Trying to train our rescue...

[mulligansmom]

Hi, I'm not sure this is the right place to post this -- but I hope so! I apologize in advance for the length...

We rescued a beautiful boxer girl last August -- she was approx. 2yo. We had an older boxer at home that we bought from a breeder, so we had him at 7wks (I know that's early, but the breeder knew I took a week off from work, so she gave him to us knowing I'd be w/ him constantly).

Training a pup is so much easier than a rescue...so I'm in desperate need of advice (any good books for this situation?). Pacey was a puppy mill breeder dog, bred multiple times (my vet believes she was started at just over 6 mos). She came to us skittish (we hardly got to touch her when we met her) -- then within a month had to be spayed and have a cancerous lump removed from her back. That was an overnight stay at an unfamiliar vet 45 minutes away. She was a mess and didn't like us very much, but bonded to our older boxer immediately. Then, he passed away suddenly in May, and she regressed...BIG TIME. Not for training, but trusting us. It was like starting from scratch.

Training so far...we were able to housebreak her rather quickly (in a few weeks) -- given that she never was housebroken, it was quite a feat that she learned that! She wouldn't cross any doorway -- so that took a week of "training" to get her to walk thru the door outside on her own (she still needs to be leashed sometimes, but that isn't often). She crates up beautifully, so those are the biggies and that tells me she's a smart little dog & wants to please!

I'm wondering about just the other basic commands: sit and stay. When I try the sit, she bolts. She's so loving and gentle w/ us, but when it comes to training, she's still so scared. I don't touch her, I just guide the treat over her so it leads her to a sit position; she takes off. If I try to touch her by nudging her bum down, she takes off. The last thing I want to do is jeaporadize any steps fwd we've taken w/ her by scaring her off w/ training, but I know training is a great way to bond w/ your dog as well.

I'm sorry this is so long...this is why I joined the board, to ask this, then we had some head shaking issue that stopped when we changed her food (thank goodness -- yesterday marked 2 weeks w/ no head shake). So, I'm back to my original reason for joining -- to help our little girl! End of this month marks 1 year w/ us; I hoped she'd be farther along w/ us by now.

Lastly...any opinions on bringing in another puppy. I mean, a young puppy...one that she can bond with and we can train (and maybe she'll learn to trust us again and, thus, help w/ her own training). She doesn't play at all, doesn't get it; we know she loved to play w/ Mulligan, so maybe a puppy will bring that out and even teach her to play w/ us. Just a thought -- we know we want a 2nd boxer, just a matter of when...I fear if we wait til she's trained and trusting us, we'll never get one.

Sorry again this was so long -- thanks for ANY advice!!!
Sarah

 

[mulligansmom]

Yes, Pacey will be w/ us a year this month...she's SUCH a love. Very gentle soul, just still wary of us.

We'll do whatever it takes b/c she is such a doll -- this is the first time in her short life she has been around only people and no dogs. Losing our older dog set her back more than anything...it was like she lost total trust in us. She slept all the time for weeks too, so we know she was depressed w/o her buddy and no amt of love we gave her seemed to help. Just time...now she's coming around again. She had a tough year -- but, it was faaaar better than where she came from!!

I love what you said -- it WILL give her confidence to master a command...you're so right!

Glad to hear Melvin's success story -- good for you for rescuing and giving him the training. I know she can do it -- she was housebroken pretty quickly, and I know that's a tough one sometimes! If I could get her to do it at least one time then I could really praise her and do the happy dance!!

Thanks!!

 

[suzyqdogsmom]

I have rescued puppies, but they were all so young they didn't have any bad issues to deal with, so I have never encountered anything like you are. One thought came to me - it might be a good time to bond with Pacey without another dog around. I know that they really miss their companions when they are parted, but given her special circumstances, this might be the ideal time for her to learn that you are her family, not just other dogs. I think that if you have a great deal of patience with her, she will come along. Just getting her housetrained and able to cross doorways is a big step for her. Since she didn't have people in her life, I imagine she is confused as to what you expect. Sounds like you are doing a good job already, the poor girl will just need more love & attention to bring her around. I'm sure after she accepts you and calms down another boxer would be a great addition. That is just my 2 cents. Good luck and thank goodness Pacey has found someone to love her.

