Update on Gracie

[Alexis' Mommy]

We fell in love with Gracie at first sight & she is now here at my place for a 2 week trial period (started on Sunday). She is still very timid around my husband (not sure why) We have tried him feeding her & he is the only one to give her treats. We think she may have been abused by a man before. Anyway, she does very well with me....wags her tail, has learned how to use doggie doors, sleeps on my lap etc. She just cowers around my hubby. If I put her on his lap & walk away she will stay there & sometimes go to sleep but then as soon as he puts her down, she is back to being fearful of him. What do I do? That is the reason for the trial period because if she isn't happy, we won't keep her, we would give her back to her previous foster mom who says she will keep her if it doesn't work out here.

Mario is also having issues. Sometimes they will curl up together & sleep but when Gracie has a toy, Mario will run up & snatch it away from her. Is this something they just need to work out on their own or is there something I should be doing to prevent it?

She is a very sweet girl & we really want to be able to keep her but we also want her to be happy. :help2:

[Suzanne R]

It may take a week or two - or longer - for Gracie to feel at home, depending on her former situation(s). I wouldn't "force" her to be near your hubby - you're doing right by having him feed her, give her (tiny) treats, walk her, etc. Some will take longer than others, and I wouldn't worry - or pressure her. The arguing between the two of the puppers over toys, etc., will work itself out - let them do their thing and it will be okay. Keep us posted! And pics???? We'd love to see some pics!!! (I do think with a little time everything will be fine. Be patient.:hug2:)

[LUVMYGUNNER]

Here are rays :rayz::rayz::rayz:that everything will work out.

[Neshane]

I have a customer that adopted a Peke and he would bit the husband when he got near but within a month the dog sits on his lap and follows him everywhere in the house. They almost gave him back but the husband continue doing the feeding, treats, letting the dog out but never over powering the dog, he let the dog come to him. So sometimes it takes time, he has a lower louder voice than his wife.

[rfbcville]

I saw a recent post from Red&Black and also her husband about a foster dog that was shy around men, but I couldn't locate it. Basically, they said that when Mr came home with all of his gear, the dog would run away, but once he changed clothes and relaxed on the couch, the dog would approach him...similar to what the other posters have said. Maybe you can also post this under "temperment" forum and get a few more responses/ideas.

[Alexis' Mommy]

:thanx: I will use all of this in my training of her. My husband is away for a few days on business so we'll see what happens tomorrow night when he gets back. I also posted my concerns under temperament. When he was relaxing yesterday before he left, I asked him to casually hang his arm over the side of the chair. He did & she licked his hand a couple of times so I think we're getting somewhere little by little. I am optimistic but my husband says he's not so sure she'll ever come around.

[red&black]

Yes Patches has a "man issue"
He came to our rescue Dec 23, as a 5 month old

He would always bark his head off (in the "oh man you scare me" kind of way) when Joe came home from work. He'd settle down for a bit but would not offer to buddy-buddy up to him.
Then Joe was handling bath-day, and went to pick up Patches and Patches bit him on the hand - tried to do some damage - it wasn't a little "snap."

So that night we started making Joe the "ultimate good guy"
Joe has treats. Joe has toys. Joe hand fed him the extra special tasty canned dog from from a spoon (I really think that one had a huge effect on him lol - canned food is not a regular in our house).

It's only been a couple of weeks I think, and he doesn't act as icky to him anymore and the barking has subsided a good deal. He wont go to Joe's lap like he does mine - but he'll sit on my lap and expect Joe to pet him, and will follow him around step-for-step. We don't force him to Joe - we just let him make the decision.

So in summary - make the person the dog is afraid of into the the best treat giver in the house, dont try to pick the dog up by bending over top of him/her, and get down on the dog's level.

[Dogmother]

I posted this in the other thread but I will put it here too.

I am thinking that with time she would come to be comfortable around your husband. The fact that if she is on his lap she will relax enough to sleep is actually a good sign. You are right she probably was abused in her former life. When we first got Dexter last May he was totally terrified of EVERYTHING. After watching him I came to the conclusion that he was terribly abused, he had been hit, kicked and had things thrown at him among other things. It took lots of time and patience but he is now a very happy boy and while he still gets uncomfortable around large groups of people he doesn't know he is more than willing to give them a chance to be friends with him. Keep having hubby be the provider of all things good for her, she will come around.

As for Mario, that will work itself out. If they sleep and play together but he is just jealous of toys that will fix itself. Once she is more comfortable she will most likely let him know it is her time to have the toy. Although with mine I still have the snatching toys from each other occasionally, especially if it is a new or "cool" toy. But ultimately around here "what Lexie wants Lexie gets" as she is the ultimate doxie boss of the group. They will snitch toys from each other all the time sometimes because they want it, sometimes to instigate a huge game of chase me. It's just what they do.

Terri

[LUVMYGUNNER]

Petunia was a rescue and she has her days. I'm fighting bronchitis and I made a loud coughing noise yesterday which for some reason scared Petunia and she ran from me, she wouldn't come up to me for a while. Later I just picked her up and held her and she was fine.