# Frightened Adopted Dog - Please Help!



## dogdad68 (Aug 14, 2009)

Hi All:

Always loved dogs and my family and I have been talking about getting a dog. My wife and I have 2 daughters age 5 and 3. We live in a single family home with a yard out back.

Last month, my sister who is a big animal lover, told me about a dog available for adoption from a friend who died and operated a shelter/farm for dogs. The dog is a 4 yr old female bloodhound mix and is really beautiful and quiet. She had been living on the farm since she was 6 mo old and would spend nights in the house with lots of other dogs and days in the kennel.

She is a submissive, smallish dog (50 lbs), and she was surrounded by larger dogs. I was told she had some issues with peeing in the house, and maybe some dog socialization issues, but not more than that. There was no formal psychological evaluation or the like. She has regularly been to the vet and just want last week and is very healthy.

As soon as we brought her hom we had problems. She was able to escape and hide under our porch and we needed half the neighborhood to get her out. She is deathly afraid of cars and we noticed that she was afraid of mundane things like ceiling fans, window shades opening, etc. We live in a medium size city and she would initially hardly walk with me down the street because of traffic. Over time she has gotten much better with car traffic(though she is still afraid of large trucks) but she is still spooked by window shades, shadows, stormy weather, etc.

She has not been obedience trained. She recognizes me as the alpha and she has been prone to submissive peeing on our bed. We have had numerous accidents on the beds and rugs. We've had to keep her crated at night and she does not soil her crate. She now enjoys walks and she is very affectionate with me and my wife. In the house she will pace back and forth and seems constantly restless. She will shadow me or my wife wherever we go in the house. With the children she has not been loving towards them. She will not look them in the eye and always tries to walk away. This is frustrating for the kids. She has either given warning barks or nips at them about 5 times now.

The other night I was alone with her and decided to let her sleep in my bed. She wound up getting on and off the bed about 4 times and finally hid under the bed. She refused to come out and when I tried to grab her collar she bit me and broke skin. This really surprised me because I am the alpha and I never thought she would bite me. She has also acted like this with my wife when she hid under my daughter's bed and my wife carried her to the crate.

I am concerned that we are in for much more of an ordeal than we expected and I am most concerned about my children. They are not teasing or hurting the dog, just being incessant with hugs and trying to be loving which is impossible to avoid if you know kids. We do not want to be in a situation where we have a fear aggressive dog that can injure the kids. How much of a project is this? I only have so much time and am willing to make the sacrifice to be a good dog owner, but I can't devote an inordinate amount of time to the dog that would impair my duties as a father/husband. Further, part of the fun of getting the dog is having the kids help and be involved. Would we be better served in waiting till the kids are older and getting a puppy or toughing it out as it is now and hoping things improve? 

If there is anyone that can lend some advice, it is much appreciated.


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## Adustgerm (Jul 29, 2009)

Have you considered having a dog trainer come out to the house? Some of the better dog trainers make house calls. Might be a little bit more, but it would be worth it with a timid dog. Since she grew up an a farm, out away from traffic and all that city noise, it might take her a while to get used to it all. If she goes under the bed, don't grab for her. Let her come out on her own. Whenever she is out, give lots of love and treats. As for the blinds, open them a tiny bit and give the dog a treat. Open them a tiny bit more. Give the dog a treat. MAke sure you are careful not to make any noises that startle her while doing this, or you are back to square one. First time you do it, do it for a short time, and make ewach session langer as she gets used to them. Or, if you don't want to take the time, take down the blinds and find a different window dressing.


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