My poor dog has some serious scars from abuse from her prior owners...

[YellowRubberDuckie]

...and it rips me apart. They aren't physical, which makes it so much worse. My cute Doxie baby is the SWEETEST dog there ever was. She is a bit stubborn, but that's part of her breed. I don't know how anyone could abuse her. I can't rationalize that in my head. If I barely raise my voice to her if she's choking on something and I'm trying to get it, she piddles everywhere, cowers and tucks her tail between her legs. Why would someone hurt my baby like that? :cry: I guess I need some hugs and advice. I can't get the tone I need for her to know I'm serious because she gets terrified and piddles everywhere. What do I do?!

Duckie

[Deja Q]

1. Do what people do to people similarly hurt by past owners...

throw 'em away. :(

:sarcasm:

I would try counseling for the fella. Cute dog, actually. Find a way to get the pooch cured of what ails it, and I don't mean by putting a projectile weapon to its head and pulling the trigger (reserve that for me while I am sleeping, Agent Mike ;) :spray: )

[YellowRubberDuckie]

2. I didn't know you could get therapy for your dog...

I don't know if that so much sounds like it could work as it sounds like a scam.
Duckie

[Deja Q]

3. Humans or dogs, it may or may not be a scam...

It's a matter of re-training...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

4. How long have you had her?

Maybe she just needs a little time to understand that you aren't the brute her former owner was. Poor poochie! :cry:

I wonder if a training class would help?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

5. A month.

We spent the entire day together today because I called in this morning. I didn't sleep last night because the AC broke. She spent the entire day on my lap being stroked. It's just going to take forever for her to realize that we love her and will never hurt her.
Duckie

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. Maybe not forever...

How old is she? Have you talked with the vet about this? S/he may have some good suggestions. :hug:

[YellowRubberDuckie]

10. She's two...

[Kajsa]

16. Great advice, GofG!

Hi Ducky,

I hope that darling little pooch feels better and you can get
to the root of her fear.

The vet could point you in the right direction.

My heart breaks for abused animals :cry:
and people.

:hug:

[alarimer]

11. I think it will just take time

And possibly some positive reinforcement. I am no expert on dog training though.

[littlebit]

7. My beagle

About 7 years ago I went to the local ASPCA shelter looking for a puppie. I came across this little underweight, shy, timid three year old beagle. She looked so sad I had to take her home. She was scared of everything. She just laid in a corner and shook all the time. It took a long time and alot of love to get her to trust me. Now seven years later she is a totally different dog. It just takes time and alot of patience but you guys will get there.

[malta blue]

8. Oh Prudence is just a doll YRD

and she will recover. My Luna was electrocuted and beaten before I got her. It took about three months of solid training (this dog whisperer) before she really trusted me. She was huddled in the corner of her cage at the sheltger where I got her. A year later, she was voted friendliest pet in town. It just takes time and patience.

[flvegan]

9. Submissive urination.

Give her some time. I see you've had her a month. That's not very long for a smaller breed. Give her some time, positive feedback, and she'll rebound.

Have patience...as you know, it's worth it.

It ain't easy, but you should see how this girl is thriving today.

[driver8]

21. flvegan -- how is that sweet girl doing? n/t

[flvegan]

24. How is she doing?

I have this funny voice and speech mannerism that I picked up from a cartoon I like, called IM Weasel. I say things in a funny voice like, "IR being most beeeeeuuuuutiffufufufullll pwincessessses in the whole woooooooorld"

She comes running, jumps up on the couch, puts her ears back and paws at me to give her hugs, kisses...anything.

She's healed, physically. Fantastically. Mentally? She bills with the gods.

It just goes to show...you can take half the face off the dog, but you can't take half her heart.

Thanks for asking, again and again.

[driver8]

25. Thanks for the update. I appreciate it.

That sweet girl deserves the best -- it sounds like she's getting it!!

[Flaxbee]

12. just give her some time. if you've only had her a month, she

might not feel "safe" yet - it could take a year or more. Or less. Lots of positive reinforcement, and she'll be OK.

You are wonderful to have adopted her and given her a new life. She just needs time to adjust and realize nothing bad is going to happen to her. If her previous owners had her from when she was a pup, she grew up being afraid, and it will take a while for her to relax out of her fear.

Check Amazon for some of the dog books by the Monks of New Skete -- my sister is a vet and I believe these guys are recognized as very gentle, understanding dog trainers. I don't know if they have a section on dealing with older dogs who've been abused, but perhaps looking through the books at a library will give you some ideas or further reference.

