How do I live with an abused dog that urniates, yelps, and even bites when being disciplined?

Question

I have a three year old lad/border collie mix that was obviously abused before I got her. The other day, she wondered in to my bathroom. I forgot to close the top lid, and she began drinking out of the blue that I had just treated with blue chemicals. I walk into the bathroom, snap my fingers and point to the door. I uttered no other sound nor did I make any other movement, just snapped and pointed. She hunkered down, belly to floor, tail so far between her legs, the tip was actually positioned directly under her snout. As soon as she got to the doorway, she rose up just a little, and scurried into the living room. I closed the door to the bathroom, went into the kitchen and grabbed a soda, then walked into the living room. Upon seeing me, she immediately began to whimper. I said "Easy girl, it's okay", and went over to her. The closer I got, the louder the whimpering became, then she started to urniate and snap at me. All the while, I spoke softly and moved slowly, to no avail.

Answer 1

It sounds like this girl is going to need alot of love and patience. I would find a local behavioralist to help you. She obviously has had something happen to you. Did you rescue her? Call the group if you did and see if she exhibited this behavior there. IF you haven't had her long it takes a good month or even more for her to earn your trust. You have to be patient and understanding with her. Just keep at it and it will work out.

Answer 2

Awww! The poor little girl! I just want to give her a hug now.
To correct her interperatation of human behaviour, it will take quite a bit of time. When you discipline her, do exactly what you did, but maybe don't go right by her and avoid eye contact so she doesn't expect anything, and you can still stick to your disciplining standards. A while later, when she herself comes up to you or jsomething, as long as you know she's no longer expecting her punishment, then you can slowly reach a finger out to her to sniff while talking to her. Try not to come up to her just yet, as it will probably terrify her. Always have treats on hand, especially in this situation where human gestures aren't seen as rewards at all. And when you're touching her and she's calm enough, or anything but a mess, give her a treat, and touch her more while she's eating the treat. Slowly, she will warm up and learn you won't hurt her. Also, when she snaps, always tell her no and never confuse rewards with biting.
Best of luck with her! I hope the dear gets better.

Answer 3

Your dog learned not to trust. Poor little girl! Next time, do exactly as you did but give her time to get over being scolded. When you approached, she thought you might hurt her. Someone has done that to her in the past. She urinated because she was frightened and she snapped for the same reason. It's going to take a long time for her to learn to trust you and fully understand that she won't be hit for making a mistake.

There may be times when you get sick and tired and just want to give up but that's when you dig down deep and keep on trying. One day she will calm down and accept you and trust you. You will be her doggie hero - a god to a little dog. The rescues can be a lot of work but they often turn out to be the very best dogs of all. They KNOW when they've got a good thing. Good luck with her and hang in there.

Answer 4

Just by the heading, I thought for sure this was going to be another "Why does my dog cry when I hit her on the nose?" or "Why does she get so scared when I punish her? All I do is scream at her and "pop" her on the nose and rub her nose in poop?"

I'm so relieved that it's not.

First, thank you for rescuing this dog.

It's going to be a long process to get her to not be terrified every time she does something wrong. You'll have to spend time gauging what's appropriate for her. Perhaps rather than snapping and pointing in that situation, simply walking in and closing the lid next time with a gentle "no", and then immediately give her attention when she stops so that she knows its ok.

You may also want to talk to someone with a rescue group, the ASPCA, or a professional dog trainer who has experience with severely abused dogs. They may be able to give you some fabulous ideas and tricks that can help you.

I wish you nothing but success in this matter. Good luck to you and the pup.

Answer 5

Well... When she acts like that, you shouldn't encourage the behavior by telling her it's okay. When you tell her it's okay you aren't telling her she is safe you are telling her that the way she is reacting is perfectly acceptable. It's not..

It's really hard to see what's going on, without actually being there. There is no doubt she is fearful and submissive.. You should contact a behaviorist and have them come to your house and watch and tell you how you should deal with things. I get the sense that you are a little dominating and that you are bring out the fears in her. You should get someone that knows how to deal with fearful dogs to come and evaluate her and the situation and tell you how you should proceed.
Ignore the fearful behaviour and don't push yourself on her. You are better off to ignore her.. Not going out of your way to avoid her or anything, but generally letting her be, so that she can watch and realize that nothing is going to happen. So she can get a sense of you and your life, and your routine, and realize that it's not so bad at all. Don't coddle or suck her up, you reinforce the behaviour.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

You need professional help as you are doing everything wrong. You are making the dog fear you as shown by the hunkering down and tucked tail trying to escape you. You never want a dog to fear you, especially one that was abused. Also when the dog is displaying bad behavior you and rewarding it with the "it OK". You think you are consoling it but you can't console dogs, you are rewarding it. You are exacerbating the dogs behavior problems at this point. Get professional help.

Answer 7

Awww, poor thing. That makes me sad to hear that people can do that to animals. Luckily she can be reverted back to trusting again with a lot of work. Instead of walking towards her, I would try to sit at or near her level across the room from her and have her come to you. This makes it seem as if you are not threatening to her. Having a treat will help as well. Sit down, call her in a calm, soothing voice. Once she does come to you, praise her, smile, be happy and reward her. It will take time, but eventually she will become somewhat more trusting.

Answer 8

the 2 posts above mine are right on. I have a dog that was abused-she didn't bark for 2 years after I got her. Just do as those 2 suggest and it will work out. ed.-Sorry, I was referring to Buttercup and Floridasun!

Answer 9

I am by no means a dog expert, but did you have the dog checked after the incident? Maybe the dog is having issues with having just drank the chemicals out of the toilet. They don't tend to be very nice when they are hurting. The chemicals could have caused a problem in his/her throat?

Answer 10

I would consult a veterinary behaviorist. She sounds like a very submissive dog, and needs to be handled very gently, and you will need to do specific things for her to help oercome this. Every dog is different, so it is hard to evaluate what is going on with her over the internet. Good luck! Get some reading on dog behavior- Karen Pryor is who to look for!