Rescue dog .... Help Please!!!

Hi Everyone,

A few weeks ago dad came home with a dog for his friend. His friend mentioned that he wanted to find himself a hunting dog so my dad found a coon hound (we think) from a "friend". (i dunno.) Anyways once his friend saw the dog he said NO WAY! [-X He was nothing but a bag of bones (which is true) so anyways long story short we got him. (yeah!) His name is buddy.

It has never been said exactly what this guy did to buddy but when we got him he was very thin, you could see all his bones, not just the ribs, he was dirty, he had marks over his body. list goes on.

Anyways, the problem is is that i can't get buddy to come out of his shell. He is very scared and shy around any people. He is great with my dog milo (a shih poo) but doesn't understand his strength and sometimes hurts milo. Usually running over him and jumping on him. anyways could anyone please give us some advise on how to get him to open up a little. i have tried treats galore, toys, big bones, running with him. i can't even catch him to put him on a leash to take him for a walk. could anyone give us some help???? PLEASE????

 

It's going to take time. A shy dog that has been in bad situations usually takes a good 6 months to a year to really start to trust you and behave more normally. Some take longer and some not as long.

Take everything very slowly. Don't go faster than the dog can tolerate. Use lots of treats and gentle praise and reward "brave" behavior. Don't coddle him, though, and get all lovey dovey if he is scared because that will tell him something really is wrong and frightening.

I really like this book for shy dogs: Help for Your Shy Dog: Turning Your Terrified Dog into a Terrific Pet, by Deborah Wood. You can find it on amazon.com.

 

First off, thank you for rescuing Buddy! He certainly sounds like he needs friends. I agree with Jamiya, your new friend is going to need lots of time. Let him set the pace for how fast the friendship progresses. It has only been a few weeks, he still really doesn't know you very well. Treats will help, the fastest way to a most dogs' hearts is though their stomach. You will notice he will slowly come to trust you, knowing you are his friend and not someone who will hurt him. Let him see how you are gentle and loving to your other dog, and how happy your dog is to be with you. Eventually he will realize you are pretty cool! Good luck, rescuing an abused dog is a noble thing, and you will find the rewards worth your time.

 

I have a coon hound (red bone) and they are actually a shy type of dog at least to stranges. Ours is actually a bit aggressive towards people. (he stays locked up if people come over)

But try giving the dog some extra time and extra love and maybe he will chill.

I am not sure how skinny the dog is but do remember coon hounds are very muscular dogs. Mine is perfect size but compaired to our other dog he looks like he is underfeed.

you also might want to try to put him in some type of doggy daycare to help get out the extra energy. Also try obidance class or alligity class

 

I am no coon dog expert, but i have heard that for "real" huntin dogs they try to keep them a little bit thin, plus they do have a tendency to look thinner than other dogs, they jsut have a lanky sort of appearance. So if he was a real huntin dog, he was probably left outside alot and not much interaction with people.
And any dog in a new home may act strange for a while, some dogs it takes days, some it takes years.
But whichever the case may be, take it slow and go at his pace.
Oh yea maybe you could try the "Nothing in life is free" thing, so that he knows everything comes from you and wants to be with you because you praise him ad rward him, but that might be a little harsh fro him?

 

I have a neighbor who just got a book for her rescue dog, but I can't remember what it's called! It might be how to get the shy dog out of it's shell by Deborah Wood, the author name sounds familiar, but anyway, this book just came out, and it is kinda how to get your new dog to trust you and how to train it in a way that doesn't remind it of what happened to it before, in other words, how to gently train it rather than being a little rougher like you might with a "fresh" dog. I don't mean rough as in abusive or whatever, but you might keep your voice down and things like that. My neighbors dog will roll over if he is in trouble, and his punishment is going outside, but my neighbor has to pick the dog up to get him outside, cuz once he's rolled over, he won't get up, and he's a good size german shepherd type dog! anyway, i hope you get him to "come out of his shell" soon!