I really need some help here please! I need some true honsit answers.. from the heart not smart-*ss answers please! look here's my situation I resucued this puppy from the shelter! I can tell that she has been beaten, from the owners before..there are scabs on her and scars which you can tell that are from a belt so-on...Here's my problem this poor puppy has never been introduce to toy's at all I bought some and she dosen't know what to do..She runs away..likes she afraid of them..I've been trying to play with her with them...but I need any suggestions of what I can do, to help to make it easier..please! concern owner!
2006-09-07 17:59:27 · 11 answers · asked by sxytigg2000 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
I want to thank you all very much for your lovely letters that you wrote to me and your helpfully hints! I wish that I could give you all 10-pointers that you deserve..just to let you in on the add-on I've been getting on the floor and spending time with her..our time! it's nice to see her get so excited and running around and big smile on her face! I forgot to mention up above we have alittle dog she likes to play with...more updates..later..
2006-09-08 08:34:50 · update #1
Ok - this is a tall order before you can teach her how to play you have to prove to her that she is safe. My speciality is rehabilitating abused dogs and I can tell you that when a dog is abused, it does not understand what it did that was wrong to have earned the punishment - when dogs get hit for no reason it is very confusing for them and the result is a dog who is afraid to do anything because she does not know what caused the punishment so if she does nothing she can avoid the punishment.
To rehabilitate this dog will take patience and love and a lot of one on one bonding time - lots of hugs and kisses and body massages. I found the easiest way to get a dog to pay was after a nice massage and some treats and some kisses, I first got one dog to be interested in fetching a tennis ball - we used to roll it around the floor and I used a lot of yummy high quality food treats to show the dog that regardless of what she did, she only received loved - this new lesson takes a while to sink in but it will with time.
I adopted an 18 month old female German Shepherd who was beaten within inches of her life and she was in pretty bad shape when I first got custody - I put her into the hospital to be spayed and to have her wounds and fractures healed - when she came out of the hospital she was afraid to even move - we spent many nights in front of the TV with her on my lap and me just holding and petting her and every once in a while I would get a kiss and I would say Thank you my Jazzy wazzy baby - mommy loves you,
then I would give her yummy treats just because - then after about a month one day when I came home she jumped up and put her paws on my shoulders and kissed my like she was so happy that I was home and from that day on she started to show more and more excitement and we started to play - she would nuzzle my hand and I would rub my hand over her nose and she would sneeze and I would say God Bless you silly girl and from that she started to play with a ball and for the next several years until her death when I would say Jazzy want to play ballie - her eyes would twinkle and her body would get so excited that she would jump up with pleasure and she would run and get the ball and then she would entice me to chase her with the ball and I would oblige her and I would chase her for a little while and then she would come to me and drop the ball and I would pick it up and tell her to watch me and then I would throw that ball again for hher and after we played until she was tired - then we would have a snack together and then I would either massage her or comb her or just sit and praise her - I constantly told her how beautiful she was and how smart and what a good girl she is - she loved to listen to my voice and it took about two years but she eventually started to trust strangers if I invited them into my home, she trusted me and my opinion - she turned out to be such a sweet loving dog - unfortunately she passed awaw at 8 years of age from a seizure that I believe was caused by one of the beatings that she received.
Good Luck and remember never raise your voice or your hand to a dog that has been the victim of abuse - no choke collars no electric collars no prong collars, just patience, praise, treats and more love - always let her associate good and kind and food with your hands and voice and when you call her always make the experience of her coming to you a happy experience.
One day in a rain storm part of my fence blew down and my Jazzy got out of my yard - she was so happy with me that when she left my yard - she walked around to the front door and scraatched on the door to come inside - boy did I praise her and give her treats that day - now that is a happy dog - Best of Luck to you in your rehabilitation efforts
2006-09-07 18:30:19 · answer #1 · answered by Angel 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋
She's like an abused child. You need to take it slow. Introduce one toy at a time. A small stuffed animal would be good. Have her lay with it and you show her how to treat it like a baby. Once she's used to that toy show her a small tug rope and play gently with her showing her how to play tug of war. From there move on to balls for a game of fetch. Moving up to this point will take a while, probably a couple of months. Maybe the mutants who had her previously beat her behind the toys and that's why she's afraid of them. Just go slow and don't have unrealistic expectations. Poor baby, I feel for her but she has a good friend now, right? Good luck to you.
2006-09-07 18:11:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Give her time. She is adjusting to your home and you. If she has been abused, that is all she knows and needs time to realize she is safe and loved.
There are some great books on rehabilitating rescue dogs, and the rescue group you got her from should offer lots of advise on how to proceed with her. They may even offer obedience training at a discount.
Enroll in a puppy obedience class. Training gives dogs self confidence and owners learn to train without driving themselves and the dog crazy.
Quit with the toys if she is scared. Concentrate on getting her to trust you. Leave them out where she can see them, but ignore them for a little while. Later, when she settles a little, start bringing a few out at a time. Now, this is gonna sound stupid, but play with them yourself, without her, but where she can see you. When she sees that you are in no danger of dropping dead, or turning on her with that scary new weapon, she will relax and want to play.
