Help! I think my new dog was beaten!?

Question

I rescued a doxie mix a couple weeks ago that i think may have been beat! She was going to be put down! A lot of times i raise my hand to pet her head and she flinches! She is SO agressive with every stranger and other animals but she always has her tail between her legs! I want to be able to take her for walks and to the dog park etc. I want her to be part of the family but i dont know how to break this behavior! I don't want to give her up because shes so sweet with me and my husband! And i would hate to see her be put down! Please help with any suggestions other than getting rid of her!

Answer 1

I adopted a dog that had been beaten, and behaved just as your little dog..However, mine was a very large dog, and I still have the scars! BUT, in a few weeks, she became the most loving and devoted companion ever..I will always cherish her memory, and life is so much richer for having had her in it..
Yes, she learned to get along with other dogs and people, and I took her everywhere with me..She would get too nervous when small children were visiting, so I would put her in the bredroom..
She was about 5-6 years old when I got her..
It just takes a bit of time, patience and love..but is so worth it..

do an online search for 'training rescue dogs'.you will see many great articles with plenty of tips from experienced rescue people.

Answer 2

The behaviour you describe sounds like classic fear aggression and you are probably right about her having been abused.

There are ways of improving her trust and confidence.

My advice is to seek professional help from a qualified dog behaviourist. Be very careful about who you choose because whatever methods are to be used your dog needs to be handled sympathetically.

You cannot 'break her behaviour' by using punishment and she should not be forced to confront people.

A properly trained, experienced behaviourist will have dealt with exactly this sort of problem before. Sadly it is very common in rescue dogs who have had awful experiences and are fully justified in their fear.

A reputable behaviourist should also be honest enough to tell you if the dog's behaviour cannot be improved.

I notice that you say that you don't want suggestions recommending 'getting rid of her'

I'm not suggesting that because I think, if you get professional advice, the dog will gain the trust that she lacks BUT if you cannot cope with her the only option is to have her put to sleep.

My reason for this is that the dog has had an abusive and disrupted life and, if a qualified behaviourist feels unable to help, then it would be irresponsible to pass this dog onto another home where she could receive even more ill-treatment or do someone some damage.

I have experience of re-homing rescue dogs. If we have a dog that has behaviour problems, particularly fear aggression as a result of cruelty, we give the dog every chance by veterinary care and behavioural methods. Despite our best efforts there are some that we just cannot help and we have to have them euthanized. However many previously abused and fearful dogs are successfully re-homed and become lovely companions.

Answer 3

I had a rescue dog with the same problem,take him for walks and find out whats his thing ,is it toys,chicken,sweets or a ball,distract him from people by using the thing, but make sure you get the timing right,to quick to distract and he'll get bored, to late and the temptation will get to him.
Give him a job to do ie Train him to sit,stay and come, use his thing as a reward,this will give him meaning and confidence
Most of all have fun with him, when your walking him, and try not to get to anxious about what people think about your lovely dog, you'll get there in the end, and remember he may never be able not to wince, some git did that to him, and now he's just your dog that's a little bit different to other dogs.
P.S good luck

Answer 4

Her past history is just that... history, so it doesn't really matter whether she was beaten in the past. It certainly could be, although it might also be worth asking the vet to check her eyesight since some animals become head shy if they can't see well.

You didn't mention, how old is she?

A dog in the condition that she probably is in will take a long time to come out of her shell. Forget any ridiculous advice about dominance and submission... she sounds like a terrified dog that needs to learn how to trust. Provide leadership, routine, and boundaries (affectionately, but do NOT baby her to "make up for" her past treatment). Allow her lots and lots of space around other people and dogs... do not ever every force her into a situation where she is uncomfortable. If you take her for walks, ask people to give you space and cross the street if necessary to give her plenty of social distance. She sounds terrified, and will needs months, and possibly years to come out of her shell. Give her the space and time -- it is incredibly rewarding to be able to help a dog like her learn to trust again.

