Need help with a recently adopted golden retriever?

Question

Hello,
first off, let me say thank you for taking the time to read my question.
Okay, my dog is still a pup, and is about 9 months old.
She was found as a stray and the Humane Society took her in.
She's a very sweet dog, but I have noticed that she must have had a rough past.
Whenever I'm sitting down and then I unexpectedly get up and approach her, she darts off like a bat out of hell.
I've never overly scolded her then what was appropriate to do. Infact, I'm usually quite leiniant with her.
Also, whenever I use hand gestures at her, like snap fingers and tell her to go lay down, she runs away. She's terrified of gloves too.
Maybe someone slapped her in the face with a glove in her past?
Whenever I have gloves on, (it is winter-time) she snaps at my hand.

What can I do to make her feel at home and be more relaxed? She's a little tense and I would hate for her to associate her owner's previous corrective efforts with mine.

I only want what's best for her.

Any suggestions?

Answer 1

First of all, don't expect things to turn around overnight and do not have too high expectations for the final result. It often takes a year to transform a reclusive, abused pet into a family-friendly companion. Even so, do not expect a miracle: You are unlikely to achieve complete resolution of the issues. Previously abused pets can become accepting of their human family members but making them into well-rounded social successes is an almost impossible task.
Here's how to proceed:


Make your pet feel needed and loved

Allow your new pet to become accustomed to you at his own pace – never try to force the issue

Protect your pet against whatever he fears

Build the pet's confidence by introducing him to situations in which you arrange for him to be successful (arrange a positive outcome)

Strive for clear communication with your pet

Always ensure adequate exercise and a healthy diet

Give your new pet a safe place where he can go to get away from it all
Some specific measures include the following:


Always speak quietly and encourage others in the household to do the same. Whisper "commands." There's never any advantage to shouting. It doesn't make the message any clearer.


Try sitting in a quiet room at night with your new pet. Prevent him from totally dismissing you and avoiding your company completely by strategically closing certain doors. Sit quietly on a couch or bed and read a good book. Make sure the dog or cat is hungry before you start and arm yourself with delicious food treats (hot dog or freeze-dried liver for most dogs; Pounce food treats for cats). Toss or slide the occasional food treat across the floor toward him. When a paw emerges from beneath the sofa he is hiding under you are on the right track. When he takes a pace or two toward you and you're getting warm. "Baby steps" should be incrementally rewarded with additional food. It is the best way to engender confidence and trust. Never try to hurry things along.


If your pet shows separation anxiety, arrange for him to have plenty to do when you have to go out.


If strangers terrify your pet, protect him from their well-meaning advances.


Engage a “reverse dominance” program, in which your pet has everything he wants and needs for free. Do not make him work for food, praise, toys or your attention. These should always be available at no cost.


One excellent way to build a pet's confidence is through click-and-treat training (a.k.a. “clicker training”). In this type of training, the pet is “empowered” by having the opportunity to find a way to make you click and thus receive a reward. Once pets figure out how the game is played, they may prefer the “game” over the reward. Think of click-and-treat training as a means of non-verbal communication. Signals or voice cues can be added at a later stage.


Take care of the pet's basic biological needs by providing aerobic exercise and a healthy diet. Dogs need 20 to 30 minutes of running exercise (not just walking) every day. Cats need an opportunity to release energy in explosive bursts to dissipate their predatory tendencies. A tired pet is a good and happy pet!

Once appropriate background measures are in place, and the pet is on the mend, it is time to consider active rehabilitation in the form of desensitization. Desensitization is the behavioral equivalent of homeopathy: A little bit of what ails (step-wise approach to feared person or situation) is employed under close control to do some good.

Whether the “little bit” entails limited and controlled exposure to strangers or being left alone depends on the particular needs of the pet. Desensitization is best performed in conjunction with counter-conditioning – a process in which animals' fear cues are associated with a positive (or, at least, different) response. The usual strategy is to replace a previously fearful response with an appetitive response using delicious food as the conditioner.

With reference to training, as ethologist Konrad Lorenz once said, “Art and science aren't enough; patience is the basic stuff.” This is especially true when it comes to rehabilitating formerly abused animals. Such animals present the greatest challenge, because they are not blank slates for inscription but rather have already been exposed to un-erasable unfortunate learning. However, this is not to say that amazing turnarounds cannot be achieved - for they can - only that trainers must work hard with such pets to superimpose new learning that will submerge earlier adverse learning experiences.

Answer 2

Golden Retrievers are my favorite dogs. I've had three already and I haven't found anything wrong with them yet.

To have the best golden I would make sure that they're AKC registered. The AKC registered ones don't have problems that the mutts.

There are two different types of goldens; a golden golden, and a copper penny. A copper penny is more of a showy dog and I prefer them over a regular golden.

They need lots of love and attention. They also make great hunting dogs and are very quiet and kind. They are great with kids.

For a calmer golden I would get an adult puppies take lots of patience.