Give her time and obedience training, she will come around.
2006-09-07 18:19:37 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would not worry about the toys. The dog needs to bond with you and trust you, bearing in mind the previous treatment it had been trough. Patience and consistency and you will have a loyal pet.
talk to her a lot on walks and make it fun for her. She's been through a lot of trauma.
Good for you for rescuing her and best of luck.
I did the same and had a wonderful experience with my dog. Some say dogs are so grateful to be rescued. I got that impression with mine. I really miss her
2006-09-07 18:06:56 · answer #4 · answered by mjdp 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
First of all, I applaud you for properly caring for this puppy.
Some dogs just do not like toys and prefer to have treats.
Try giving the puppy chew bones, doggy beef sticks, and things that smell/taste good. She may react better because she can associate with food.
Then step it up to toys with food. You can get toys with treats inside.
The best thing to do is give the puppy time. After she is properly socialized and cared for, she may become less apprehensive.
2006-09-07 18:15:27 · answer #5 · answered by andicohoon707 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I, too, had adopted an 8-mo old abused, apparently, pup. He'd pee, or better, run for his crate when I'd try to play with toys. Ok, he's now almost 6. He will play with toys with my other dog or by himself, but my playing with the toy with him, causes play to stop. I got him playing a little bit more with me, by cutting an X in tennis ball and filling with treats. You squeeze ball and give him treat. You can try to get him to go after the ball and then treat comes from ball again. It kind of worked for him, but he wasn't food motivated, really. I have long given up on playing toy games with him, but found he thinks doing tricks is more motivating. I did take it personally that he wouldn't play with me and had to work through that. We now bond over agility---that we can do together for fun.
2006-09-07 18:13:20 · answer #6 · answered by dogfrenzied 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I had a dog like this before, no matter what i did even beat him, he will do the same thing after couple of minutes, at last i held him in solitary confinement, eat there and pees there, after several weeks finally he knows to pees there. Have a try.
2016-03-27 02:21:03 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
wen my pet dog was young she doesn't wnt 2 play with anything i bought her.she jst sits and lies on d crner w/o a care in world.. as u've sed,ur dog has hd prblems w/her previous owner w/c is rily traumatic.be patient w/her..show her dat she cn trust u n ur nt lyk those idiots hu maltrited her.lyk us people, 8 may take sumtym b4 she cn trust agen n enjoy things lyk other dogs her age..show her love and care and i know she'll come around eventually..just be patient..:)
2006-09-07 18:10:38 · answer #8 · answered by reign_1109 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I encountered a similar situation with a dog who had not been socialized for 8 years of his life he was on the end of a chain and when I took him off, he didn't know how to play with toys. However, like most abused dogs he had been poorly fed and I used his heightened obsession with food as an incentive to get him to play with toys, and eventually he learned how to play and chose his favorite kind of toy. It was a Kong filled with dog biscuits or peanut butter... and eventually he enjoyed playing with the Kong even when it wasn't filled with food.. he discovered it was fun to be able to chew on something not just because he was starving to eat the food he was rarely given or out of frustration and loneliness from being tied to a chain. I bet the dog you have has experienced the same kind of thing, and truly does not know that you are giving her something of her very own that she is allowed to chew, and she may think you will punish her for touching it.... I am sure her abusers did not provide her with toys when she was teething and she probably had to find her own things to chew on to relieve her urges, most likely she was punished for chewing up her abusers belongings. I suggest you buy a Kong or a treat ball/cube she will be tempted to eat the food out of the toy and once she sees that you will not punish her for it, she will learn to enjoy her toys. Go here to see Kong toys... http://www.kongcompany.com/worlds_best.html
and here to see treat balls... http://www.dogtoys.com/foodcubesballs.html
http://www.sitstay.com/store/toys/toysd.shtml
Good luck I hope this helps you and your dog!
PS. Don't try to play with her and the toys at first, just fill them with the food and put them on the floor, then go sit somewhere and ignore her. If you see her going up to the toy out of the corner of your eyes, just say "good girl" in a calm voice while still not really looking directly at her. At first you may also want to just nonchalantly play with the toy yourself with your feet while watching TV and ignoring her... this will help her see that its OK to play with and it isnt going to hurt her. Then you just roll it slowly in her direction and say "get the toy" "good girl" etc. Then ignore her again... her curiosity should be peaked by your actions and she will want to investigate the toy and the food smell coming from it. Once she starts playing with the toy and gets no negative reaction, you will be able to slowly involve yourself more in the play until she learns it is fun to play and that she will not get punished for it.
2006-09-07 18:31:41 · answer #9 · answered by Kelly + Eternal Universal Energy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
get some stuffed animals and try to play tug a war after your dog gets used to that than maybey it will try to play with the other toys
2006-09-07 18:18:35 · answer #10 · answered by deedee 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