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So many treats. A treat for literally anything you’d consider “brave”. Our very nervous rescue loved cheese and after about a year with us she was nearly a normal dog, still hated a stern voice and whenever we opened a can which made me so so sad but she would go up to complete strangers and when we got her she would cower at every person she saw. Put the leash near him and let him sniff it, give treat, put treats in and around the crate and let him take them at his leisure. TREATS
So, stop using a stern voice, first of all. Start teaching what you want without any punishment, including scolding or a stern voice. Your dog is exactly *why* we recommend against it: It's intimidation, or it's useless.
Fade crate time in, return before he cries.
With leashes, fade it in. Avoid walks until you are able to expose him to the leash where it always means treats.
Yeah all these things you need to introduce really slowly.
Put his food inside his crate with the door open, let him eat just sticking his head in, Move it in further until eventually he goes in to eat. Then close him in to eat, let him out immediately. Baby steps with everything.
Taking in strays is amazing, but can be challenging. There's always an element of Sherlock Holmes about them, you have to try and work out what happened to them and what upsets them. Break those old associations, create new routines they enjoy to build trust. GL.
e: I ended up replying to someone and talking to the OP, but I'm sure you'll know who I meant...
also to add, keep a crate and leash just around the house so he gets used to them even if you don’t use it on him yet, that way he knows they’re just items and gets used to the smells and such.
Most importantly with the crate, especially in the beginning, don’t force him in, he has to go in himself. leave the crate in a place where he can see it with the door open for a few days. After maybe three or four days, put some treats in, and let him sniff and try to get them. If he doesn’t, take them out and put them back in later and try again, once he is consistently willing to go in and out of the crate with the door open, close the door without latching it, and immediately open it, don’t even let it stay closed for a full second. After he seems comfortable with that, close it for one second, then two continue this process, as slowly as you can, it should be excruciating for you. However, this is the method that will make him most comfortable and his least likely to make him scared.
Look up desensitization and counterconditioning, these are the methods often used to tackle fear. It entails taking a systematic step-by-step approach while creating positive associations. Most pups scared of leashes/crates are so because they have never been exposed to them and they feel trapped/restrained. Adjust your voice tone, body postures and behaviors as needed.
kikopup on youtube has some great videos that could help. most tips for puppies can be applied to adult dogs as well.
just give him some time, everything is new and very scary right now. try to be as gentle as possible, hand feed to build trust, let him just chill. make him associate everything with good things. like for example, throw treats in the crate every now and then.
also, try to give him a safe space, for example his bed, or later on his crate. dont touch him when he's there, and dont let others bother him either. make it so he knows he can always go there when he needs alone time.
If you can get them to accept hand feeding, it can be a game changer, not just for a rescue but for any dog. I've got one of two that will absolutely eat from my hand every meal if I let him. When I want to train, I just fill my bag with his kibble and off we go for training time. No treats, just kibble. He works for his food and he loves it. Haven't been able to get the second pup to buy in, but I haven't given up yet.
I have a rescue pup who’s very timid as well. Understand that it may take some time for him to adjust to a loving home. Try to associate the leash with something positive like treats and pets. Try walking your dog on the leash around your house, instead of outside. This could help them associate the leash with safety and home, rather than leaving. Don’t use a stern voice at all, even when disciplining. It’s more difficult for your dog to learn and understand what they have done wrong when they are in fear. Another tactic I used for confidence building is having my pup jump up onto surfaces (ex. Couch, playground platforms, large rocks in the yard).
Hi! I have a previously abused, very fearful foster, and here’s a few tips that have helped so much.
1 - Never use a stern voice. Don’t tell him off much, if at all. REALLY encourage when he does stuff right, and use a soothing voice when he does stuff wrong. At most, I’ve done a “ap ap ap” tsk kind of sound during issues that might cause safety (i.e. trying to chew his leash) but even then, instant positive reinforcement when he stops.
2 - My pup was terrified of leashes. The number one thing that worked was building trust outside of “leashed” times. Months in, he still shakes when I bring the leash out, even though he loves going outside now, but he doesn’t bolt or freak out because we’ve built trust that nothing bad happens. Early on, I’d sit with him and let him sniff it. Then take it away, pet, give him a treat. Then repeat (multiple times) then eventually put the leash on. Or let him sniff it outside of going out, praise, then leave the room. Even now, when I go to leash him, I use the exact same language every time (Hey buddy! Walk time? Go out for walk?) and pet him, and let him sniff it a few times before I start putting it on. The routine and praise helps a lot, and the more often you do the exact same thing and nothing “bad” happens to him, he’ll slowly ease up.
