Help anyone who loves dogs should read advice needed about nervy abused dog.

Lou.m

Hi

I have a dilema i have a choice between two dogs one from a rescue place and one from a breeder.I think it illistrates issues when getting a dog that people need to think about. AS i know people often see the shaking dog in the corner and want to bring it home but that is the one dog most likely to be brought back. I dont want to do this so i need advice and quick anyone out there trainers or owners have experience with dogs who have been neglected or abused and are very upset and nervy and mistrustful? If so help.


You i volunteer at the rescue place to look after the animals (mostly the dogs) and do stuff on the website.

And this Jack Russell terrier came from a puppy farm and had been kept in a tea chest all her life (she is now three years old) she has extreme nervous issues. She shakes constantly and is very twitchy all the time now she is never aggressive with it and has never snapped or anything. But she would need to be watched incase she did snap ever in fear although she has never displayed any sighns of agression at all it is just something you need to watch for with nervous dogs.

She is afraid of everything and i MEAN EVERYTHING in the kennel she does not leave her bed and stays there all the time. When put on the lead for her walks she has to be carried out or she will not move and she refuses to walk and cowers in the grass or behind something instead. She is very distrustful of people and is not affectionate yet with anyone(but will let you pet her if you are slow and gentle and let her smell you first otherwise she ducks away form you). SHe has been in the rescue place a month.

Now they say she will come on with a little tlc and considering what she has been through it is a big thing that she allows people to pet her even. (If you let her sniff your hand first and dont pet her head first she will fearfully let you pet her).

SHe is three and not yet house trained and completely untrained in everyother way she will not even walk at all because she is afraid.

Now i have had a dog before (although with a completely different temperment to this one) and i do volunteer to look after dogs. So i do have some experience.

But well is it enough i mean is this going to take months or how long? I dont wan tto commit to her unless i am certain i can do it. She deserves a special owner. ANd after all she has been through would she ever feel affection for me? I dont know.

Any trainers have any experience of this or advice.

THe other dog is completely different he is a dachund from a breeder and is very affectionate and very calm and happy a perfect temperment and almost house trained as a puppy.

I worry about the Terrier as she is three and until recently went to the toilet in her own bed. Is it too late to train her?

I feel for both these dogs but how much work is this terrier going to be i would not mind the work as such it is just that she does not feel anything for me i know i have to win her over it is just i wanted a DOGGIE FRIEND.And i know in the movies a nervy dog could be won over with tlc but in the real world she is three years old and has had a rotten time i dont know how far she will come in likeing people and liking and trusting me.

Am i the right owner for her???

Has anyone any experience of this and could tell me what to expect?

Plus we have a cat and this cat chases dogs (dont ask he chased a labrador out of our garden once!) i wonder would this cat be too much for this dog. Maybe they would get on after a while i dont know.

ANd this dachund is the perfect dog temperment wise.

ANyone with experience of dachunds too please post.

I know the Terrier will get a home too it is just wondering is this the right one any htoughts or advice would be appreciated.

The dachund would settle in easily i know that i think we just have to keep him off the stairs as dachunds have problems with them.

So any thoughts help.

Oh the terriers name is Scarlet she is tiny and gorgeous she looks a little like a chouwawa for some reason. I would call the Daschund Baby fudge.He is gorgeous.

No matter which i choose i will feel for the other one.

I hope i dont sound like a terrible person.

I just think a dog is for life so you have to be certain before.

I know no dog is perfect and you have to give them time no matter what.

And i do know they can come on a lot.

But i worry the terrier might not move on. I know every dog is different but does anyone have any experience with this?

How far can she come on.

The dachund is so sweet natured ad happy and almost old enough for short walks now i would say.

I guess i need to decide who is the right doggie friend for me and who am i the right owner for.

Help?

fits

Would this be your first dog?
I'm sure the JRT will come around eventually, but I doubt it will ever be totally normal...
I rescued a dog last year, he probably belonged to the travelling community so as rescues go, they're pretty well socialised, but he's still coming around. At the start he had no concept of the human voice addressing him, and I'd say he'd never been petted in his life. He still doesnt really know how to play although he's been making attempts recently. I'm never quite sure how he's going to react to something new... I've found it incredibly rewarding, but he's far from the most difficult rescue case ever.
Does it have to be one or the other? You could rescue another dog perhaps... although I do like dachunds myself too... (providing their back isnt too long or their legs too short). Are you sure its a good healthy example? Its also cheaper to insure a mutt.

Lou.m

i am reasonably the dachund is ok but he has a good home wih the breeder until they find a good home i hope.

This other dog which i think is probably a cross between a jack russell and a chihuahua (she is tiny) has no home.

It is not my first dog but my first dog was really the sweetest dog in nature and so outgoing.

I guess i wanted that type of friend.

The rescue place have been petting her so she is getting used to being petted by other people and she is ok with other dogs.

I volunteer at the shelter so i know she is being well looked after and walked a few times a day (if you can call it a walk she wont walk she has to be carried around).

I just wanted to know that she could be affectionate with me after a while and maybe a little happier and confident.

