best way to train a dog who has been harmed in the past?

Answer 1

patience and a lot of love, I have a mini dachshund who was beaten as a puppy, you mey have a hard time with keeping the dog potty trained. but its the same as if you were to get a child who was in an abusive home as a young child. love can heal things

Answer 2

All dogs are going to react differently and each one will have soemthing that motivates it to do the correct things. You just have to find the motivation for yours.
Dogs live in the present and do not dwell on the past like humans do. Sometimes people make the dogs problems worse by thiking and treating the dog differently.
Most times just setting the rules and never changing them works the best. Make usre your dog knows when he has done someting wrong but then show him the right thing and make the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard.
Be frim but fair and above all do not change the rules.
Consistancy is the key to having a well behaved trained dog.

Answer 3

Yes like all these ppl said you do need patience, HOWEVER, you must be firm with this dog in training the same way you would be with any other dog. A friend of mine works as a dog trainer and the dogs that come in and were beaten then spoiled by their new owners are OUT OF CONTROL. You must be patient and yes it may take more time, but you still must be firm. My friend recommends use a prong collar. I know they scare everyone and ppl think that they are mean, but when you use this for corrections the dog does not associate the correction with you, therefore he only sees love coming from you and not the correction. Also another benefit with being firm is that it builds up the dogs confidence faster. He knows exactly what to expect from you and won't worry about when he's going to get in trouble and when he won't. Also give lots of positive reinforcement like all the others have said. I currently have a rescue dog in my home who was beaten for going to the bathroom of all things. So lots of praise every time he went outside really helped. Good Luck

Answer 4

I adopted a poorly abused dog in May, for the first few months, it was about building a trust and consistently. You don't want to overly do one thing, if you don't plan on keeping it up. Walking your dog is one of the best ways to bond with your dog. I still disciplined bad behavior but didn't raise my voice or make sharp movements, I used a lot of the "Dog Whispers" ideas and found them to be pretty helpful.

Now that a trust has been built, I'm now focusing on the things like sitting, stay, etc. with him.

Answer 5

Our you sure your dog has been harmed?
A lot of peeps who run into a shy or some other kind of behavior thinks there dog was harmed in the past.
Some dogs this is just the way they are. Either way sounds like you got some great advice up there! Patients, consistency and love....

BTW Wild horses, or horses who just came into the presents of humans I hand feed these. This is there full dinner. Try feeding his dinner to him this way. Should work for a dog too!

Answer 6

That's a tough one. I have seen many shows on t.v. about dogs being harmed in the past. You have to work with your dog everyday, and slowly but surely, she'll (or he'll) get better. If the abuse was really bad, it might not work out. But don't give up and keep trying.

Answer 7

try to find out how the dog was harmed and by male/female. use positive reinforcement like crazy. if a male harmed the dog then get a woman to train the dog and vice-versa

Answer 8

Lots of patience and only use positve reinforcement. A crate is a good safe spot for a dog that's been through a lot. He absolutely never gets yelled at or punished in any form in his crate, and the crate is not used as a prison, it's his safe spot. Meaning if a situation gets too much for him he knows he can go there and be safe.
Some things can be triggers for these dogs, brooms, a certain color leash, for one I had it was leather gloves. You couldn't wear them around him, he freaked out. So watch, if you can't get info on his abuse, on what makes him afraid or nervous. Changing these things can make him learn that his life is totally different now. They actually bounce back pretty quickly.

Answer 9

I have a rottie that was badly abused during her first year of life, and she was a very difficult challenge during our first year together ......... I found that love and gentleness and treats and never trying to force her to do anything and pretty much leaving her alone to come around on her own worked best. To counteract her severe separation anxiety I used the crate and got her in it with treats. To this can I cannot use force to move her body, even lovingly, she just freezes. Yet she is the most loving angel who loves loves loves hugs and kisses ...............

Answer 10

If you get to know a little about canine body language, it will help you a lot. I've given you a link below that should help - it can be frustrating to see a dog turn away from you and seemingly "ignore" you when you're calling him, unless you're aware that in dog body language this means "Please calm down; I'm nervous about coming over there right now."