Question: I adopted a dog from a local rescue organization. A breeder had let the dog go to them, apparently she has about 200 dogs that she is breeding or whatever it is that she does. I was naïve and thought that the dog would be OK with time but it has been 3 months and he is still not socializing at all. Jake stayed in his crate exclusively for weeks at my house with the door open (unless we picked him up and took him outside to go potty). He does not like being outside at all, as soon as his feet hit the ground he runs to the back door and begs to go in. He was going potty in the yard but within the last week has started running to the deck and relieving himself there. Jake also started shoving himself under our sofa and would not come out to eat or potty or anything. We would have to lift the sofa up to drag him out to eat or go to the bathroom. I have resorted to strict crate training to try to get him to potty in more appropriate places (not my floor) and keep him from hiding and not eating etc. I do have a schedule with him and was hoping that would help him relax a bit but it has not helped.

My other dachshund is totally motivated by treats but Jake will reject a treat most of the time. Please make some suggestions regarding rehabbing him. I don’t know what to do, it is so hard to deal with a dog that isn’t motivated by affection or food. It is really sad. I would hate to know what has happened to him over the years to make him this way.

Thanks for any help / suggestions that you can give me. I am hesitant to take him to training at PetSmart b/c he is so fearful.

Answer: Dealing with fearful dogs can be an extremely difficult task. Fearful dogs are fragile dogs. The only way to deal with fearful dogs effectively and humanely is to move slowly and at the dogs pace. Over time Jake may improve. He may improve a little or he may improve a lot. It depends on many different things including his level of fear, your technique and skill level as a trainer as well as the amount of time you put into this.

The first thing I would do is don't push him. Try to allow him space. If he can eat in your presence, I would feed him in your presence. Not from your hand (this is too advanced for him and he probably wouldn't take the food anyway), but with you in the room if you can. I worked with one very fearful dog that would eventually eat if I sat outside the crate and read a book. The eating in the presence of humans can slowly shift the dogs emotional response to people. Eventually, he may be able to take food out of your hand and then you can begin hand feeding him. I would also be using extremely high value food (human grade meat like chicken or beef, canned dog food, etc).

Jake may be motivated by food, but he is too fearful to eat. There is a difference. In other words, even food motivated dogs will not take food if they are frightened enough.

You might put a dragline on Jake which is a piece of thin rope (about 1/4") about 6 feet long attached to a harness so that you can carefully get him out of places without having to pull him out by his limbs or collar.

I highly recommend you check out www.fearfuldogs.com which is a website dedicated to dealing with fearful dogs. And, purchase the handbook "The Cautious Canine" by Dr. Patricia McConnell. It is a wonderful handbook on dealing with fearful dogs. Another good book is Nicole Wilde's "Help For Your Fearful Dog". Both can be ordered through www.dogwise.com or www.amazon.com

Lastly, please do NOT enroll Jake into a class at Petsmart. He isn't ready for a group class yet and typically the instructors at Petsmart have limited skills. Most are not equipped at all to deal with dogs with serious issues. Jake cannot be subjected to a situation where he will shut down and just be frightened and stressed out.