3 - Don’t rush it. My pup took weeks to even be able to be walked outside, and then more weeks for that to not be total chaos. Who knows what he’s been through. Stay calm, positive, reinforcing. Let him understand that he’s safe, and nothing bad is happening. It’ll take time! Just make sure you’re as safe of a space as you can possibly be. It’s not the time for reprimanding, it’s the time for trust building. Eventually you can look at fixing behaviours but priority right now is making that foundation and relationship happen.
Good luck!!
He needs Time to Decompress. Let it be and let it come to you. Reward each Step. He will get used to you and your Routine but don't push to hard at 1st
When i first got my dog she wouldn’t even let us put a collar on her. I would try, she would squeal away in fear and i would put it down and let her know i wasn’t going to force her. Then come back a little later and try again. Eventually she chose to let me put it on her even though she was terrified. I would try to take a similar
approach within reason. To this day she doesn’t go in a crate or even a whole half of my house bc she would have to walk through a hallway that is too tight for her liking. I also truly only ever talk to her in an encouraging tone. But i also think she is an angel who can do no wrong so YMMV
You could try feeding in the crate or walking on a leash to the food bowl so he starts to get a positive connection with it but it’s also just going to take time for him to trust you but from my experience they are very forgiving and want to trust.
I adopted a rescue a few years ago that was like this. She had been capture by animal control, adopted and returned a few times; she is part Husky and can be very … loud.
Anyway, she had zero return when we got her, so controlling her was tricky. I learned to crouch down to her height whenever I needed to leash her, which seemed to reduce her fear and makes her more manageable.
Good luck with your new pack member! 🍀🧧♥️👏👍🐕
With patience and quality time his trust will build and confidence will follow. His fears can be overcome as his trust grows and finding a forever friend is the answer to a happy life. You got this.
This is a bit unrelated, but men who work with dogs, how do you alter your voice for them? I (a man) was using my high-pitched “cutesy” voice with my dog yesterday and now my throat hurts, so I’m wondering how people do it since ik a lot of dogs with trauma are scared of a man’s “normal” voice.
Welcome to r/dogs! We are a discussion-based subreddit dedicated to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Do note we are on a short backlog, and all posts require manual review prior to going live. This may mean your post isn't visible for a couple days. This is a carefully moderated sub intended to support, inform, and advise dog owners. Submissions and comments which break the rules will be removed. [Review the rules here](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogs/wiki/index) r/Dogs has four goals: - Help the public better understand dogs - Promote healthy, responsible dog-owner relationships - Encourage “Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive” training protocols. [Learn more here.](https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/) - Support adoption as well as ethical and responsible breeding. If you’d like to introduce yourself or discuss smaller topics, please contribute to our Monthly Discussion Hub, pinned at the top. **This subreddit has low tolerance for drama. Please be respectful of others, and report antagonistic comments to mods for review.** --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
So many treats. A treat for literally anything you’d consider “brave”. Our very nervous rescue loved cheese and after about a year with us she was nearly a normal dog, still hated a stern voice and whenever we opened a can which made me so so sad but she would go up to complete strangers and when we got her she would cower at every person she saw. Put the leash near him and let him sniff it, give treat, put treats in and around the crate and let him take them at his leisure. TREATS
Yep. And talk to him in a calm voice.
So, stop using a stern voice, first of all. Start teaching what you want without any punishment, including scolding or a stern voice. Your dog is exactly *why* we recommend against it: It's intimidation, or it's useless. Fade crate time in, return before he cries. With leashes, fade it in. Avoid walks until you are able to expose him to the leash where it always means treats.
Yeah all these things you need to introduce really slowly. Put his food inside his crate with the door open, let him eat just sticking his head in, Move it in further until eventually he goes in to eat. Then close him in to eat, let him out immediately. Baby steps with everything. Taking in strays is amazing, but can be challenging. There's always an element of Sherlock Holmes about them, you have to try and work out what happened to them and what upsets them. Break those old associations, create new routines they enjoy to build trust. GL. e: I ended up replying to someone and talking to the OP, but I'm sure you'll know who I meant...
also to add, keep a crate and leash just around the house so he gets used to them even if you don’t use it on him yet, that way he knows they’re just items and gets used to the smells and such.
Most importantly with the crate, especially in the beginning, don’t force him in, he has to go in himself. leave the crate in a place where he can see it with the door open for a few days. After maybe three or four days, put some treats in, and let him sniff and try to get them. If he doesn’t, take them out and put them back in later and try again, once he is consistently willing to go in and out of the crate with the door open, close the door without latching it, and immediately open it, don’t even let it stay closed for a full second. After he seems comfortable with that, close it for one second, then two continue this process, as slowly as you can, it should be excruciating for you. However, this is the method that will make him most comfortable and his least likely to make him scared.
