence being with an older quiet dog (Abi my other dog is 4) and has been slowly introdued to other dogs that he can now play nicely with. I hope this gives you some hope for your little fellow. I thought Zan could never recover at times but time and love are great healers. Keep us posted as to how he is improving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Ooops, sorry I made 'him' into 'her' in my last post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGAR Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Fee is gender confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joa Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Sounds like you are making great progress with him. How old is your puplet ? We've had a few abused foster puplets and would agree with all the advice given . Have found adult dogs tend to take longer to recover than pups. With the car thing , once he is confident and trusting you , introduce him to the car and take things at his pace, but also not with him showing fear then you removing him. Or he might learn showing fear gets him results. As he is gaining trust and confidence by copying your other dogs behaviour I feel they will lead the way to showing him that car rides and walks etc are not as scary as he first though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merledogs Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) Timmy was about 10 months old when he came to me from HWAR, so still a pup. He ended up in the pound at 6 months old and was so frightened (especially of men) that he hid in the back of his kennel shaking. When he came to live with us, he was constantly in the crate in the living room and would not make eye contact or take food off you. He hated being in confined spaces such as the hall (and still does, but he's getting better). He's been here nearly 3 years and he is still showing little improvements, so it is a slow process, but hopefully won't be that long for your pup. I would say give him a covered crate where he can feel safe and come out on his own terms. With Timmy he very slowly (after a few months) started coming out of the crate on his own but every time one of us got up off the sofa, he'd shoot back into it. Slowly but surely he came out and stayed out, but it took a year at least before he started making eye contact Three years on and Timmy is like a different dog but he still is and always will be quite nervous of people in confined spaces. If he is still new to you it will take a while until he knows that he is safe, so give him space, give him somewhere to hide away when it all gets too much for him and don't push him, let him take things at his own pace. As others have said, if he is scared of something don't make a fuss, just let him see it's nothing to worry about. He will look to your dogs for guidance too as he obviously feels comfortable with them, so hopefully he will start to come out of his shell soon - though it does sound as though he's already making some progress Edited February 20, 2008 by madmerle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suzeanna Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 Not a pup, but an adult dog of around two...she took three days to venture out of the carrying box she was brought to me in! I put her food where she could reach it and paper on the floor, but she wouldn't come out while she could see anyone. I let her take things at her own pace and watch my dogs running around, playing, and coming to me for food and a cuddle. It took a while to get her confidence, but when she did decide to trust us and play, she was a great little dog and you wouldn't have known the difference between her and the rest of them. Dont rush things, just behave normally and he'll start to trust you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACKYSIAN Posted February 20, 2008 Report Share Posted February 20, 2008 (edited) Cromwell was abused. He came to me at around 1 year old. He also had cigarette burns. He'd never been out of the flat he was found in, and appeared to have recieved very little human contact. I found ignoring the only way to deal with it. Unfortunately Cromwell's fears turned to agression and I did require professional help to deal with it. I found I had to think about every movement, if I moved quickly he'd shoot off. Also I agree with Alex a 'safe place' is definately a good idea. I didn't have a crate but he did use the cupboard under the stairs as his home, and would retreat into it if I had visitors. On that note also I did need to tell visitors to not attempt to touch him unless he made moves to the allow them to (which he very rarely did...the only person he was actually happy to see other than me was my BIL, who funnily enough is a huge bloke that most people are scared of!!! Obviously Cromwell saw the kind gentle man inside the tattoo'd big exterior!!) I also didn't allow loud behaviour (that's why my social life died a death once I got Cromwell!!) so didn't have any big groups of friends over. I did encourage my sister to bring her kids around, they were already used to dealing with dogs and were extreamly important in making Cromwell relax around children, but again they were to ignore him until he made moves to them. With regards to going outside, because I was initially unaware of the severity of Cromwell's abuse I didn't think about walking him I just did it!! I admit I may of caused more problems because I didn't realise that the outside world was terrifying to him, alot of his outside behaviour I put down to being naughty...only when I had the behaviourist did I realise that it was fear. Edited February 20, 2008 by JACKYSIAN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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