[Abby]

Hello,

I have had dogs my entire life, and I've had success with training. The new dog is actually the easiest dog I've ever trained in my entire life, but there are issues.

First of all, the background is that I got her on Craigslist. I saw an AKC registered yellow lab, 2 years old, female. I went and picked her up from her kennel in her backyard, next to a brother dog. The people were very wealthy, and the lady told me that my new dog had been inside one time, and that was after her pre-giveaway bath. She was being given up because the new house couldn't have pets.

Well, when she was taken from her kennel, the first thing I noticed was she jumps up and puts her paws on people. Easy enough to train her not to do that...but within seconds, I saw how cowering she was. She is a fearful dog.

Someone spent big money on groundwork on this dog. She is a trained gun dog and hunting dog. She has had one litter of pups.

She is, however, terrified of anyone and everything.

She is much improved in one month, however this is what it's like with her:

She sits and stares at me all day. She requires extra attention and constant reassurance and I believe she has been either totally isolated, or majorly isolated from human contact, because of her behavior

She's terrified of everything on a leash. Anything big, black, paint colors she's never seen...things that we can get past with time, and desensitization may work, but the behavior I'm most worried about is her fear of people.


She acts unafraid, but if I say for her to sit, she will stop and sit right there. Now, that seems hunky dory, but with this comes the most terrified look I have seen.

She will jump to anything I want and if she doesn't understand, she lays on her back with her feet up, submissive.

It's sad, and I don't know if she was born this way or made this way through isolation, however, her socialization skills are none.

She plays with our dog now, but had no clue how when I first got her. She didn't seem to know what a toy was. She had not been pottytrained and it only took 3 times to train her. She fully potty-trained in 3 tries..

What is sad is how she is around me. She looks at me like she's terrified of me, yet she wants to please me more than any dog I ever had.

I have worry that she's going to always be neurotic.

She has lost weight, been treated for severe ear mites and had her teeth cleaned. She was about 85 lbs (she is a very short lab so that is way too fat...she was huge) and her earmites were all the way across her canal with black hard crust, and she had so much tartar when I did her teeth, the tartar scraped off in fingernail sized chunks. I'm not saying they neglected her...they were very wealthy, but it never suprises me the condition of people's dogs. There are 2 shots given to her on her record. Puppy shots when she was 2 months old. Her new series is the only ones she ever got. All this money on hunt training, but not a cent on her health.

Long story short, she herds me everyhwhere I go. She heels to my leg, almost to where she impedes my walking (and I am in serious danger if I fall due to injuries I already live with and my Roseanne Bar sized body).

What I can say good about her is that she is the most loving dog I ever owned. She is always loyal and touching me in some way. She crates on command. She kennels on command (our kennel is a 20'x14' kitchen, gated, with two dog beds adjascent to our den) and she loves water. She goes to the park and fetches all the time now. She lives inside and at night sleeps on my bed, or naps with me in daytime sometimes. We spoon (lol).

How do I get her over her horrible fear and get her to stop acting like I'm going to kill her if she doesn't do what I want? She acts like I'm going to kick or hit her if she doesn't mind. She flinches all the time.

Thankyou in advance.

[Lunareclipse]

Luna was like that when I first brought her home from the shelter. She would sit and stare at me for hours and she scared of everything. I just ignored it all and told her her to go lay down like nothing was wrong. It took almost a year bring her out of it. I never babied her for it. That would only make her think there really was something wrong. She only acted like a normal dog out in the yard. So we assume she wasn't an indoor dog. It took a long time to train her to do her business outside. You got lucky with your dog. Now Luna acts just like a very normal dog. Except she thinks she's a lap dog sometimes and she weighs 130lbs. Just give your doggie lots of patience and act like normal and your dog will follow suit eventually.

[Lara's mom]

I'm not an expert by any means but, what I'm hearing is that you have a "special needs dog." I don't care how much money the original owners had; they didn't do right by her.

It will take a lot of time and patience but, you will rehabilitate her if you are willing to put the time in. Good luck to both of you.

[Abby]

Well, I already love her. She's very affectionate. I am going to love her even if she never changes, but it would be great if she did. I don't think she's getting enough out of her life.

I would never inflict upon a human being the solitary confinement inflicted on my dog. It makes me really angry that someone did this to this wonderful, sweet friend of mine.

[Marc]

What works for some owners is putting yourself on your dog's level without giving up your dominance. Lay down on the floor next to her when you can spend some time with her. Do this daily if possible. If you're treating her, then you can use treats to 'win her over' to this new game. Just be sure to stagger them out (one immediately, then 5 mins, then at 10 min, then 20, then 40, then none). Get her to play with a toy with you and this will really open things up. Also, dogs are like kids - you may have to try 10 different toys before you find the one they can't live without.

If she starts to get too aggressive, just sit up - maybe you have to gently place a hand on her back - anything to show dominance but not threatening or sudden.

This won't 'solve' anything - but it may give her the idea that you're not a control freak who always wants to be above her. It may communicate to her that she is your new family member and not a possession.

[Abby]

This is a good suggestion. I can't get on the ground, however, but I do get her up to my level on the bed and we spoon, lol. (Not kidding, she sleeps in my arms now). Every couple days, I take her to a lake and she and Maverick, my male, play and fetch like wild children. I do throw her toys for her. I'm trying to be friendly as well as in control. Today, she does not seem quite as offended when I put her in the kitchen for some quiet time. I needed it...there's only so much staring a person can handle lol. I've been adored before, but this is ridiculous.

[Lunareclipse]

Eventually the staring should go away. Luna stared at me for many months after we brought her home from the shelter. She doesn't do that anymore. I think she realizes that I'm not gonna go anywhere.