[Mike]

My family and I was given a Beautiful abt 4yo Golden Retriever about a year ago. They had found her abandoned and starving. After they put weight back on her they gave her to us. At 1st we had some trouble with separation anxiety and she would trash everything if we left her alone. We have gotten past that part. Our problem is she has been beaten and it must have been pretty bad because she has nightmares and cries and yelps in her sleep I try to comfort her and it seems to help but. I'm the one who gives the commands and tho firm I do not yell and praise her for a good job. She is very well mannered! we keep her in the house because she is so well mannered. She does all kinds of tricks. She gets lots of love from everyone in the house, but sometimes acts like I'm going to beat her. I'm retired and she stays with me alot. In her submissive times she rolls on her back and spreads her legs or does this bendee walk thing touching her head to her butt and squinting. It kills me she thinks I would hurt her and I give her even more attention and praise, it's just not working. I'm not dog savvy, but have trained horses if it means anything...I'm out of ideas...help!!!

[Taming Rover]

Well, first of all, the dreams do not mean that she has been beaten. My lab has lots of dreams like that. It can be alarming at first, when my dog was a pup I used to wake her up also because it sounds jarring to us, but I soon realized that it's just dreams and though we'll never know what a dog dreams about, I can sometimes see that she's running along or drinking something and then starts barking and it sounds a lot like yelping and crying. I have known many dogs, none of which were beaten that dream and sound like that so, since you don't know where your dog originally came from, and it's possible that she could have been abused in some way, it doesn't necessarily mean that she was just because of these dreams.

The other behavior seems like it could just be natural submissive stances for any dog. Many dogs are just naturally submissive and do these things with each other as well as with humans to show their intention, it's just how they communicate.

My advice would be this: even if your dog has been abused, try not to come to the situation as though she was. The truth is you don't know one way or another and it's also possible that she was not beaten. Sometimes dogs that have not been properly socialized and conditioned to the world, or to other people and other dogs find that the world seems like a scary new place just because they have not been exposed to it. When we see a dog like that, it can look to us that they have been abused because of their nervousness. It seems though that your dog is well mannered in most other ways so I would recommend to try change the way you think of your dog.

If you feel bad and sorry for your dog because of the story you have in your mind that she has been beaten, (weather it's true or even if it's not) it sends those vibes to her and she feels that you feel there is something wrong.
The best thing you can do is give your dog a new beginning where the past does not effect the present.
When your dog does these submissive behaviors, try really hard not to pay special attention to her and coddle her. This only reinforces that there is something wrong in your mind and that you agree with whatever is making her nervous or timid. If you can ignore that behavior and only reward her with praise and pets after she comes out of that state, then you will in effect be saying that you support her strength and calmness... eventually you will be nurturing her confidence as opposed to her timidness and you should see the former increase and the latter decrease.

I Hope that helps and that it makes sense ;o)
Please post if you find any changes

[Mike]

I have other dogs and they dream too...It's just hers seemed so intense. I do understand about sending bad vibes. I will give it a shot! I had read somewhere else that said don't pet scared dogs on the head. I thought it was a far reach But I'm willing to try! I did and it did make a difference. I should say they said pet neck, under chin and chest. she seemed to be more playful! At first she wouldn't rough house with me at all, but slowly she is coming around. I just don't want her to be afraid just because I give a command. I learned with horses if your not getting the right result it's because your not getting your point across. (their confused what you want). Dogs are different tho....Thank you for the help!!! I will post back in a day or so...

[Mike]

Ok I guess I was wrong that she had been beaten, she never was hand shy, merely jumped when I touched her regardless of how I approached her. She is very timid and I guess it's nervousness...I have to say tho I have been trying your suggestions and she is becoming very active and gets really excited...I mean really excited...Lol She seems to be Happier too!!! She's pretty big girl probably about 70 lbs...She shakes the floor when she gets excited...Lol

I really appreciate the help!!! She's always been an awesome girl, Just wanted her to feel relaxed and comfortable to be herself...Lol

Thank you again...Mike

[Taming Rover]

;o) That's great! I'm glad you are seeing an improvement, sometimes it takes so little from us and such subtle things to see such a big change in our dogs... I'm really happy that you are able to start to bring her out of her nervousness.

Once she gets really good with you and you develop a strong trust and bond, you can try letting her meet as many other people and dogs as you can so the world isn't such a scary place. When you go for a walk, have some treats in your pocket and when you meet a stranger along the way, ask them if they would be ok with giving your dog a treat because you want her to be more confident with people, and explain to them to pet her under the chin. This way she will get the idea that people are fun and nice and give me treats. Also take her to as many different types of places as you can, places like construction sites, where there might be some loud noises, close to some playgrounds where she might get to hear children playing and screaming, loud rivers and any other places you can think of. Still practice not paying attention or coddling her if she shows signs of nervousness. If she does, just stop and stay where you are, silently, until she calms down, then give her a treat and praise her relaxation and move on.

Soon she should build more confidence in the world in general and she'll be much better off and should continue to show less nervousness.

Take care!