I found an abused dog I need advice with?
September 30, 2009 by Admin
Filed under User Questions
eddie9551 asked:
2 years ago on Thanksgiving I was walking my dog when I saw a little thing running across the street. Came right to me, starved and filty. Weighed 9 pounds. Was a miniature poodle. Gave him like 12 baths before the white came back and pampered him until he came back to his real weight, 12 pounds (he is really tiny) Ive had Scruffy for about 2 years now but every time I reach down for him he cringes and flinches like i am going to beat him! When he does this I stroke his cheek with my hand and talk gently to him, pick him up and hold him close, talk very sothing but it doesnt seem to work he still flinches. I cant bother him while he is eating cuz he growls ( I have no reason to do so anyway) I am trying to show him as much love as possible. My question, Is there anything else i can do to make him feel safe and believe I would NEVER beat him?
Thanks in advance
Eddie
Scruffy is 5 years old. He had a vet tag on him when I found him and I did call the vet. The former owner had changed her number and we couldnt contact her. I am so glad now that we couldnt. He is my boy!
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2 years ago on Thanksgiving I was walking my dog when I saw a little thing running across the street. Came right to me, starved and filty. Weighed 9 pounds. Was a miniature poodle. Gave him like 12 baths before the white came back and pampered him until he came back to his real weight, 12 pounds (he is really tiny) Ive had Scruffy for about 2 years now but every time I reach down for him he cringes and flinches like i am going to beat him! When he does this I stroke his cheek with my hand and talk gently to him, pick him up and hold him close, talk very sothing but it doesnt seem to work he still flinches. I cant bother him while he is eating cuz he growls ( I have no reason to do so anyway) I am trying to show him as much love as possible. My question, Is there anything else i can do to make him feel safe and believe I would NEVER beat him?
Thanks in advance
Eddie
Scruffy is 5 years old. He had a vet tag on him when I found him and I did call the vet. The former owner had changed her number and we couldnt contact her. I am so glad now that we couldnt. He is my boy!
Discover the Potty Training Secrets that “Will Have Your Dog Potty Trained Within Just 7 Days! Click here.
It sounds like you are already doing all the right things. My sister had a miniature poodle. That dog was kind of skittish. Maybe it’s common with the breed.
I think it is just going to take time, some animals never recover from the shock and hurt inflicted by others. Hats off to you for giving him a loving home!
Well, it is hard to erase the scars of abuse, but I would suggest having treats in your pocket so that when you bend down, give him a treat every time right before you pick him up and every time you reach for him. This will help him to associate positive results with your actions rather than negative ones. Over time he should stop flinching and start getting excited when you reach for him because his bad memories have been replaced with good ones….
Just keep doing what you are doing now. It will take time. He was probably abused his whole life before you found him. One thing you can do when you want to pet him is get down on his level and hold your hand out to him level with his chest, not above him. When he sees your hand above him, he waits for the beatings. He will learn to trust you in time.
Get down on his level whenever you want to pet him. Then he won’t see you as a threat. It will take a long time to recover, if ever, if the abuse was severe.
This seems to be a physiological problem with the dog. Do you know how old the dog is? If the dog is older then about three or four, it may have already been mistreated for so long that it has become habit to expect to be struck. All that I can suggest is that you are careful with your dog and are sure not to give any kind of signs that you may hit him. Perhaps being sure that you approach your dog with an open hand palm up first and then reach to pet him. Another suggestion is to make sure to let your dog reassure himself that it is you by smelling you hand every time. It may sound stupid and unnecessary, but sometimes the dogs wont differentiate between people if the past abuser was similar in gender, height, hair color, etc. Without meaning to, it is possible that every time you are near, you are reminding the dog of its past owner. Small reassurances are probably your best method of success.
I have a dog that was abused before I got him and hes so old now wont be around much longer and he still flinches from time to time but not as much as he used too…most dogs do get protective of their food when they have it but also that could be a result of not being fed I appreciate you for taking care of that dog not many people care anymore just keep showing as much love as possible and buy some treats if you dont already have some and when it does not flinch just reward he or she…
sounds to me like you are doing everything right, keep up the good work. Scruffy is just having a hard time forgetting. God bless you and Scruffy too.
You’re doing all you possibly can. You’ve given this poor pup a wonderful home. What happened to him before he lucked on you might be too much to overcome. Be patient. It may happen, it may not, but you are doing everything right. As an animal lover, I thank you.
After posting this, I read the other answers. Good ones all. I’m glad to see so many people concerned about your pup.
well have u taken him 2 the vet becuz the vet has papers and techniques on how 2 care 4 an abused dog but other than that u just have 2 keep doing what u r doing and eventually the dog will open up 2 u.
Kudos to you for rescuing him. You need to realize that sometimes dogs cannot forget their past even though you shower them with all the love and affection in the world. Keep showing him that you love him and he has nothing to fear from you.
You are such a wonderful person to have saved him……….. *virtual handshake*……… You have done an awesome thing.
Best wishes to you.
Go here — this guy is brilliant and his site probably has the answer –
Thank you for being such a sweet soul may God bless you for your kindness to a creature that needs you.
