What Do To?

[gemibabe]

Hey peoples

My rescue boy, Joey has come along leaps and bounds. He makes eye contact now which is great. Still gulps his food..

For those that are new/ish... I rescued Joey from my local pound. He'd been left tied up out the front of a vets in Mandurah. He has been beaten and abused, where he wouldn't even look you in the eye. He cowers and slinks off if you raise your voice even when its not directed at him. He doesn't know what to do when you hand him a toy, unless my other staffy has it.. he will play with other dogs well, he wont play with humans.. oh yeah he is a staffy x

Anyways, he wee'd on the couch tonight and when I called him in to the room, he did so slinking and pee'ing everywhere I don't want to call him in all happy toned, then lower my tone to tell him off... I also don't want to let things like that slide 'just because'.

So if anyone has dealt with this situation before, I'd love to hear from you.

Cheers,

Kylie

[Mushaka]

Hi there, GOOD work for taking in such a high needs dog. my last two dogs have been rescue dogs. Jkae recentl passing away from the cancer he had wen we got him. The shelter were going to put him to sleep,but we took him on and he lived a very happy and comfortable 2 years. and now my little Lewis who has severe seperation anxiety,has been hit by a car,limps and is blind in one eye from a cherry eye that had never been taken care of!

I know the dilemma ur in..SHEESH i think its going to need MORE than training on ur baby..possibly a behaviour specialist..doggy councelling?? maybe even some meds?

Iwill follow this thread with much interest

Best of luck and again Well done

[gemibabe]

thanks for the post

Noone's had to deal with this before??

[poodlefan]

Given that this boy reacts so strongly to any suggestion of correction Gemibabe, I wouldn't correct him...

Don't call him to do anything but praise him - make any contact with you a really positive thing. The harshest aversive I'd be giving this one would be a "no reward". That would be harsh enough.

Until he learns that good things come from being near you, you simply have to grit your teeth and show him what pleases you.. like taking him outside and praising and rewarding peeing there lavishly.

[Staranais]

Anyways, he wee'd on the couch tonight and when I called him in to the room, he did so slinking and pee'ing everywhere I don't want to call him in all happy toned, then lower my tone to tell him off... I also don't want to let things like that slide 'just because'.

My friend had a dog like this. Whenever she was in a high stress situation (e.g meeting new people, particularly men, or if anyone ever growled at her) she would roll over and cower and often pee in submission. Sounds like this is what your new rescue boy is doing.

You might not want to let it slide, but telling the dog off will probably just make it worse, since the dog will possibly feel even more desperate to appease you by showing submissive behaviour (such as peeing).

Only thing I can suggest to you is try to build the dog's confidence. i.e don't growl and him, don't physically or verbally punish him if this causes him a great deal of distress. Do train him using a clicker or other purely positive methods, just to get him used to communicating with you in a positive way. Do enforce consistent house rules (e.g NILIF, TOT, no dogs on sofa, etc). It might seem "mean" to enforce strict rules on a scared rescue dog, but if he sees that you are a competent leader, his confidence may increase.

If he pees when he meets new people, it can help to ask them to completely ignore him when they come around. If they greet him, ask them to do so non-confrontationally (crouch down to his level, extend a hand without making direct eye contact).

If you have the time I'd personally also consider crate training him just like a new puppy, possibly tethering him too (a la Leerburg) in order to build the bond between you.

Hope that helps a little.

[gemibabe]

thanks for the replies.

I will try only the positives. We've had him a year now, and I've never had to tell him off. He is well behaved besides this one incident.

I have a clicker, never used it before. Have the tips on how to, so might buy some tasty treats and start.