# Rescue dog barking and growling



## Treeze (Jul 16, 2014)

Hi, I have, almost three weeks ago, rehomed a little dog rescued from a puppy farm. She is about a year old and a dachshun x poodle! She has latched on to me as I work from home all day and she sees me the most. However, if anyone comes into the house she barks and growls and backs away. But if my husband or son come into the room she is in she also barks and growls. She stops eventually as we ignore her. However, I am wondering how to stop this behaviour. 

My son and husband now give her her meals and I sometimes shut the door to the room she is sitting in with them and she is happy to be left with them. She sits with me in the office and every time someone comes in she growls and barks from her little corner but doesn't attack or try to bite. 

She is very nervous but we have already seen improvements in her behaviour as she is becoming braver. We have another rescue dog that has been with us for 7 years and they seem to get on OK. I have tried to talk sternly to her to say "No" when she growls or barks without raising my voice as I am worried shouting will frighten her too much after the orderals she has been through at the puppy farm. 

Any advice will be gratefully received as I am floundering a bit here with what to do!


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## PatriciafromCO (Oct 7, 2012)

Treeze said:


> Hi, I have, almost three weeks ago, rehomed a little dog rescued from a puppy farm. She is about a year old and a dachshun x poodle! She has latched on to me as I work from home all day and she sees me the most. However, if anyone comes into the house she barks and growls and backs away. But if my husband or son come into the room she is in she also barks and growls. * She stops eventually as we ignore her*. However, I am wondering how to stop this behaviour.
> 
> My son and husband now give her her meals and I sometimes shut the door to the room she is sitting in with them and she is happy to be left with them. She sits with me in the office and every time someone comes in she growls and barks from her little corner but doesn't attack or try to bite.
> 
> ...


she already is letting go of the behavior on her own when you ignore her (that is working and a first step for her learning that barking to begin with is not needed) 

You don't have to raise your voice to frighten her, being direct while they are nervous worried, is also frightening... and bringing more attention to the situation to keep it going for the future. 

Great idea that your husband and son are now more involved in spending time with her with positive activities, give it more time....


"My dad always told us as kids when we went to visit with their adult friends and they had a dog... he would tell us before we got out of the car not to get these peoples animals in trouble,,, and that """ *You don't know what they know*"


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

It sounds as though she's scared. When your husband and son come home, and ideally before she starts barking, give her the most wonderful treat in the world. Same thing when someone comes into your house - make her think that someone entering is the most wonderful thing in the world. It's formally known as counter-conditioning and it works by changing the underlying emotions.

Here are two videos:
Sophia Yin & training aggression
Donna Hill counter-conditioning

Your pup sounds very sensitive. I wouldn't even use a stern "no" with her; just speak calmly and gently. Especially when she's barking at your husband and son. The last thing you want to do is "get scary" (even though that's not your intention) when she's already frightened.


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## Treeze (Jul 16, 2014)

Thank you. Thing is when people offer her treats when they arrive she is too scared to take them! She creeps up and then backs off, and then when the treat is thrown she grabs it and runs! I would never shout at her and even my stern voice is probably a trifle too timid as I am not a very stern, shouty person! So do you think I should just ignore her barking and growling as the best thing to do? I am just so worried to do anything that will frighten her and make her more nervous. I am starting not to give her so much attention now she is settling in as I read that too many cuddles etc could result in her being more dependent on me and encourage her being scared.

I have also told my teenage son that he must come on walks with us as a pack (which he is not happy about!) and sit in the garden with us as a pack so that she begins to see him as someone who is not going to go away! However, having said that, even though my husband comes for walks etc she still barks and growls at him, particularly in my office!


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## cookieface (Jul 6, 2011)

> Thing is when people offer her treats when they arrive she is too scared to take them! She creeps up and then backs off, and then when the treat is thrown she grabs it and runs!


Don't have other people give her treats. If she trusts you, you give her treats while the other people stay at a safe distance (and she determines what that distance is).

You've only had her for three weeks, so it will take time for her truly settle in and be comfortable with her new routine and environment. Since she was a puppy mill dog, it's highly unlikely that she was exposed to many things outside a crate.

It's great that you're getting your son involved in positive ways, too. My guess is that she'll soon understand that she's part of a loving family.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

She lived her entire life in a tiny space and her only interactions with humans were negative. It's going to take a little more than 3 weeks for her to recover.

My own dog was stuck in a crate for at least a year. It was 2 weeks before he'd interact at all. It was 6 months before he wagged his tail. I think, at 2.5 years, I'm just now seeing his real personality.

You need to be so, so soft with her. Do not ever yell or demand. Always give her the out, the chance to escape, the option to not engage. Reward her heavily when she does. If she looks at someone, treat. If she takes one step towards someone, treat. Stop trying to force things and let her come around at her own pace. Make every interaction with her family positive. It will take time, but she will learn to trust and live in a family eventually.


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## Treeze (Jul 16, 2014)

You are so right. Tinks doesn't sound as bad as your poor little dog. She wags her tail and has just started running around the garden - such a pleasure to see, probably the first time she has ever run. I have put her bed under the table as she likes to go under there sometimes between my knitting bag and the floor cushion! At least now she will be comfy. When my son came home from school today she didn't bark at him but she wasn't brave enough to take a choccy drop from him! I am noticing every day that she is progressing in other ways so I know I will have to be patient. She is so lovely and it breaks my heart what she has been through on the awful puppy farm.

Thank you everyone for your advice.


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

The capacity dogs have to recover from the worst kinds of neglect and abuse is awe inspiring. Just as a warning, she may go through a period of being "bad" as she settles in more. I think it's that dogs like ours were never allowed to naturally figure out the boundaries and rules of being a family pet when they were puppies, so once they get comfortable, they need to do it as adults. Kabota did some things I would think nothing of a puppy doing, but seemed really wrong for an adult dog to do, and then it occurred to me he probably didn't have a real puppyhood. I just mostly ignored it and rewarded for good behavior and he stopped pretty quickly.


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