# Bonding with a new (not human socialized) rescue



## Dean (Jul 29, 2013)

Hi folks, I'm new here and looking for some tips. Here's a brief background on my dog/situation:
-dog is 2 years old, akita/german shepherd dog cross, was rescued from a hoarder 6 months ago where he lived with 70 other dogs (and one human)
-no human socialization, but his foster the last 5 months did great work with him and he came a long way
-no background of physical abuse, he just has no idea what humans are about
-when you approach him he more or less freezes, you can pick up his feet, inspect his teeth, wipe his eyes, whatever you want. I don't know if this is because he is extremely docile, or shutting down from stress?
-after his first day with us he stopped with the stressed out panting, he would relax on his pillow and have a snooze with us while we watched tv
-we had him for 4 days before he ran away last Wednesday (rushed the door when my wife was heading to work). Found him at the pound yesterday, and get him back tonight

I understand that getting him comfortable in the new place is a slow process (I found the "first 2 weeks" stickied thread very informative!), but was wondering if anyone had any tips on helping the bonding process? 

I had been spending a lot of time sitting with him and brushing him in the evenings, and I thought we were doing well, he would rest his chin on my arm sometimes. Could this be too much touching too early and actually be bothering him?

His foster (a woman) had done a good job working with him on making eye contact, but so far I haven't had much luck (I'm a man). Once I was joking around and "talked dog" to him, kind of a "awooowooowooo" in a howly voice, and he looked at me for that with a cocked head  was that a good thing, or did I just make him think less of my "alpha" status?

Thanks in advance guys, I'm sure this will be the first of many questions I'll have.


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## Kyndall54 (Apr 26, 2013)

I would start hand feeding him his meals, so he associates you with good things. Also maybe leash him when you know you're about to leave the house so he doesn't run away again . Congrats on your rescue, we'd love to see some pics!


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## Dean (Jul 29, 2013)

Kyndall54 said:


> I would start hand feeding him his meals, so he associates you with good things. Also maybe leash him when you know you're about to leave the house so he doesn't run away again . Congrats on your rescue, we'd love to see some pics!


Thanks for the quick reply  I'll work on getting some pictures on here!


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