New puppy is too shy and wont come or listen?

Question

Hi, I adopted a 10 week old puppy from the animal shelter on thursday. They believe, and so do we, that she was abused by people and other dogs. There are scars on her body. We set up a cage for her, and she loves it. But she wont come out and play. We have a 6 month old German Shorthaired Pointer who is well behaved. Our new puppy, Copper, just wont play. When we do get her out, she will only crawl around and keep her head down. When around other dogs, she growls at them and bites them. Our GSP, Zolten, is trying to be friends but Copper wont allow her to get close. This is the 3rd day we have had her and she got better, but today she totally went back to worse then when we got her. We took her out with Zolten and she ran off. We got to her, and she hid cowarding under a tree. Now she wont go near my boyfriend (who yelled at her). Does anyone have any ideas cuz we might have to give her back to the shelter if she doesnt get better. We dont want to but if she doesnt get better no choic

Answer 1

First you need to give this puppy time and not expect her to play with you right away for she is simply scared and terrified of people and other dogs-she may have been used as bait-training dogs used in illega dog fights. I would NOT Force her nor take her outside yet for any new puppy without being abused being taken outside suddenly would be afraid for the outside to a puppy is a very big and scary place.You should also never allow anyone even if it is your boyfriend to yell at her for now it will take a long time for her to trust him-forcing her will only make her more scared. Its wonderful that you rescued the puppy but if you wanted to right away be entertained/play with the puppy and have her behave normally you are expecting way too much. Unless You can WAIT, Be Immensely Patient for this will not change in a couple of days or even weeks-may take a long time then you should try to find another home.Please do NOT take back to the shelter if you are talking about the pound for she will nevr get better considering how noisy and all the many other dogs and she'll be euthanized. Best to give to the Humane society or take to PETSMART who will turn the puppy over to No-kill rescue people. I would set the cage up as the puppys Home in a very quiet place of the house the least of family activity but she can still see and hea all of you-but the food and the water is outside of the cage with the waterbottle spout also being on the outside so the puppy has to leave the cage to eat and drink-if there i concern about her wandering off and having accidents enclose-set up around the cage a enclosure like a high animal play pen-can get at Petsmart,Petco may even find at Home depot ,Lowes etc. in fact the playarea enclosure i would get and keep her enclosed for 1week to 2weeks approx. here she can see hear the family and dogs but since she is in her own private living area feels safe,secure BUT for approx 1/2 to 1hr I would go into the enclosure and just sit calmly talking to her in the same high pitched tone that you would talk baby talk(animals for some reason as found by animals handlers and trainers respond well to the higher pitch)Do NOT mak any sudden abrubt moves-will scare fearful animals but move slowly butconfidently-never timid around the puppy. the same can be one by your boyfriend but I would not have him go in for about 1week and he too has to very patient and follow the plan. about the 3rd to 4th day I'd sit talking in the higher tone but have a treat which I'd put by her food bowl. Eventually because you are talking friendly and leaving treats and making no fast scary moves she will rlax and not be on the alert and eventually she will come out of the cage and then to you and even when she comes to you do not right away attempt to pick up or make sudden moves-keep hands always in front of her and simply stroke etc the gradually from the floor to your lap and so forth BUT have her demeanor and actions prompt the moves you make like picking up -if when you starat to pick up she gets scar.struggles put her down right away and stroke and if she moves away from you do not stop her-the point is to have her in time not see as a bad thing that pain comes from but a calm friendly person that she can trust and why you need to be very patient and let her control what she does and when she does as far as interacting with you. The same with the dogs-do not allow the dogs to mess with her but have thm be around her doing their thing until them too she does not perceive as a threat. I took in a stray that was already 11/2 to 2yrs old who'd obviously been severely abused-took a approx 2yrs for him to come into the garage-had to get him a garden shed as a dog house in the winter and we allowed him to socialize,interact with us at his own pace-never forced him to do anything if he showed fear or any resistance but let him show.tell us when he was ready to interact-be petted et. and now he;s a beautiful,healthy very affectionate dog that always looks like hes smiling so the puppys fear from people and dogs can be gotten rid of-and being a pup should not take as long as woth our dog but Patience is required-in the end you'll have a nice dog and the satisfaction that you saved it.

