I Need Some Ideas!

[Chaotic Chick]

We have had our dog for nearly a week. He is a baby, really; just under a year old. He is a sweetheart. Usually quiet but very timid. When an adult tries to pet him, he pees and he runs and hides in the bookshelf. He is very attached to my daughter and sleeps with her. When she leaves the house, he bolts out the door. If we have to leave him alone, even for ten minutes, he eats shoes, poops all over the house, cries and barks. But if we take him for a walk, he will walk beside my husband, tail up, all happy, very social with people and animals.

I have a feeling that maybe there is something in the house he does not like. I know he was terrified of my shoes the first day he got here. I was wearing them inside, and when I approached him he barked at my feet until I removed them. Other than that, I am at a loss! And he is my daughter's little sidekick which is GREAT but she leaves for summer camp back East next week and she will be gone for 10 days so I need to do something about this and soon! She is the only one who can get him to eat, or to go to another room or even outside for his walk! Any ideas?

[magic mushroom]

sounds like this poor dog was abused by adults (shoes, kicking) and was comforted by a child.
not sure what you can do to reassure or get the dog to trust you in such a short time though. that is a tough one and will probably take time and patience.
i found this site, maybe you can get some ideas from it.

http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf87361398.tip.html

[kitca]

reading your message just broke my heart, i agree, it does sound like this poor guy was abused!

it does take time and reassurance, and i thinkjust time, getting to know you and know he is now safe. i have fostered many, sadly, abused animals over the years and it does take time.

i think you may need to crate him when you do have to leave him, unless you have an outdoor chain and doghouse. the chewing is like us drinking and smoking - well sort of, high anxiety calming method.

i wonder if rita one of the trainers in town would have any good ideas? there is a library at the spca shelter with many training books also. i love the bestselling dog trainers ceasar milan and stanley coren, and they both have websites with lots of information.

[animal lover]

I agree with all of the above posters. it does sem like someone was abusive to him.

it's going to take a while to help him get over his separation anxiety. I think a crate is a definite must.
also, you are going to have to leave him for just a minute or two at a time and then come back in the house, making him see that you ARE coming back.

But I do think a crate is needed even for this training which is going to take a while. good Luck and let us know how he's doing.

[Chaotic Chick]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am not using a crate yet, but will soon as the kids and I will all be in school in a couple of weeks and don't want to leave the poor guy running around the house. We do leave him for a minute or two, then come back in and it seems to be working.

Also, I encouraged my husband to walk him a lot. The kids and I take him out but my husband was avoiding taking him out for walks because he thought it might upset the little guy. It has improved his self-esteem and he has had only one accident in the house since! [img]/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

A couple of other strange things: he does not know his name (the one he had previously). We are thinking of a new one for him; so far the kids call him "Mark". Kinda like Spot but he has marks instead of spots LOL. He seems to respond to it. Also, he does not play fetch. I think he rarely had any attention. My friend used to train dogs and that is what he said he noticed right away. He said that our dog seems to be a stranger to attention. He is also house trained but doesn't let us know when he needs to go outside. Lastly, he will not eat out of a bowl! He eats off the floor or out of our hands. We do not mind hand feeding him for now, because we want him to trust us but I am trying to get him to eat out of the bowl. (Maybe he needs a different kind of bowl?)

Thanks for the advice, and of course, I went to Cesar Milan's site immediately because I admire what he does with dogs. That man is a genius! I got some ideas from him and it seems to be helping so far. [img]/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[magic mushroom]

wish you all the luck.
patience, kindness and love will turn this guy around and i am sure by the sounds of it you are willing to put in the time, effort and love to give this little one a decent life.

if you adopted him from the shelter sometimes the names are just given to the animal out of respect for them.

[MelissaBrian]

oh my dear god ...that pore baby!!

he has a good home now!

to bad your daughter has to go too camp.

[Chaotic Chick]

I think he will be fine when she goes to camp now. [img]/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img] In fact, he is pretty attached to my husband now too. It was funny because last night, I walked my husband to work and when I kissed him good bye, my poor puppy just stopped and wouldn't leave when my husband went inside. I spent 10 minutes in the parking lot, coaxing him. He thought my husband was just leaving and he wanted to go with him. I got him home, cuddled him and he relaxed. [img]/ubbthreads/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[animal lover]

I am SO happy Chaotic chick, that things are turning around.
Just goes to show what love and patience can do when dealing with animals.

It really does sound like the little guy was abused and/or left on his own a lot.

Sounds like everyone in your family is falling in love with him!
And that's how it should be!!