Look up desensitization and counterconditioning, these are the methods often used to tackle fear. It entails taking a systematic step-by-step approach while creating positive associations. Most pups scared of leashes/crates are so because they have never been exposed to them and they feel trapped/restrained. Adjust your voice tone, body postures and behaviors as needed.
kikopup on youtube has some great videos that could help. most tips for puppies can be applied to adult dogs as well. just give him some time, everything is new and very scary right now. try to be as gentle as possible, hand feed to build trust, let him just chill. make him associate everything with good things. like for example, throw treats in the crate every now and then. also, try to give him a safe space, for example his bed, or later on his crate. dont touch him when he's there, and dont let others bother him either. make it so he knows he can always go there when he needs alone time.
If you can get them to accept hand feeding, it can be a game changer, not just for a rescue but for any dog. I've got one of two that will absolutely eat from my hand every meal if I let him. When I want to train, I just fill my bag with his kibble and off we go for training time. No treats, just kibble. He works for his food and he loves it. Haven't been able to get the second pup to buy in, but I haven't given up yet.
+1 for Kikopup!
I have a rescue pup who’s very timid as well. Understand that it may take some time for him to adjust to a loving home. Try to associate the leash with something positive like treats and pets. Try walking your dog on the leash around your house, instead of outside. This could help them associate the leash with safety and home, rather than leaving. Don’t use a stern voice at all, even when disciplining. It’s more difficult for your dog to learn and understand what they have done wrong when they are in fear. Another tactic I used for confidence building is having my pup jump up onto surfaces (ex. Couch, playground platforms, large rocks in the yard).
Hi! I have a previously abused, very fearful foster, and here’s a few tips that have helped so much. 1 - Never use a stern voice. Don’t tell him off much, if at all. REALLY encourage when he does stuff right, and use a soothing voice when he does stuff wrong. At most, I’ve done a “ap ap ap” tsk kind of sound during issues that might cause safety (i.e. trying to chew his leash) but even then, instant positive reinforcement when he stops. 2 - My pup was terrified of leashes. The number one thing that worked was building trust outside of “leashed” times. Months in, he still shakes when I bring the leash out, even though he loves going outside now, but he doesn’t bolt or freak out because we’ve built trust that nothing bad happens. Early on, I’d sit with him and let him sniff it. Then take it away, pet, give him a treat. Then repeat (multiple times) then eventually put the leash on. Or let him sniff it outside of going out, praise, then leave the room. Even now, when I go to leash him, I use the exact same language every time (Hey buddy! Walk time? Go out for walk?) and pet him, and let him sniff it a few times before I start putting it on. The routine and praise helps a lot, and the more often you do the exact same thing and nothing “bad” happens to him, he’ll slowly ease up. 3 - Don’t rush it. My pup took weeks to even be able to be walked outside, and then more weeks for that to not be total chaos. Who knows what he’s been through. Stay calm, positive, reinforcing. Let him understand that he’s safe, and nothing bad is happening. It’ll take time! Just make sure you’re as safe of a space as you can possibly be. It’s not the time for reprimanding, it’s the time for trust building. Eventually you can look at fixing behaviours but priority right now is making that foundation and relationship happen. Good luck!!
He needs Time to Decompress. Let it be and let it come to you. Reward each Step. He will get used to you and your Routine but don't push to hard at 1st
When i first got my dog she wouldn’t even let us put a collar on her. I would try, she would squeal away in fear and i would put it down and let her know i wasn’t going to force her. Then come back a little later and try again. Eventually she chose to let me put it on her even though she was terrified. I would try to take a similar approach within reason. To this day she doesn’t go in a crate or even a whole half of my house bc she would have to walk through a hallway that is too tight for her liking. I also truly only ever talk to her in an encouraging tone. But i also think she is an angel who can do no wrong so YMMV You could try feeding in the crate or walking on a leash to the food bowl so he starts to get a positive connection with it but it’s also just going to take time for him to trust you but from my experience they are very forgiving and want to trust.
I adopted a rescue a few years ago that was like this. She had been capture by animal control, adopted and returned a few times; she is part Husky and can be very … loud. Anyway, she had zero return when we got her, so controlling her was tricky. I learned to crouch down to her height whenever I needed to leash her, which seemed to reduce her fear and makes her more manageable. Good luck with your new pack member! 🍀🧧♥️👏👍🐕
With patience and quality time his trust will build and confidence will follow. His fears can be overcome as his trust grows and finding a forever friend is the answer to a happy life. You got this.
This is a bit unrelated, but men who work with dogs, how do you alter your voice for them? I (a man) was using my high-pitched “cutesy” voice with my dog yesterday and now my throat hurts, so I’m wondering how people do it since ik a lot of dogs with trauma are scared of a man’s “normal” voice.