Answer 2

An abused puppy or child will not get over his history that quickly. By all means, don't yell at the poor little thing. It will take a lot of patience and love for the next several weeks to gain his trust. Like an abused child, he thinks the abuse was his fault, so is afraid to offend you and so avoids interaction. The other puppy may be a bit rambunctious, so you might try keeping it away while you patiently try to lure the little one out of his kennel. Get down and talk to him on his level, petting as he will allow it. Give him a toy he can play with in the kennel, making sure you handle it first so your scent is on it. He'll come around.

Answer 3

Spending time with Copper is the best way. You have to remember this is only the 3rd day you have had her. She needs time to adjust to the new surroundings. If she has been abused, she will need some extra TLC!! Try going to petsmart (or something like that) and get a bag of the training bones. They are super little and are great for training (hence the name!). Try offering her one to come out of the cage and even try playing fetch with one. She will eat it though! This way you can get her excited about being out. Just be careful not to feed her to much so she doesn't become over weight! I hope this helps!!

Answer 4

Maybe you should just let the puppy get used to you and give it some time. If she has been abused, she is probably scared and thinks that she will still be abused. Maybe you should put your other dogs in a cage and spend some alone time with you new puppy. Nobody wants to give a new puppy back!

Answer 5

ok. Well, my advice, being the son of a man with 3 well behaved, very friendly dogs, is to let your pup meet your older Shorthair. Buy some hotdogs beforehand. Expose your dog to the shorthair, and tell her she's a good dog in a sweet tone of voice. hold her by the collar, and bring her a bit closer to the shorthair, giving her bits of hot dog every few steps toward the shorthair. your boyfriend should go to her and pet her a bit, with a good tone of voice also. Get some dog treats and treat her when she does good things.

Answer 6

The yelling was a big mistake, it will probly take a long time for him to gain its trust now. It will take time, alone time, without the other dog, and alot of hands stuff, petting, giving treats, let it see that you wont harm it. Then it will loosen up. I had a puppy just like this, it turned out to be the best dog I ever had.

Answer 7

It's been THREE DAYS. Geeze. Give her some time to get adjusted to her new surroundings, and to learn that she's not going to be abused at this home (which means that your boyfriend does not yell at her anymore!). Quit forcing so much overwhelming stimuli on her, like letting Zoltan bother her, making her interact with Zoltan, going out and letting her run off (what was she doing without a leash on, anyway?!?), etc.

Let her alone for a while. Feed her, pet her QUIETLY, and let her come to terms with her new life. Let HER approach things on her own terms, and when she's feeling secure, she will likely enjoy playing with Zoltan and enjoy being a puppy.

Right now she's a scared little baby and you're not doing anything to help. You're rushing her and you're making it worse.

Answer 8

Try not to get upset with the dog or raise your voice right now.
The dog needs alot of TLC. I would suggest you buy some
treats and just give them to the dog, instead of making her come
for them. When you watch tv let the dog sit in your lap and really
just spend alot of time with it. Also try taking it with you when
you go out, and just spend as much time with the dog as you
can. The poor thing sounds like it has had such a hard time.

Also dogs love soft treats.

Answer 9

its takes time when you get a dog that has been abused you need to spend as much time with her as you can you need to teach her right from wrong when she good tell her that she's a good girl and reward her for it. it will take time but in the end you will be glad that you did not give her back in the mean time do some research you might find some good tips on how to help her.

Answer 10

I think he is so shy because he did get abused,i suggest you spend some alone time with him and play with him,since the puppy got abused from the other person he doesn't trust anyone and probably never will.