Training takes time and my puppy use to be scared of everything and still has some fears.
It'll take some time but the fears will fade.

Try keeping treats on hand and reward when she isn't scared. Tell her it's all right

Answer 3

A typical well bred golden retriever will be gentle, sociable and accepting. However if it was born to any two goldens from a farm, it appears that the typical golden characteristics have suffered. Do a careful match with your other two dogs to make sure they all get along first. You can work on it if there is potential. In general, they are social creatures whether it's with other dogs or people. Being kept in a small space with limited exposure to human contact is detrimental to a golden. Be prepared for behavior challenges. Hopefully the transition will be smooth and he will be accepted as a member of your family. Good luck and good for you for wanting to improve the life of an animal.

Answer 4

You don't say how long you have had her. This sort of fear reaction might take a fairly long time for her to get over. Some dogs never do fully recover. The most important thing is pretty much what you are doing, being loving and gentle with her. There is a product called Rescue Remedy that may be helpful. It is homeopathic and can in no way harm her. There is also a product called D.A.P. - Dog Appeasing Pheromone. Developed for pet owners by veterinarians, D.A.P.™ (Dog Appeasing Pheromone) mimics the properties of the natural pheromones of the lactating female. Within three to five days after giving birth, the female generates pheromones that give their puppies a sense of well-being and reassurance, known as appeasing pheromones. Just keep being patient and loving with her. These things take time. Bless you for adopting a shelter dog.

Answer 5

When you scold her make sure that you are calm and assertive with her. That is what dogs respect. I think she just needs to learn that she can trust you and if you just got her (and think she may have been abused) then its going to take a little longer than usual for her to understand that she can. Maybe if she is afraid of this snapping noise or hand gestures in general try not to use them until you know she trusts you later on down the road. Maybe try using little treats to get her to lay down and other commands instead so she will associate positiveness with you. She'll come around in time! Don't worry!

Answer 6

Answer 1: For her suddenly running away.
The best thing for you to do is try and not unexpectedly get up, since she is still very uneasy. Slowly approach her, while talking to her gently. You can also hold a treat in your hand to show her that you only give happiness. (Just make sure you don't get her sick.)

Answer 2: Afriad of hands/gloves.
I agree, she must of had a bad experience with slapping. The most important thing to remember is to move slowly around her. My adopted dog used to be afriad of hands also. He would flinch every time we would go to pet him. We started off slowly reaching out to him, but not actually touching him. After he got used to it, we started to pet him. Eventually he learned to trust us, and now we can pet him whenever we want. Since your dog is also afraid of gloves, you have to work on that also. Try sitting a glove that you normally where on the ground, and show it to her. Hopefully this will get her used to gloves. When you can pet her without her being afraid, you can try it with the glove on. If she is afraid of the glove still, don't scare her. Try it one more time, then put it away for the day. Since my dog wasn't afraid of gloves, I don't know what else to tell you. Sorry.
Just keep trying. Don't get frusterated, and always be gentle. (Even though I'm sure you already do that) If you need more advice, go to your vet. I'm sure he/she has a better solution. They may even show you to a good trainer. Good Luck!

Answer 7

That's a good one. Abused dogs like abused humans aways remembers the terror and it takes a lot of time and patience to get a dog to trust again.

I am going to assume (yeah, I know) that she is a fear biter. She just needs you to be very understanding and patient. She doesn't need a strong correction for bad behavior, you will need to find a gentle way to correct her that doesn't send her running. The milder the temperament requires a simple correction.

Sit with her and just talk to her like she was your best friend. Cry if you are upset and she will try to sooth you, by nudging and licking you. Praise her. NO TREATS ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Since you have no idea as to what she had been through before you got her, you need to watch very closely to see what triggers her 'fight or flight'. Try to avoid the things you know of.

Give her lots and lots and lots of praise, build her confidence and self esteem.

There are quite a few things that you can do to help her. If you want more information feel free to contact me.

Answer 8

Well you should take time to try and understand where she is coming from and know that this wont be an easy task to get over. Talk to her often when she does good praise her give her a treat. When she does bad dont get too upset. Have special bonding time like walks or a park let her know that she is special to you and that you will not harm her..It may take a while but shell come out of it.

Answer 9

It definitely sounds like your dog was a victim of abuse with its previous owner. It's gonna take some time for your dog to give you its complete trust. But when she does, she'll probably be an even better companion because she knows you are not cruel to her. I had a friend with the same problem and he just gave the dog time and eventually the dog realized that he wasn't gonna get hurt and opened up to him, it took awhile but he said that was one of his best dogs he ever had. Your dog come around, right now she's just trying to figure out that you are not the same as its previous owner. Not much you can do but give it time.

Answer 10

It is entirely possible that she was abused in the past. She therefore associates the hand with hitting rather than love. It will take some time for her to start trusting you. All you can do is be extremely loving, never raise your voice, never hit her and never make sudden moves around her. Once some of the pain of her past is erased from her memory, she will be less skittish. Good luck.