In need of advice for a traumatized dog

[The Blue Flower]

I adopted Tricksy from the SPCA almost six weeks ago. They guessed she's six years old and some kind of hound. She'd been surrendered to another shelter before they got her and they had no background info on her. She's very affectionate, playful, and smart. When I brought her home, she was terrified, but gradually came alive when she was able to run around the backyard and play through the fence with the dogs next door. She's still extremely skittish. She won't allow anyone but me to touch her. I've been working with her to come on command, and she's fine inside. But when she's out in the yard (fenced), she refuses to come. She shies away and does everything she can think of to avoid being touched or petted by me. The grandkids think it's fun that she plays 'tag' with them. She's comes up to them, tail wagging, and then dodges away, as she does with me. Yesterday, she ran away, slipped out through the front door, as I was getting ready to walk her. I was able to stay close enough to her to sort of herd her around the neighborhood, away from traffic, but she still refused to come back to me. The neighbors and I finally used her little dog friend on a leash to lure her back home to play in the yard.

I've been reading about training with positive reinforcement, and she does well when it's just her and me inside. Outside, she acts like she's afraid of what will happen if she comes. She's blind in one eye, and I wonder if she was abused. So my question is, other than being patient, persistent, and loving, is there something I can do to override her fear?

Thanks for any help or ideas.

[SheltieLover]

1. Are you offering treats when you call her?

Hugs to Tricksy!

[The Blue Flower]

2. Yes, treats

But she isn't interested in them when she's outside.

[SheltieLover]

4. Are you using Rescue Remedy or 5-Flower Essence?

My gut is that she was abused outside.

Ty for helping her.

[LakeArenal]

3. The more she's in contact with people.

Just have neighbors knock. Stop in and leave. She’ll get used to it. The problem is having enough experiences. Hard to get a neighbor to come over twice a day for a month.

[Zoonart]

5. Always have treats with you, and let her know you have them.

Also... best book I've ever read on dog trainman:" How to be Your Dog's Best Friend", by the Monks of New Skete
Great on reinforcing basic commands, and I have off it useful for every rescue I have fostered and owned.

Good luck.

[vlyons]

6. Are you able to take her to a dog obedience class?

Buy a 15 ft long lead and a simple choke chain that fits around her neck properly. Choke chains when used correctly do not hurt the dog. Teach her to heel (walk) on your left side without lunging ahead of you. When you stop walking, she should stop walking right beside you. If she lunges ahead, a simple tug and quick release on her choke chain is the correction. When you've got her walking properly, you can teach her to sit. After sit, comes stay, and after stay comes "come," and eventually "down" to lay down.

You best bet is to take her a once a week obedience class.

[drray23]

7. I had a coonhound for 12 years

She recently passed because of cancer. She would also come to me and then take off when we were outside. Hounds are notorious for having very bad recall. Its a characteristic of the breed. They are also quite jumpy and afraid of things all the time. Even after years of positive renforcement using treats, I was never 100 % sure she would come back when called especially if she found an interesting scent to track. She would ignore treats until her attention got diverted away from that interesting thing.

[The Blue Flower]

12. That sounds just like Tricksy

Thanks. That helps.

[Boomer]

14. Thank god it's not just me

I have two rescue coonhounds (a bl&tan and a bluetick) and recall is hit and miss. In fact, any kind of training beyond "sit" has been futile. They were each middle-aged (maybe 5 or 6 years old) when we adopted them and they've both got behavior issues due to their problematic backgrounds.

The bl&tan was pulled out of a hoarder situation, where she was chained to a stake in the yard and practically starved to death (along with another half-dozen dogs). She's not food-aggressive, she's just food-OBSESSED. That's the focus of her entire day: waiting for us to feed her, and in between meals finding food that she can steal. Nothing is safe if you put it down on a coffee table, and we have to stand over the cats while they eat to keep her from stealing their dishes and licking them clean.

The bluetick isn't that food motivated but she's extremely skittish. She's a lovely, sweet-natured dog, but it took us nearly a year for her to trust that we weren't going to hurt her. Even now, though, the slightest sudden noise, even just dropping a pencil on the floor, will send her rocketing out of the room.

I'm not famiiar with the breed -- these are the first hounds we've owned -- and I didn't want to draw too many conclusions from their behavior, but generally speaking these two are goofy & sweet, not a mean bone in their body, but not the brightest dogs we've ever owned. And they're not focused on pleasing humans. Following a good scent is much more important to them than anything a human wants, even a human they're very fond of. Following orders just isn't in their wheelhouse.

[intheflow]

15. Sounds like my son's rescue.

She's mixed but the beagle is strong in her. If she gets on a scent, she is gone! And also skittish. When she was young, he dropped her dog bowl by accident and the sudden noise freaked her out so bad that 12 years later, she still backs away in fear as her food dish is put down. Once it hasn't made a loud noise, the human feeding her must step away from the bowl before she'll go in and eat like a normal dog. She would also rather stay in the yard 18 hours each day, rain, snow, or sun, just to be amidst all the little critter smells. Very sweet girl, just very, very... houndish.

[Shermann]

8. I'd try lots of walking on a leash

That will be outside under your control with a positive experience she'll look forward to eventually.

[Phoenix61]

9. Just a guess. If she bolted out your door that may

have been something she did often. Her previous owner may have “disciplined” her when she finally came to them. Don’t know your feeding schedule but before you feed her take her out in the yard on a long leash. Shorten the leash and every time you get her close to you give her a treat. She needs to learn going away and coming back is a good thing.

[RainCaster]

10. Lots of patience & consistency

She may have been abused outside. That would explain her change in attitude when she gets outside. So work more on trust inside, and get that truly solid. Then start indoors in leash behavior. Get her used to that in a place she feels safe.

Find out what works best for her reward. Is it snacks, praise, or play? Use that for rewards to encourage good behaviors.

Then have outdoor adventures that are very short. Perhaps to the mailbox and back. Yeah, on the leash. When she gets used to that, try longer walks. Always on the leash. Watch her closely and you will begin to see how comfortable she is with the leash in various places. Get her used to returning to you by call, even on a leash. Then work more on returning to you in those difficult locations. Sidewalks, backyard, wherever... Then graduate to a longer leash - perhaps one of those 16 foot self-winding leashes. Don't allow the chase to start by keeping her on the leash.
Yes she can have time off the leash, but don't expect good off-leash behavior until she's good on the leash.
My wife and I have done beagle rescue for a long time and worked with some very skittish dogs. In one case, certain odd behaviors never went away, and we just learned to cope with them.

[RainCaster]

11. Also, remember that she is a hound

They were bred to concentrate on their noses (scent hounds) and ignore all else. So if she's doing that, it's hard to fault her for following centuries of genetics. Never let your hound out of a fenced yard or house without a leash. You know that well trained nose will overrule everything else.

[MOMFUDSKI]

13. We got a 1-yr old at the SPCA

years back. Looked like a Gordon Setter but they said mixed breed. VERY shy and slept under our bed for many days at first. We were just very kind to her and walked every day/nite with her. After about 6 months an old man sitting on his porch commented how that dog had come along so well. He could tell by her posture and bearing. She turned out to be my absolutely favorite dog of all. Super strong instincts and guarded me like a hawk. You can't teach that. I still miss her so much. Just be kind. She will follow your lead after she knows she is safe and loved.