chloebear Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 I recently adopted a pound puppy, I was warned before hand about some of the pitfalls of adopting a pound puppy but I went ahead anyway. I couldn't stand to see the puppy be put down. I am experiencing problems with this puppy that I am not sure how to deal with. She is very timid, almost afraid of her own shadow. She cringes when walking past her with an object in your hand. When put on a leash she drops to the ground. She jumps all over me, but I am not sure of how to deal with her because I don't want to reward her bad behaviour but at the same time I went to train her Any advice welcome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenjiMom Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 (edited) Praise when she does well,,,try and iggy bad behaviour for awhile. never sook her and tell her sorry you are scared..try to tell her...hey...life is great!!! Im not a dogy trainer.so hope u get some good help for her. Poor dog, i feel her also and glad she has you to love her. Welcome to DOL Edited September 30, 2007 by Bloss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 I recently adopted a pound puppy, I was warned before hand about some of the pitfalls of adopting a pound puppy but I went ahead anyway. I couldn't stand to see the puppy be put down. I am experiencing problems with this puppy that I am not sure how to deal with. She is very timid, almost afraid of her own shadow. She cringes when walking past her with an object in your hand. When put on a leash she drops to the ground. She jumps all over me, but I am not sure of how to deal with her because I don't want to reward her bad behaviour but at the same time I went to train her Any advice welcome? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted September 30, 2007 Author Share Posted September 30, 2007 The pound told me when i adopted her that she was from a litter of dogs that had been very badly miss treated. She just loves to be close to our family. I am happy to put the time in to train her but I am at a loss as to where to really start considering it has been a long time since I have had a puppy and my last dog didn't have any issues to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted September 30, 2007 Share Posted September 30, 2007 Find yourself a good trainer and go from there. How old is the pup? Whereabouts are you located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiffanyAmber Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Let her be a puppy first. Show her how to be one. Lots of love and tender care goes a long way. Never raise your voice or anyone else either. Make it one happy household, which I am sure you are doing. Implement her training like sit, stay, wearing a collar and lead etc, all in with her happy puppy play. This can take time and she will know soon enough that this is the place to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Find yourself a good trainer and go from there. How old is the pup? Whereabouts are you located? Live in the Mackay area. Puppy is 3-4 months of age, but that is an educated guess by the vet which I have taken her to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Let her be a puppy first. Show her how to be one. Lots of love and tender care goes a long way. Never raise your voice or anyone else either. Make it one happy household, which I am sure you are doing.Implement her training like sit, stay, wearing a collar and lead etc, all in with her happy puppy play. This can take time and she will know soon enough that this is the place to be. As soon as I put a lead on her, she drops to the ground, I have started using food rewards held in front of her to get her to take a few steps. We are trying to get her to play more, but she spends most of her time on her dog bed, not sure if that is normal or not ? it has been a long time since I have had a puppy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 She is jumping all over us, just begging for attention. At this stage 3-4 months how do I go about teaching her that this is not okay without scaring her more. Previously at dog obiendence with another dog I was told to gently put my knee up. But given the timid nature of this dog I am not wanting to freak her out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 You really need professional help IMO, particularly as this pup is just about to come out of its critical period. You need to be extremely clear with the pup and it needs careful socialisation and lots of it. Be careful to NOT reward any fearful behaviour- even if you are trying to comfort her. Put the lead on and let the pup drag it around- do it when your there to supervise and don't remove it until the puppy can move around reasonably confidently with it- this could take all day so allow pleny of time. Reward confident behaviour, ignore the fearful behaviours. When she jumps, guide her into a sit and never reward the jumping up. Lots of rewards for sitting quietly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Cosmolo - Thanks for you advice. My puppy and me appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 (edited) With more timid type dogs, I tend to ignore them for a bit, take the pressure off them, set the rules from day one and don't feel sorry for them. It would be really ideal if you could get in a behaviourist to help you move foward on this one. Edited October 1, 2007 by sas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frieda Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 This is what I am doing with Izzy my resuce who is timid as well. Jumping - which she does but is getting the hang not to. I ignore her when she jumps I turn around and face my back to her, then gently remind her to sit. When she is seated I then pat and reward her. Izzy now comes tearing up and promptly puts her bum down and shakes like a leaf because she is trying so hard not to jump