Shy Rescue

[curioussheltie]

I recently rescued a sheltie from a kill shelter, being soft of heart for the breed and I had just lost my sheltie I was in need of a new friend....Lacey is TERRIFIED of EVERYTHING! She won't move through out the day unless NO ONE is around, she is 7 and isn't leash trained, house trained and she has been named lacey her whole life and she DOESN'T KNOW HER NAME! I don't know what to do, we have had her for over a month. She doesn't respond to anything! We have to pick her up to make her move! I don't know what to do! We start classes tomorrow evening at petsmart, it's a puppy class but I just know it is going to be a disaster as much as I know I need to have confidence I just know it's going to be bad! We have 2 other dogs, one is a beagle mix 2 years and the other is a bishon puppy of about 6 months of age. They play and play and Lacey won't even BUDGE to see what they are up too! I need guidance and I need help! Please! All help and advice is wonderful! The vet said she would get better as she got used to us but I have seen little to no improvement! I haven't seen her even wag her tail! She doesn't know how to be a dog! I am heartbroken and I just want to give her a good life but I am stuck!

 

[OntarioSheltie]

So sorry you're seeing no improvement in Lacey. With all of the love and attention you're giving her I can imagine how frustrating that is.

I don't have any advice for you, except to try and be patient, you never know what the poor girl has been through.

You cold PM Sunchaser, who is one of our members who is a part of a sheltie rescue and often deals with difficult cases.

This was a very interesting thread about a very fearful sheltie. They had great success so maybe the thread can give you some ideas. You may want to PM Sheltin too.

http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=5508&highlight=sheltin

Good luck and let us know how Lacey is doing.

 

[Ann]

I'm so sorry to hear about Lacey. The trouble is, no one knows how she spent her last 7 years....you could be dealing with a lot of baggage in terms of neglect that will take longer than a month to resolve, and it will happen very slowly.

First, I would skip the Petsmart classes until you make some headway with her responding to you. That might only excacerbate the problem. Next, you must take baby steps...REAL baby steps....to gain her trust.

There's a thread on here by a family who had a similar problem with a sheltie they adopted, Sheltin. Here's the link, and you might want to PM or email Sheltin for some more specific advice. They didn't think he would ever come around, but slowly, he did. You can use the PM or email feature here. Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.sheltieforums.com/showthread.php?t=5508

Meantime, we'll do everything we can to help you and Lacey. Please keep us posted -- no question is too basic here, we have lots of wonderful folks who will offer advice.

 

[Justicemom]

My first questions will she take food from your hand? If not will she eat with you in the room? If she does. Start by only feeding her from your hand or dropping food down to her from your hand. Food is too powerful a motivator to waste giving for free. It will also help her see all good things come from you. Once she is eating from your hand you can start training. You can use a clicker(if she isn't scared of the noise then you need to charge it) or just a reward marker like yes. If she won't move. Go in a quiet room wihout the other dogs. Sit down and read a book. When she finally moves ,say yes quietly and toss her a treat(not at her ,near her feet). Do this if it even just her head or a foot moves. do 10-20 repeats and quit. do this 2-3 times a day. Once you are getting more and more movement ask for more before treating. Like instead of a foot ,2 feet, then half a body length. You shoud see her start to relax, praise that too. After you get her moving you can start working on other behaviors. Remember no hard eye contact,no fast movements. Pretend you don't care and ignore her. She is freaked out and forcing her now may make matters worse. You can be more demanding later.
Funny as this seems the more calm and confident you are,the more likely she'll relax. If you are nervous and worried she'll pick up on that and you'll confirm her fears.

I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. Hope things get better.

 

[Caro]

It will take some time for her to develop confidence. With two other dogs around that will help, although I imagine she will find even them a little overwhelming atm because they are both still young and probably quite boasterous.

I agree with Ann that its too early to go to petsmart classes.

Give her time to come to you and work out she is safe - 7yrs is a lot of time to be undone. If at all possible I would try to get her moving around as activity does help lift endorphins and seratonin.

Back to basics for leash training and teaching her name. Does she respond to treats? If she does then that is great for you as rewards will be important to get her to respond. I would be using really high value treats like chicken, sausage, hot dog.

Are you using a crate or x-pen for her? It sounds like she needs a safe place to withdraw to.

There are some great rescue people on the forum that hopefully can give you more direction. Quite a few people have dealt with very shy rescues. I would also contact your local sheltie rescue for advice.

 

[LilyPop]

7 years is a very long time to endure distrust, abuse, and neglect or whatever. Now is the time for your patience and assurance to show. Progress will come, but not on your timetable, if you structure if correctly. Take baby steps, do not rush things or push the envelope, or relapses will happen, causing an even longer recovery. Never expect anything until you see a definite response to your patience. Always be calm, it should almost be as if you are ignoring. They are social creatures, it takes a lot of negativity to push them into the shell that you describe. It will take hard work to free it from its torment now. You should exhibit the security and stability that has been missing up to this point. There can be times when you can put them in situations that require them to interact in a closer proximity to you. But do not try to force them to accept everything, but be quick to respond to the things they offer you.
Years ago, I worked in concert with a local veterinarian to rescue abused Basenji.
One female had been abused by male humans somehow.She responded normally to my wife and daughter, but was reclusive/aggressive to me immediately, to the point of charging at me with teeth at bare. After deflecting her charges , she retreated to a far corner, where she cowered, snarled and urinated in terror of the beast that squatted across the pen from her.After several small pieces of hot dog, tossed across the pen to her, and gradually closing the distance, at her acceptance of course, I gained enough of her confidence to touch her after two hours. During this time I was calmly talking to her, not moving too fast as to cause her to startle or try to retreat elsewhere. After several days of this regimen of treats and calming reassurance, she accepted me and would eventually welcome me into her life. All of this came on her terms and her timetable, not as quickly I thought it should. She finally developed into a normal, responsive member of our family, not afraid of anyone that had honorable intentions.
Sorry for the long post, but this issue is not an easy fix. It takes calm reassurance, and perseverance to help these that suffered before us.

 

[Toffee's Mom]

Very well said Van!!
Thank you both also for rescuing dogs in need!

I also recommend of course reading Sheltin's post, there are a lot of opinions in there which you could hopefully draw from. It pains me to hear of these Shelties completely shut down, just sad....

I would only add to ensure not to 'flood' the dog and 'make' him do anything, he's not ready for just like Van said, be on the dog's timetable...
Thin line between flooding and challenging a dog... the former is doing more damage, the latter is not... You will get to know your dog really well, after you go through something like that together, and it will feel even more special when they do trust you...