Answer 5

Working with her in a calm manner will help control the problem.
She may not neccessarily have been beat (chances are slim that she wasn't) but I have 2 dogs one 6 and one 11 months. The pup fliches at ANYTHING quick movement, loud noises, if I go to pet her too quick, she just has a nervous disposition and I have NEVER beat her.
As for the aggressiveness, I would suggest to keep things with you to distract her attention when you are out. Be it her fav toy or some treats, whenever you see something that she has reacted badly to get the distraction out before she notices what she doesn't like and keep her attention untill the distraction has past.
Confidence building is a long and slow process to a dog that isn't very sure if itself (and it sounds to me like she has not been properly introduced to other dogs or people so she just feels threatened plain and simple).
Also dog training courses are good fro socialising dogs in a safe and controled environment and they can give you more tips on how to curb your dogs behaiviour.

Answer 6

Your dog is very confused about when to be the dominant dog and when to be submissive. I don't think she's been beat - if that was the case, she'd never be agressive. She'd flinch, whimper or hide when you tried to pet her. It sounds more like she was a street dog.

Spend lots of time with your dog teaching her things and giving her praise. Get a book or look online for info on how to deal with the times she growls at you - NEVER let her do that, as it lets her think she's top dog. Talk to her a lot - give her lots of human interaction in general.

Also, try to let her play with other dogs, one at a time, in a controlled environment. Maybe if you have a friend with a dog, they can come over and your dog can get used to being friends with it, instead of seeing every other animal as an enemy.

Answer 7

It's great to hear that people are rescuing dogs! Well done. It takes a long time for a rescue dog to settle into a new home. I'm guessing that your dog is ok at home and around you and your husband. I suggest not to pat your dog on the head as not many dogs like this at the best of times. Pat him/her on the chest. She needs to be reassured with new people. Keeping in mind that home is its territory, so home could be a difficult place to meet new faces. When new people do meet him/her, have them extend the back of the hand and let it sniff it. Whislt your dog is being introduced to new people, you crouch down near it and say soothing things to your dog like "it's ok" etc. If your dog growls etc. then the person should back off. Good luck :)

Answer 8

My heart goes out to you. Our dogs have been almost exclusively from rescue, and most of the dogs (with only one exception) were beaten and badly abused.

Our most recent adoption was of a dog that was a walking skeleton who barely had the strength to stand. We fed him every 4 hours for the first month or two until he indicated he needed less food. As with our other dogs he flinched and growled at us. But since we specialize in his breed, Mastiffs, we had the knowledge of dealing with the instincts and idiosyncrasies of that breed and have been substituting more acceptable behaviors for the undesirable ones.

In our experience, it can take up to four years to rehabilitate a severely abused English Mastiff. We have had less success with other breeds simply because the other breeds did not have the genetic disposition towards a passionate need for bonding with humans that Mastiffs had bred into them for thousands of years. Even then an apparently rehabilitated Mastiff can react unexpectedly and aggressively if they feel threatened by a stranger, so extra care must be taken.

Over time your doxie is likely to learn not to flinch when you reach over to pet it, but it may take months if not years. As for strangers and other dogs, you may never solve that completely and may need to buy a muzzle and keep your pet away from strangers and other animals. Only time will tell.

Our rehabilitation strategy is to substitute desirable behaviors by reinforcing the positive behaviors and ignoring the negative ones. We never hit our dogs, as that only makes their problems worse.

As for their growling and threatening us... for the first couple of weeks until they bond with us we keep an adult mastiff between us and them, and hug the other dogs where they can see us hugging dogs. Their genes tell them that they crave those hugs and they stop growling. Boy.. they really crave those hugs.

Good luck.

Answer 9

I don't think that the flinching bit will go away- she may be scarred for life!!! Give her lots of attention, talk to her in a baby sort of tone(as not to sound stern), play with her a lot and take her for short walks on a leash in the back yard for her to get used to it and then take it a little further each day. She may be vicious with others because she sees them as a threat.

Answer 10

I took my dog because he was a rescue dog that had been confiscated from someone who beat him, and worse !!
2 years later, lots of patience and love I now have the most loyal and adorable freind
Sometimes if I move too quickly he panics, but he quickly realises that nothing is going to happen.
You have to be patient, understanding and loving, give it enough time, expect setbacks, before long you will start to see a difference, it will be worth it.
I woudnt swop him for anything