# inheireted a dog, please help



## Crybaby (Jun 14, 2008)

Hi, Im new to the forum and come cause my family recently had a close friend pass away. His last request was for us to see that his dog was to be taken care of. We decided to keep the dog but she is unruly. Im not sure of her age at all, breed wise she looks alot like a chow or Shar-Pie. 

She was very abused young before our friend rescued her. That is about all we are aware of untill we can get her into a vet. 

My Question is, shes not trained. She is house broken but does not understand basic commands. We have a dog of our own, hes very well behaved. Also she is very afraid of anyone, not allowing us to come into contact with her, she doesn't growl or bite but sulks off. And we have 3 cats, my dog adores his feline brothers but I have no idea how this one will do with them. Is there a way to train and tame this dog, she will be with us now for good. 

Shes not a bad dog but we want to keep her as comfortable and happy as possible.


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## gingersmom (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear about your friend. You are very kind to honor his request about his dog.

The idea that "old dogs can't learn new tricks" is a myth, so you can get her trained. It will take time, since you need to start at the beginning, with making sure she pays attention to you when you call her name. Try keeping her tethered to you with a leash while you are at home, and hand-feeding her meals.

I would not keep her in with your other dogs much till you are sure about her temperament. Does she have a crate, or is there a bathroom where she can stay separated from the others when you are not home?

I'm sure that others will have suggestions too.


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## Crybaby (Jun 14, 2008)

Thanks much! Shes really good with my dog, hes been there since he was a puppy (we were her owners caretaker these last few years). He grew up around her at least once a day. Its the cats I worry of.

A few minutes ago she just allowed me to pet her a bit. I think she fears females, shes really good with my stepfather.


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## Betttie (Jun 11, 2008)

http://www.unclematty.com/training/problems.htm

Maybe this site will help.


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## AshleyT (Mar 27, 2008)

That was very kind of you to take the dog. As for the training it is possible it's just going to take a lot of persistence and a little time. tasty treats are a good way to go. I'm not sure how long you have had her but its going to take some time to adapt to all the new things, especially if it was just her and her owner. get to know her personality and then wait a while to introduce her to the cats someone hold a cat if it is possible and put her on a leash see how they act together. i hoped this helped a little all the best i hope it works out for you.


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## rosemaryninja (Sep 28, 2007)

You will need to realise that she's undergoing a huge change in her environment, with her owner gone and new human, feline and canine roommates to get used to. It can take a dog up to three months to adjust fully to a new setting, so give her time and don't stress her out. 

It may help to provide her with a crate that she can retreat to when she feels vulnerable or wants to be by herself. This crate must be associated with only good things (feed her in her crate, give her toys while she's in her crate, praise her when she's in her crate, never send her to the crate as punishment) and she must never be disturbed while she's in there (no yanking her out, no sticking hands in). Having a crate appeals to the 'den' instinct that a dog has, and it helps a lot in building security and confidence in a dog.

Handfeeding her meals is also a good way to build trust. Pet her, talk to her, take her for walks, but don't coddle her excessively, spoil her or obviously favour her over your other dog.

As for training, I would definitely go for positive reinforcement. I've always been a fan of positive reinforcement but in this case I think it is probably essential. You want all your interaction with her to invoke good feelings as far as possible, and training shouldn't be any different. Start with something basic like 'sit' and then start implementing NILIF ( http://k9deb.com/nilif.htm ) just to introduce some structure to her world.

In the meantime, I wouldn't leave her unsupervised with the cats. Baby-gates can help a lot in separating a dog from rooms in which the cats are allowed. If she is not openly aggressive towards them, I would let them interact briefly, but with her on a leash and with you supervising at all times.


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## Simon (Jul 23, 2008)

3 months ago I inheireted a dog. A close friend passed away and left me his dog now I have 4 dogs which all I wanted was one dog. His name is Simon and he a Corgi and I am now taking him to Obedience school and he doing great. He loves it and I have taken all my dogs to Obedience school.It the only way to have a great life with him.My wife and I work all the spare time with our dogs.We enjoy it very much but don't want any more dogs at this time.Think about doing this. You will love it.


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