I have never seen such a nervous dog and i have seen dogs who have been very badly injured in fights and cruelty but none as nervy as this.


I guess i just want to know that i would be able to win her round and maybe she would eventually come for walks and actually walk!

I guess one step at a time. No matter what she will get a home and i shall continue to volunteer. I just know from expereince you have to get the right dog with the right owner or that dog will go down hill.

I just dont want to make her worse i guess.

I just want her to be happy.

Maybe that is not possible.

But i have seen other dogs in there come from worse situations and come on to be completely different dogs.

It is not just tlc you have to know what you are doing.

That is really what makes the difference.

We have had a dog but it was a totally different kind of dog i could train her myself with this one we would need to go to obedience training with a professional it would do her the world of good.

Thanks for sharing your experience i just wanted to know what to expect.

Anyone else who has anything please post.

peasant

First of: I'm no expert, I have no experience with that kind of dog and therefore I could be wrong.

Now

My guess would be that his dog has no socialisation whatsoever ...not with other dogs and definetly not wit humans ..all it has known for all its life is a dark box.

In my opinion (see first sentence!) that dog will need a lot of quiet time and very little fuss being made of it. At the moment it is in sensuary overload to the point of stress and panic.
It will need a lot of time to come out of its shell and build up trust ...and it will need that time and space to do this at its own pace.

One would have to be very sensitive to its needs for distance, quiet and privacy and not smother it with love and good will.
On the other hand it will need some very gentle coaxing to explore life, but it will have to be very, very gentle, as too much may achieve the opposite.


Eventually it might turn out to be the best friend you ever had ...then again it mightn't and may always remain afraid, nervous and withdrawn.

Certainly not a dog for selfish people ...whoever takes care of it may have to life with the fact that it may never have a proper bond to anyone or anything ..that is a possibility.

girlwithprob

Go for the jack i have one and hes the most loyal devoted pup ever, he was a rescue dog and we were only supposed to be fostering him but i fell in love and have never looked back, eventually the dog will learn to trust you but only if you are willing to work for it
If you think you are not up for it go for the other dog

andrawolf

There would be a lot of work for the jack but in having one myself when you get her trust she would be your best friend. My boy lived until he was 16 and I cried for weeks when he took ill and he had to be put down. you can get the bags to carry her and she may feel a bit more secure. She would come out of her shell if you took her home and give her, her own space and give her a routine. keep every thing the same until she settles and don't try and rush her. she sounds so nice. good luck

Lou.m

Thanks andrawolf. It is so sad o think that someone kept her in a puppy mill literally a tea chest all her life just so that maybe she could be bred or something. The condiitons they found the animals in were terrible. They found one mother and baby cealed into a water barrel filled with faeces and no food or water.

When i think of what she has been through.

andrawolf

You sound like what she needs. someone to make up for those lost years. I just got a husky at christmas he had been well looked after. But was with 11 other huskies so would not have had one on one attention. He was two and a half. He is such a loveable dog just a bit of work and a good routine made abig difference now he goes mad when I am away to long. This wee dog sounds like she needs a mummy. Tell me how you get on.:D

Lou.m

peasant wrote:

First of: I'm no expert, I have no experience with that kind of dog and therefore I could be wrong.

Now

My guess would be that his dog has no socialisation whatsoever ...not with other dogs and definetly not wit humans ..all it has known for all its life is a dark box.

In my opinion (see first sentence!) that dog will need a lot of quiet time and very little fuss being made of it. At the moment it is in sensuary overload to the point of stress and panic.
It will need a lot of time to come out of its shell and build up trust ...and it will need that time and space to do this at its own pace.

One would have to be very sensitive to its needs for distance, quiet and privacy and not smother it with love and good will.
On the other hand it will need some very gentle coaxing to explore life, but it will have to be very, very gentle, as too much may achieve the opposite.


Eventually it might turn out to be the best friend you ever had ...then again it mightn't and may always remain afraid, nervous and withdrawn.

Certainly not a dog for selfish people ...whoever takes care of it may have to life with the fact that it may never have a proper bond to anyone or anything ..that is a possibility.

Thanks you peasant that last line is important thanks

Lou.m

andrawolf wrote:

You sound like what she needs. someone to make up for those lost years. I just got a husky at christmas he had been well looked after. But was with 11 other huskies so would not have had one on one attention. He was two and a half. He is such a loveable dog just a bit of work and a good routine made abig difference now he goes mad when I am away to long. This wee dog sounds like she needs a mummy. Tell me how you get on.:D

Oh wow i love huskies.

Thanks andrawolf you are very kind:)

I hope your dog is doing well

greenkittie

My dog was also a rescue dog and sounds of a similar temperment to this dog. Although luckily for us she would not be as extreme a case and we got her earlyer in her life.

It took her around a year to really stablise, become toilet trained and seem generally at ease. Even still she will become distraught very easily at the slightest upseting thing. However now that she finally fully trusts us, she totally adores us, ive never come across such a sweet loyal dog as her.

Lou.m

Thanks green kittie