How do I get an abused dog to come out of it's house?

Question

My friend adopted an abused dog. It is very shy and will not come out of it's house. It is very afraid and we are trying to get thru to it. Any pointers? We really want to help this pup.

Answer 1

Ok. This is going to be a long answer because I went through this recently. My dog was horribly abused and was basically feral and 1-1/2 years later he follows me everywhere and he sleeps with me every night.

I found that food is the primary motivator. Not just kibble but the good stuff like ham and cheese. If he is in the house you shouldn't force him out because he feels safe but you can leave a trail of the good stuff from his house to the inside.

I used to lay very still on the ground and place the food on my hands, arms, legs, etc. to get him used to coming up to me and receiving something positive. I never made a move or a sound while he did this. You can start with it far out from you like on your foot and slowly move the food farther up. It sounds weird but it really works.

Santo (my dog) used to run away from me every time I moved. I would walk through the house and basically ignore him. I didn't make eye contact with him and I kept my back at him quite a lot in the beginning. He was more willing to sneak up on me and check me out.

Don't ever make loud noises or quick movements. This will scare him and set things back.

When approaching him sqaut down and turn your body to the side. This is less threatening than standing above him or facing him directly. I would sit this way for a long time and hold my hand out behind me (often with the good food in it) and wait for him to approach me. When he did touch my hand I would praise him. In fact, touch was the first command he learned.

Don't try to pet the dog on the head. This can be seen as threatening. I found that when the dog comes up to your outstretched arm try petting him on the chin and slowly start to move towards the neck.

I took Santo on car rides with me. He would sit in the back of the car and look out. It seemed to work because it kept him close to me without being threatening.

Try to socialize him with other dogs. This is probably the number one way I got Santo to come out of his shell.

Other tricks are to tie his leash to your waist and go about your business at home and don't acknowledge him. This forces him to be next to you without being as threatening as you reaching for him.

Another trick is the "nothing in life is free" trick. Don't feed the dog out of the bowl but rather feed him his meal from your hand. If he wants to eat he has to approach you. This sounds bad but it can really work. Again it's using food as a motivator. This will also take a long time on your part. It can take a couple of hours for him to finish his meal!

I found that giving Santo a "safe place" worked well for him. His safe place is my bed. This means that if he is up there I will not pick him up, give him his medicine, put his leash on, etc. This gives him a place to fully relax. Your dogs safe place can be his dog house, a favorite bed, etc.

I have had many dogs over the years and have trained them all pretty well. Santo was the biggest challenge I have ever had because a dog like that can't be trained in the conventional manner. You will no doubt try many different things. Some will work and some won't. Don't be afraid to keep trying.

Answer 2

Every day at the same time take food out to it. On the first day place the food 3ft(1M) from the dog then walk away.On the second day move the food a little closer. Keep moving the food dish closer to the dog after about a week or two the dog will slowly start to come to you.
Also when the dog gets to the piont where he is coming out of the house start to play with him. Get a tennis ball and leave it out with the food. Slowly work up to petting him it might take a while but it will be worth it.

Answer 3

I work for an animal sanctuary & have observed these behaviors a lot. Quite honestly, the dog may always feel a sense of shyness, fear, etc. I would accept that it may always have issues, as do most people. I would be patient & not attempt to lure the dog outside with treats, food, etc. If possible, have the dog observe (through a window, if possible) the yard, the outside environment, your friend in the yard. Give it time to adjust to being adopted & could take longer than you think) to his or her environment & understand that the personality & geneal demeanor of the dog may not falter over time. My best advice: love & accept the dog for who he or she is & praise the dog consistently within the present environment.

Answer 4

The thing to do is to treat the dog very kind, give it lots of treats, and just be patient. My dog was abused very young and when we adopted it he was a shy and he wouldn't come out of his kennel. Now he cuddles with my family and he is like a watch dog, he barks at everybody he doesn't know. SO..... when I tell you this story it should say be kind and patient and the work will pay off!!!

Answer 5

The best to do is be patience and keep the same routine with the dog.Our dog came from the shelter and I don't think she was abused but she was very nervous around us for the first 2 weeks.

Answer 6

You should probably not keep the dog outdoors. Especially if it was abused before in an outdoor environment... you may want the help of someone professional to get it inside since it may become aggressive if it feels threatened. Be careful!

Answer 7

I would say just sit there very quitely and maybe put some doggie treats or something by you...maybe she will get closer/closer to you. My sis adopted a dog that had been rescued, but it was just the opposite, this dog was just starved for love.

