I have a dog named Lakota. She is half pit and half black lab. We got her from our son, but he had abused her and beat her til she is afraid to eat. I have done everything that I can think of and she eats for a few days then something goes off in her head and she slinks to the floor with her head down and wags the very tip of her tail. He was very very mean to her. He put food in front of her and then beat her if she ate it. The saddest thing about this whole mess is that our son died and she was with him when he overdosed, and was around him and his wife when they did drugs, so I am sure she got some of the stuff they were taking into her system. I think that it is no longer in her system, but she still has a hard time eating every day. Michael beat her for eating food. HELP! If there is someone out there that can help me, I would be totally grateful! Thanks, Rissa

I have never heard of this kind of abuse in my life! This is the saddest thing I have heard so far! Why would you want to punish a dog for eating? That is like punishing a dog for wagging his tail! Try exercising her first for 30 mins and then feed her. I would try and put some meat in her food and then walk away. Try adding some of that dog sause that you can buy at Petsmart and mix it with her food. If she does eat praise and give lots of treats! But don't baby her too much! Maybe if she sees other dogs eating, she'll get curious. Dogs do learn from other dogs. That is all I know for now. Call some dog trainers also for thier advice!

Rissa, I would take the dog to the vet's for a complete check to make sure everything is ok with her. If her health is good, then you can start on rehabilitating her. She might have some damage that doesn't show up without a few tests. He can also check for symptoms of neurological causes. But you would be surprised at what a blood and urine profile can detect. Alsoshe probably needs deworming, so bring a sample in with you.