 

[tinaharold]

training tips

Hello,
I have a 2 yr old rescue too. She had no manners or training. I tried to get her to sit by pushing on her bum but she would run too. So, I looked up YouTube and they have some training videos you can watch. It showed how to make your dog sit. Hold a treat up in front of her face and walk towards her so she backs up and will sit automatically. And, give her lots praise when she sits! Mine caught on fast!

Also, I took my dog to Petsmart training. It has made such a difference!

Good Luck!

Tina

 

[mulligansmom]

Oh! I'll chk out some videos -- your tip on walking towards her w/ the treat, I'll have to try that one! I've been slowly guiding the treat up and back a little towards her so she'd look up and sit naturally (hey, it works on Good Dog U!) but she just takes off.

As for another dog, we were thinking she'd trust us more by watching another dog trust us -- she learned from our older dog pretty much everything -- I see your point tho, take this time to bond w/ her. She's coming around -- when we first lost Mulligan, she just lost total trust in us, it was awful...now, she's back to sleeping in our room again which is a great sign. She's also sleeping less -- after Mulligan passed, she slept all the time (depressed, in our opinion). She only knew how to play w/ another dog, so she doesn't play at all with us...that's the thing I think she's missing out on, the playtime.

She's such a love, and we'll do whatever it takes -- we have patience and love galore for our little girl. I'll chk out some videos & saw some book recommendations in another forum about working w/ frightened dogs.

Thanks again!!
Sarah

 

[KGorczyca]

Felix is our resue boy, he was a puppy mill dog as well and was so shy and scared at first.
We really had no idea how to train him either - like you all said if we would try to nudge his bum to the floor to sit he would run to his crate and hide!
We also had (& sometimes still do) have trouble getting him to walk though doorways! But he is really doing so much better then when we first brought him home.

Holding a treat above his head and moving it backwards worked well for us to get him to learn to sit. It took a few weeks of this, and now he will almost always sit when asked!

We are working on "down" now and it is coming along a little more slowly - he will only lay down when lured with a treat. but we are making progress!

I am thinking about a Petsmart training class for Felix, but he is still so scared of people - I just don't know if he will do well.....I think I might wait for a while on that!

 

[Darien'sDad]

We were in the same boat with Darla when we first rescued her. She was about 1 1/2 yrs old and didn't even know her name. Not housebroken, no manners, wouldn't come when called, shied from any touch, terrified to go outside, peed on the spot whenever she was frightened or scolded in any way. I am pretty sure she had never been out of her crate for the first year and a half of her life. I was so angry with whoever had done this to her.

Our approach was just to constantly give her human contact via touch, conversation, and games. It took her a while but she eventually learned social manners from our boy Darien. He put her in her place on more than one occasion and I had to separate them. Eventually though she learned what was and what was not tolerated by him and us. They became best buds. By then we had also managed to train her to come when called, sit, stay, and to wait. It took a long time to train her because elevated voices, noisy toys or even Clickers frightened her. It just took a LOT of positive reinforcement, treats, patience, and time. There were times she would decide to claim our bed and we would make her get down. She would rebel and refuse to climb down on her own so I would attempt to move her. This would prompt her to nip at me and yelp. She even bit me good once. Then she would lie on her back and try to bite if I attempted to touch her. When I finally managed to coax her down she would then hide under the bed and bite if we tried to move her. I think she was probably physically abused.

Nowadays with Darien gone and a new pup in the house she has turned into a good Momma and her manners are much improved. She is teaching him the proper way to play and behave with her, other dogs, and even with our kids. She has not shown any type of aggression and we always make sure our kids don't startle her. She actually is more patient with our children than anything else. She will only very rarely show any signs of her previous problems. Usually it is upon being woken up abruptly or if she is being forced off of our bed once she is comfortable. And very, very rarely she will still shy from me and yelp as if she was hurt if I attempt to scoot her off the bed. I usually end up having to calm her down by speaking low and firm and then gently prodding her to get up. Once she is up she will respond to a command and jump down.

You will just have to use all of the time and patience at your disposal to help her through her fears and teach her that she is safe now.



Don't give up on your girl. It took us over a year and a half. I know how hard it can be but I am sure you know it will be worth it.