I don’t know if the flinching is anything your dog will be able to get over, but I think what you’re doing is on the right track – keep reassuring him that when you go to pet him, it’s a good thing. give him a treat or toy when you go to pet him and he doesn’t act aggressively.
Also, about the food aggression, try feeding him his food by hand, talking gently and sweetly to him the whole time. This way, he knows that you’re the one GIVING the food and not taking it away! Let him know that it’s your food, but that you are allowing him to have it.
You might want to consult an animal behaviorist about these problems. Many vets know phone numbers of some in your area.
Okay. The food aggression is because he had to most likely fight for his food when he actually ate something. The aggression there is very difficult to overcome. Just beware of him eating aroun small children and don’t give long-lasting treats like rawhides or ham bones.
Secondly, you are on the right track by showing him persistant love and encouraging him in your safety. try to keep him away from people that pass by ( as if you have a fenced yard; keep him in the back, away from passergobyers..) You need to watch out for other dogs too, he may feel challenged and scared about them.
The abuse was probably from a man, that is why he cowers. Try to change your tone up when this happens, go to a lighter, stead tone. Try seeing how he acts around women folk. Ask dog trainers more on this. Perhaps it might suit you to enroll your dog in a training class to overcome some of these trust issues?
-hope I could help you out. Best of luck.
This is one of the sweetest questions that I have ever seen. Sounds like you are doing everything you can to try and regain his trust in humans.
When the humane sociaty receives a dog that snaps and snarls when you are close to his food, they will not let anyone adopt. Unfortinate, but true. My best advice is try to let him take treats and such from your hand more. He should catch on that you are the hand that feeds him.
When he acts like he is afraid of you, you are doing the best thing by showing him affection. It just takes time and there is no limit on the time it takes for him to fully trust a human. There is no telling what he has been through in his past.
Best of luck to both of you. It is easy to see that you care a lot for this pup and that is heart warming.
Yes, spend time with him, play with him continue talking to him and being gentle, he has to learn to trust you and this will take some time, you are dealing with a very frightened dog as well as traumatized, you have to understand he’s been through a lot, I would also suggest you take him to a dog camp, it’s a lot of fun for dogies, go to Pets smart.com
and the trainer would be able to help you in this, let him/her know in advance of the situation, as I said, it will take some time. Good luck!!
it will take time…….you don’t know how it was treated before you rescued it………sounds like it wasn’t good……but bless you for being a caring person and your pet knows you love them….he or she is trying to figure out how to show it…..that saying hard to teach an old dog new tricks……..hard to get an abused dog to trust again……i’m a dog lover also……be patient….old habbits are hard to break
change his association. reach for him and give him a treat. he will soon learn to expect a treat for a quick grab. this could potentially save his life. if he had a large dog come after him and you NEEDED to grab his collar, he will be less likely to react. as for the food aggression this behavior can also be changed. you may not mind but a child reaching for a toy that falls right next to his food dish,may have a different take on it. start by putting down his food bowl with only one peice of kibble. when he is done pick up his bowl and repeat. for additional steps look into the training booklets or the book ‘before and after getting your puppy’ by Dr. Ian Dunbar. He is one of the most reliable sources for dog friendly tutorials.he uses all positive approach methods and has rehabbed many dogs that would not have had a fighting chance otherwise
We have taken in 3 strays over the last 2 years. First a greyhound mix that was extremely fearful of many things including all men. She made a dramatic change fairly suddenly about 3 months ago. She will now bark at strangers rather than hide and cower. Hopefully you are due to see the fruit of your efforts.
2nd a nearly starved to death beagle a few months ago that will still eat until she vomits if given the opportunity to gorge on the other dogs’ and cats’ food in addition to her own.
3rd just a few weeks ago an approx 5 mo old German Shepherd pup with a skinned and bruised head that had been dumped in a very remote area. It only took 3 days till she became happy and confident.
Like people, each dog is unique. Thanks for being a rescuer.
Don’t forget to spay and neuter to help reduce the number of suffering animals.
i wish there was i had the same problem just t.l.c. mine was the same way her entire life sorry but take care
Do you know how old the dog is???
My first thought was that after two years I think this little thing knows you love it. I’m wondering about failing eyesight. Where the dog is seeing shadows that spook it. HUH!!!
Play along with me here
Imagine YOU are 12 pounds and a towering giant bends over to reach for you…much like another animal would do that was going to grab him by the back of the neck 
My peekapoo does this all the time but ONLY if I am standing and reach down for him. It’s his instinct to immediately roll over on his side or shrink down like he is ‘just waiting for it’. He knows I love him, he trusts me implicitly but he is a little dog and I am intimidating to him. He has gotten better. I started reaching for him the same time I was offering his favorite treat. He focused on the treat and forgot to focus on me reaching for him. He still cowers sometime but not nearly as much now. He too is a rescue dog that had been severely abused for…wait for it…BITING when eating! I stopped this behavior immediately by making him take the food from my hand and then putting only a few kibbles at a time into his bowl. He soon learned I GAVE him the food; I wasn’t going to take it away. This is another sign of distrust your dog is showing. He doesnt trust you NOT to take his food from him…work on this issue first and the other fear of you reaching him for him will lessen as well 
Good luck and God Bless you for rescuing that little soul!