0
Answers Home
» Behavior & Training
Rescue dog retains fear.
Our rescue dog has been with us for 4 mos. She is about 1 1/2 yrs old. We know she was abused physically as well as verbally. She is well on her way to bonding with me, but she seems to fear my partner in a remembering way. It's like my partner reminds her of the abuser and the dog will hide, we have tried treats, loving, relaxing ...... The dog will respond to all of these actions positively, but when my partner coughs or sneezes or uses a certain tone the dog tucks her tail and hids in the back room. She doesn't fear when I do those things so it must be a similarity with the abuser. Any other ideas of how to get over this reaction. The abuser and my partner are of the same race, gender and size. Ideas?
Asked by
Jasmine
on Feb 3rd 2011
Tagged
in Behavior & Training
Status
- Cast your vote for which answer you think is best!
Answers
It would be helpful if you told us if your partner is male or female and what race his/her race is. These things take time for the dog to realize that the new person will not hurt them. Have your partner speak to her positive and in a calming manner, provide her treats. Once she is able to trust him/her have the person pet her gently this will reassure her that your partner isn't going to hurt her. Don't yell around her, raise your voice in any certain manner, don't raise your hand in any sort of manner. As these things will trigger her memory and cause her to be timid and fearful. You may also need to speak and work with a certified animal behaviourist. They may be able to shed some light and advice on what to do. But time is everything especially when it comes to abused animals. This isn't something you can rush.
Jazzy
answered on 2/3/11.
Helpful? 
/
0
My friends have a beagle rescue that was terribly abused and neglected by its previous owner. When they got him, he did all of the things you described to the husband, but bonded pretty quickly to the wife. Eventually, he became much more tolerant of the husband and started to cautiously socialize with some other people, but this took easily a year or more to accomplish. What really made him much more social was when they got a second dog and now, though he still has some compulsive licking behaviors, he's a pretty social little guy.
Kudos to you and your partner for giving a loving home to an animal in need! Best of luck!
Libby
answered on 2/3/11.
Helpful? /
0