Answer 8

Trust between the dog and people is going to take time to restore. Just give it time it should slowly start to become more outgoing once it doesnt perceive you as a threat

Answer 9

It will take awhile. The poor dog doesn't trust people. Just put the food our for him and gradually he will get used to the new owner. Never raise your voice. Speak softly and over time you will win him over. Bless you all for helping save this dog.

Answer 10

Consistency.
Trust does not come easily to an abused dog. Depending on his circumstances, he may have learned to react to the abuse by fleeing, fighting, or freezing. Although the three reactions are different, the first step in reaching these dogs is to provide them with something they can come to trust: a consistent schedule.

Fearful, untrusting dogs cannot think of anything except escaping what is frightening them. Some will try to run away at any opportunity, or create opportunities to run. Some will demonstrate aggression. Some will simply turn their backs and refuse to see what is going on around them. Rehabilitating them will take a very long time.With a severely abused dog it may take months before you see the first glimmer of light in eyes that have had no soul shining through them.
Emotional appeals to the dogs in this fearful state are fruitless. They cannot be felt by the dog, or worse, may be interpreted by the dog as reinforcement of the fearful behavior, making the fear more deeply ingrained. The better way to approach them is for the handler/fosterer/new owner to quietly and confidently take on a leadership role. Come up with a schedule and stick to it. Breakfast at a certain time each day, fed in the same spot, followed by a walk outside, followed by free time in a securely fenced area (keep a long line on any dog that will not come when called) -- whatever your personal schedule, keep it consistent. Let it be the first thing your abused dog can come to count on. Knowing that a certain thing will happen at a certain time will give the dog some confidence and is the first step in bonding with you.

In an extreme example, you may have to move the dog from its crate to the outside fenced area using a rabies pole. As the dog comes to expect to be let out at a certain time you may be able to use a leash instead of the pole, dropping it and letting him drag it when he gets outside. Eventually, the leash becomes a short tab on the collar, and the dog is going in and out on his own. This is the beginning of trust. And incidentally, it is also the foundation upon which later obedience training can be made. Depending on the dog, you might want to incorporate some clicker training here, if the dog is not frightened by the sound of a clicker. If it is frightened by the sound then you can give it a gentle word, such as "Yes!" in place of the click. Once the dog is outside in the yard, you might want to place a yummy treat in the back of the dog's crate. Then, when you let the dog inside, and he's heading into his crate, you say "in", and click just before he eats the treat. (You will find more on crate training dogs on my website.) Again, though, let the dog guide you. Do only what he can tolerate without becoming stressed. Some signs of stress are panting, licking lips, yawning, and tail clamped between the legs.

While you are being the abused dog's leader, you want to present to him a friendly but somewhat aloof manner. Try to remember your posture, and don't appear submissive to him by bending over or crouching down to his eye level. If you do that, he will feel that he has to become the leader, since you are obviously failing at the job, and that will just make him feel more insecure. Later, much later, when he has regained his confidence, you don't have to be so vigilant.

If the dog can tolerate it, an excellent method to help him bond to you is the umbilical method. This is where the dog is attached to a leash and the leash is attached to you. The dog is your shadow as you go about your daily routine. You are there to show him house rules, and you do it firmly but kindly, with no emotional overtones. Treat your abused dog like a cat: let him be the first one to make an overture. He might interpret sudden fast moves as an attack, so think about slowing down for a while. Try not to yell at the kids or your spouse because your abused dog will think you're yelling at him. If there are kids involved, teach them the rules and don't leave them unsupervised with the dog. Let the dog sleep in a crate next to your bed. If necessary, keep a leash on him, and poke the leash through the crate wire so that you can have immediate control over him. Be very observant and very aware so you can positively reinforce any step toward a wanted behavior. For example, if the abused dog happens to glance up and meet your eyes, you want to smile and give gentle praise or a treat.

Positive imaging can also help. Dogs are mirrors of our own emotional state and quite often you can change a dog's behavior by holding and projecting a positive image of the behavior you want. See your new dog as being confident and greeting strangers in a friendly manner and you might find him calming down when in a crowded area. You may want to try giving him a homeopathic remedy or flower essence to help him find an emotional balance. Certainly, you will want to put the dog on an optimal diet, the first line to restoring mental and physical health.

Change comes slowly to the abused dog. With patience, kindness, good diet, and most important, consistency, healing of body and mind will come to the abused soul. Dogs are wonderfully forgiving creatures who will, more often then not, respond to humane treatment by learning to trust again.