Good luck! She's a beauty and the pink collar really looks good against her coloring. ;-)

[A Brand New World]

13. I completely understand what you're going through. We adopted

a 10 month golden retriever almost 2 years ago who had been neglected & abused. It took her at least 6 months to feel even the least bit comfortable around my husband. For the 1st month, she just hid behind furniture. She wasn't quite as afraid of me, which tells me it was a male who abused her. Now almost 2 years later, she is almost completely "normal". She still gets a little skittish if you raise your voice, clap your hands or approach her too quickly. Goldens are really sensitive so it doesn't take much at all to correct them. I just cannot understand anyone abusing a dog or any animal for that matter. BTW: She is really, really cute. Give her some time and you'll have the best dog in the world. It will take her a while to realize that you aren't going to hurt her. Good Luck!!

[TheBaldyMan]

14. Awwwww!

Once she gets it into her head that you aren't a brute you'll have the most loyal, loving dog possible. Just give her time. A firm tone doesn't have to be aggressive at all, she'll learn from your voice when she needs to obey. Maybe if you practice getting her to sit, stay & fetch (using bribery with treats) and keep her focused on you not the food, rewarding her when she does what you want. That'll give her more confidence in you and she'll associate doing stuff that you want with something positive. Soon you won't need the treats - just praise or a kind word.

[bullwinkle428]

15. This is one of the cats my ex and I shared before we split up -

Bliss was an adult adoption that had been adopted out from the breeder that raised her once before, and was returned for reasons unknown. After we brought her home, we noticed she had the unusual tendency to flinch and move her head away when we reached out to pet her around her face/head. She's an incredibly affectionate, sweet little thing who would come up to either of us just to cuddle, but always seemed to be protective of her face. Maybe she was in a house with some little kids that were rough with her and hit her in the face... :( I think pets often have a long memory when it comes to mistreatment, so it could be years if ever for some of the bad memories to fade away.

[ThomCat]

17. I've only ever taken in abused cats,

so I don't know if that experience translates well to dogs.

The two cats I took in that had been abused never fully got over their fears and anxiety. It lessened quite a bit with a lot of love and affections, but it never fully went away, and there were always episodes.

One of those two cats is still with me.

I can only suggest that you give your beautiful girl lots of love and affection and let her know that she's always safe with you. She'll get the message, and it will help.
:hug:

[janx]

18. TONE

This is the important part. You must remain in control and confidant; that's what she needs from you. :hug:

[Lyric]

19. Submissive urination.

This isn't necessarily a sign of previous abuse. It's actually quite common in dogs that are naturally shy, sensitive, or high-strung. If you dog has a naturally shy or nervous personality (considering the breed, that wouldn't surprise me) you just have to learn to temper your training to suit the dog. Give the pup some time to get used to the new environment. Then I'd suggest clicker training with an intense focus on positive reinforcement, rather than discipline for mistakes. Personally I think that's the best way to train *any* dog. Reward lavishly with healthy treat nibbles and lots of praise/petting when the dog does something correctly. If the dog does something wrong, don't raise your voice or use verbal reprimands. Keep your expression neutral and blank, and put the dog into a gated-off designated "doggy timeout" corner. I used a baby gate to create a small "timeout" space at the end of our hallway, for example. When the dog does something incorrectly, just lead him/her to the timeout space without comment and leave the dog there alone for about 5-10 minutes. Dogs are naturally very social animals, so being isolated away from your attention and affection is a very effective discipline technique.

This teaches the dog, by association, that (1) doing certain things earns treats and praise, and (2) doing other things earns a timeout with no toys, petting, attention, etc. It also has the added bonus of never requiring you to do something that might frighten the dog into piddling on the floor.

I've had lots of success with this. Good luck to you! :hi:

[applegrove]

20. I have a cat like that. Whenever he gets scared he goes into aggressive/defensive mode. I can

immediately see the change. He just looses it. PTSD. When I got him he had been abandoned on a road and had injuries. Who would do that to a cat?

[GumboYaYa]

22. We adopted a severly abused dog about two years ago.

She had been thrown from a moving vehicle. When we got her the right side of her body was a giant burn. She was found tied to a railroad track with a six inch rope. Obviously, someone had left her to be hit by a train.

The poor dog acted exactly like several of you have described for months...submisiive urination if you even moved and totally afraid of peopele (particularly men).

Several times we said this is just too much, the poor dog was so badly damaged, but my youngest son would not let us give up on her.

Now she is the sweetest, kindest most gentle animal I have ever owned. Occasionally, she piddles when she gets scared, but rarely now. I think she knows that we saved her life and she is very appreciative. I love this dog as much as a person can love an animal.

Stay patient, eventually your love will be the most important thing in her life and the past will be forgotten.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

23. She has to be within reach of both of us when we're home...

Most of the time on my lap curled up asleep. Very sweet. We love her. I don't think it took us two hours to fall in love with her once we got her home. She's the best dog ever. Ope! It's time to walk her. Cheerio!
Duckie