My dog has no self esteem and needs confidence! Help?

Question

I just got a new pup, she is about 7 months old, never been in a home, we suspect that the dog was abused before we had it.
when we walk into the room is runs to a corner or into another room, when you go to pick her up, shes pees, when we put the leash on her she pees, by the time we get ahold of her and take her outside to use it, she just stands there...
PLEASE ANY ADVICE, she is not neutered or anything like that...
We do have another dog in the house, and she is confortable around him, and when he is around she will come around, we can get in the floor an she will lick on your face and act a lil sociable, but when choppie is not around she will not do anything but run...

We have had for almost a week now you can pick her up and hold her or put her on the bed and she just lays or sets there really still, almost like a 'play dead mode' which i dont think is normal.
She is a boxer, lab, pitbull mix. She needed a good home and thats what i hoped to give her...

Please HELP

just wonderin y i should not put her like on my bed and couch and stuff... i really feel like a bad doggie mom now, bc when i pick her up and we set down n i pet her its on the bed or couch..

she gets up on our other couch and lays with my other dog?

Answer 1

One of the big things is going to be patience on your part and do not push to hard otherwise setbacks occur, since the dog is comfortable with your other dog that is a good start and with the other dogs help makes it easier to introduce her gradually to other people and places

Your body language will play a big role, look on websites that explain canine body language to understand what kind of body language is threatening or very dominant, eg leaning over (towering) or direct eye contact are very dominant gestures so learning how to apply to yourself to make yourself appear less threatening can aide you in gaining the dogs confidence also search for info on dog calming signals

Some websites to help
http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_Shy.php

http://web.utk.edu/~jjohns56/shawnapages/shytips.htm

http://www.sfspca.org/behavior/dog_library/shy_dogs.pdf

http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=C&C=175&S=O

I have had 2 dogs now that are referred to as spooks (which have severe panic attacks when afraid, much like severe phobias in people)
The first was comfortable around other dogs it took 18 months of daily work gradually introducing her to new things and people to produce a dog that was comfortable and outgoing around people
My current one is also extremely submissive and took a year just to become comfortable around the other dogs in the house. At the beginning just seeing a person 50 yards away would set her into a panic attack, I almost lost her at one point as she ended up developing stress related malignant hypothermia just going on a vet visit for bloodwork - the stress and panic had caused her body temperature to rise to were she could not cool herself off and her brain overheated causing her to collapse, she had to be put in ice water to bring her core body temperature down again, I have had her for 3 years now she can now play happily outside in the yard with worrying about the neighbours, will walk up to 15 feet from strangers to observe them cautiously as long as they do not make eye contact, she will never get to the point of becoming comfortable around strangers but she has made great strides and is able to be handle by the vet now without overheating, I do expect her to continue to improve, and at some point in time may be able to stay in the same room with a stranger but it will be a slow and gradual process, The first couple years was basically try to put an end to some of the panic attacks so that she could start using her brain to reason and assess her danger levels which she initially could not do because her fear was so deep set.. She still has some panic attacks mostly related to noises where she can not see the source which when the occur causes her mind to shut down and she reacts strictly on the instinct to flee. It was about 2 and a half years before I could walk up and touch her without her trying to flee, Since your dog play the dead mode instead shows it is not quite as severe so she will come around fully as long as you take things slowly and patiently with her.

Answer 2

She's the perfect candidate for a group basic obedience class. She needs to be around a lot of activity with no option but to join in. I have seen extremely submissive dogs come out of the fear mode quite successfully when taken to training. But, you do need to be in a group, not private.
The lessons encourage confidence and independence. They help to eliminate the submissive urination and the running and hiding.
Oh, don't put her on the bed, couch or any other people furniture, you'll open up a whole new can or worms.

Answer 3

It sounds like you ARE giving her a great home !! It takes a lot longer than a week for any dog to become acclimated to a new home, especially if she was abused in her previous environment.

Continue to give her a lot of attention, and "sweet-talk" her once in awhile. Talk to the local humane society, or to a vet. Maybe they can help. But you should wait about 6-8 weeks before you start to be concerned. Good luck !!

Answer 4

I totally agree with duffuss....my families oldest dog has had about four litters and everytime we sell the puppies there seems to be one buyer who comes back and tells us the puppy does not seem to be comfortable.....but our advise has always been, to give the puppy as much care and love as possible. Also it takes more than one week for a puppy to totally trust their new owner. You have to remember that this puupy was abused and taken away from its mother, which is hard for any animal. Time is everything!

Answer 5

confer with them whenever you could, play with them in many situations and have interaction in some preparation workouts the place you often finally end up with something they do nicely and the place you could bestow lavish compliment and/or treats on the dogs. They love the constructive vocal intonations and actual interest. In that way, whenever you do could tutor displeasure, it would not take lots extreme-sounding vocalizations to get the message in the time of.