My puppy is ALWAYS scared!?

Question

I have a German Shepard/Collie mix, Pebbles, who's also always scared.
We adopted her from a kennel, She was found in a crate with her newborn littermates. They were abandoned and starving but shouldn't have been abused being so young. I don't think this is why she's always scared unless the people in the kennel beat her while she was there.
Any time you stand over her or look her in the eyes or either use a scolding tone or a super-sweet tone, she gets scared and pees and hides and wines. We have to coax her out of hiding and don't want to scold her for the accident because she was scared and couldn't help it.
Often when we get her out of hiding, she's shaking and leans into us like she wants to hide inside of us! She'll stay like that for up to 30 minutes!!!! We try and comfort her but we're torn. We dunno if comfporting her every time she does this is only making it worse or if it's actually helping.
If she does anything wrong we are too scared to scold her!
What should we do?

Answer 1

Sounds like she wasn't ever socialized to people as a puppy. Also, you do have to be careful about reinforcing her hiding and cowering, but I'm not really sure what you are supposed to do about it. I would almost think you need to take her to as many different places and put her in as many different situations so that she gets used to being around people and places. I would suggest getting a good book about training/socializing your dog - it should have a section on dealing with scared dogs - or maybe talking to a trainer.

Answer 2

It might take the puppy a Little while but she'll get over it. If you have someone to help you could take the puppy and the other person could hold the older dog and then you take the bone and let the puppy have it for a while then let the older dog have it for awhile, I would say a couple minutes each and do this for a week or two and that might help the older dog not be aggressive towards the puppy when the bone is around. I would say the older dog is probably trying to show a little dominance with the bone. Good luck

Answer 3

First of all, it sounds like your pup probably was taken away from her mother too young. Getting your dog to overcome her anxiety will be hard-lots of patience and consistency. But do not reward her for being scared! When you try to comfort a dog that is scared all you are doing is reinforcing the feeling of being scared.

The best thing to do is to get your puppy signed up for a training class. She can be around other dogs and people to socialize and you will have the benefit of a trainer that can help you deal with your pups behavior.

Never scold a pup for this behavior either! Just remain calm and keep the pup on a leash so you can keep her from trying to hide. If sounds cruel but your pup will finally, down the road, maybe tomorrow or a few weeks from now realize that no one is going to hurt her! And that she can trust that you will protect her!

Answer 4

i rescued a pitbull at 4 wks old because they beat her i know i shouldnt have bought her so young and gave them $$ but i felt so bad for a puppy that young to be getting beated and starved. it takes alot of patience and alot of socializing. when hennessy would flip out like that i'd catch her and wrap her in a blanket and just hold her by my heart to let her know everything was ok. some people say im crazy but when it got really bad i'd sing to her and it calmed her down. she's 2 1/2 yrs old now and she still has issues with strangers especially men but all you gotta do when she's older is take her for walks and ask random people at a park or whatever to give her a treat u bring with you. she'll learn that people are nice and there's nothing to be scared of. some days still ill lift my hand to grab something and she'll flinch and hide and ive had her for 2 1/2 yrs. but again it just takes alot of patience

Answer 5

I got my welsh terrier at 8 months from a well known dog breeder/animal killer. She is 11 years old now. But when I first got her she was even afraid of her own shadow from being abused. She is still a little shy and likes to be alone. I feel I gave her love for 11 years and that might outweigh the terrible bginning in life she had.

Answer 6

Treat her with much love and care to gain her trust. NEVER hit a your pet, but learn to praise and congratulate her with treats and affection whether she is being house trained or taught how to sit. You must be patient because obviously she sounds like she is traumatized in some way. Dont worry my puppy used to be scaredy cat lol that always wanted to stay with me but now she just a spoiled princess and loves the whole family. Trust is key. Its going to take some time but things will get better. If all fails take her to a vet. Thats my best advice to see if anything is wrong with her. I hope all goes well, dogs are cool!
"Spay and Neuter your pets"

Answer 7

well i just got a puppy and she was scared for the first couple days and then she got used to us and ususally they are scared if they were abandoned but soon she will realize u arnt like that i hope thats what happened to my cousin and her dog but still tell her not to pee in the house just don't be to harsh

Answer 8

try reading the book "Idiots Guide To Positive Dog Training"

it will give you many useful tips on what to do when you catch her doing something unwanted....without having to make her piddle in her pants

also, its ok to comfort to a slight extent...but dont coddle her. it will only enforce the scared behavior. instead, encourage her every chance you get. find stuff she likes to do, and use that to entice her out of her fear.

Answer 9

Talk to your vet, My yorkie/maltese gets scared the moment we leave the room, she barks like CRAZY my mom says she learns it from me...hehe!