up. She does forget sometimes but slow and steady. With the lead take small steps, put it on and if she takes a few steps reward her then take the lead off. Keep doing this for longer periods until she realises it isn't a threat. How is she with car rides and new situations? I believe in socialising timid dogs, so maybe finding a dog obedience/trainer in your area so she can be socialised with other dogs and humans. This is my experience with Izzy, I hope this helps. Good luck with it all. The rewards with a rescue dog when they have gained their confidence with you is great, you will have a dog who will look up to you for guidance and will adore you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 2, 2007 Author Share Posted October 2, 2007 Thanks to everyne for your help, Holly (my puppy) and I are getting to know each other. She is starting to understand not to jump as I will only pat her when she is sitting - (still trying to teach husband to do the same with her). We have made some progress with walking on Leash will take a couple of steps my goal is to get her to walk in to her next vet visit. Overall I am very please with Holly's progress and I am very happy that we made the decision to rescue her from being put down. She will be going to puppy preschool in a few weeks so hopefully that will also give her some more confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Mishka isn't timid with me around, the cats are playmates too. He's terrified of other dogs though. My old dog Sam would go nuts if we walked under the rail bridge to the park and a train passed overhead. I took him to the bridge once or twice, and got him to sit while the train passed. After I'd praise him heaps for sitting and ignoring it. So, we really should learn to control ourselves and not give in to bad behavior. I'm the first to admit I usually give in to those big brown pleading eyes, but for pups, you've gotta control yourself! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
percyk Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 yep ignore the timidity do not reinforce it by fussing over her or stroking her i think walking is the key here a no nonsense approach but take it slowly walking round the house on a lead or have her tethered to u round the waist to establish u as leader once she believes in u then she will follow introduce her to all sorts of situations and talk in a calm neutral voice...dont tense up with ur body ...make her face her fears with u as the calm mentor at her side,, dont accept her fears and challenge her gently to overcome them dont give her any attention when she is jumping...she needs to be trained to sit and wait....be kind and loving but dont indulge her phobias if she is scared of something then introduce it in micro steps...be on the alert...what scares her..noises? objects? feed her around these things..whether it be a broom or vacuum cleaner...'positive things happen around the things she fears'...thats the message u want her to take on board if she is scared of the vet etc then visit often without actually having anything done..reward her profusely for being brave but dont stroke her....dogs are not like kids that need their hand held for an injection .. but a reward ...food or a massage is great take her out ...to shopping malls in the car everywhere but for short times and try to make sure that she has a fear free experience...tiny steps u have done a wonderful thing..dont give up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cazz Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 My Mish was crying whenever I'd scoop him up for a hug, I narrowed it down to him thinking he'd have his rear slapped. Now whenever I scoop him up, I pat his rear end playfully, to stop him from guessing I'm gonna hurt his butt, desensitizing, that's the word! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chloebear Posted October 3, 2007 Author Share Posted October 3, 2007 I have started to realise that a lot of the things I was doing to comfort the dog, treating it like a baby/child where making things worse. So I have loverly toughend up and we have made heaps more progress. When she gets scared at times she still has accidents, like this morning when I was giving her antibotics. She is starting to learn that if she wants to be patted, scratched she must sit and not jump. I no longer talk to her in a quite soothing voice like I do when talking to little children, instead I talk to her like an adult tone. We have also started to make progress with the leash, taking about 5-6 steps before stoping. My husband, children and I are expectional happy with Holly's progress she is following the kids around and playing with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldoop Posted October 3, 2007 Share Posted October 3, 2007 Chloebear thats great news, I've been following your threads and glad to hear its all working out now I bought a leash for Cody yesterday so will give him a walk in the back yard today, keep the updates coming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LouiseBrooks Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 [As soon as I put a lead on her, she drops to the ground, I have started using food rewards held in front of her to get her to take a few steps. We are trying to get her to play more, but she spends most of her time on her dog bed, not sure if that is normal or not ? it has been a long time since I have had a puppy. My rescue pup did this as well, as if he did not walk properly he was dragged by his neck. I found rather than using a leash round his neck I bought a shoulder harness put it on left it on for days. Started clipping the leash while we walked around the yard. He now loves walks but goes back to gringe mode if a lead is clipped on his collar. Maybe some rescue remedy as well would be useful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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