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Happy Fur Baby Blair


dayyuumabby

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dayyuumabby

Hello & Happy Holidays Everyone!

I hope you all are having wonderful winter time with friends and family :)

I have recently rescued a little shih tzu about two months ago and the full story is on another post i started. On another note, i want to work on Blair and help maximize our time. As previously mentioned, she is a rescue. It makes me sad seeing her tremble, not knowing how to play with her toys, and just looking sad all the time. She is the sweetest dog and it breaks my heart how we're going through a difficult time with her. I would like to her comfortable in our home, be more confident, and stop being so frightened overall. Any tips on how I can get her settled in?

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Crinkly

I think my advice would be to take it really slowly.  Don't fuss her.  Don't snuggle her.  Don't go up to her face, or stare at her, or focus on her.  Don't offer her the affection and reassurance that you would offer a human baby.  Human touching and babying isn't dog language and can be both threatening and confusing for a dog.

Instead just be calm, and comfortable around her.  Talk to her, but not AT her, if that makes sense.

Let her see that you are a gentle kind non-threatening trustworthy person, and she will start to relax around you.  And if you play with the toys, then leave them around, hopefully her natural curiosity will bring her to approach them, sniff them, touch them... but it may not happen when you are around.  If she is naturally timid she may never approach a toy while she thinks that you are 'owning' it - and that would be when you are touching it, standing over it, have just played with it, etc. etc.

If you want to reach a point where the two of you can play together, then you need to start incredibly slowly.  Because she needs to learn a LOT of lessons before you can get to that point.  If she doesn't trust people, and she doesn't know what toys are for, and she doesn't know how to play, then those are 3 things that she needs to learn gradually.  She may have been told off for chewing, or 'taking stuff' and human attention may have always been negative, so she may have big barriers against all of those things that you need to gently wear away before she can learn about 'fun'.

 

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Pawz4me

Yes, you have to go very slowly and respect the dog. Patience is key.

Sometimes simply sitting with them quietly while you read or watch TV is one of the best things you can do.

Keep to a routine as much as possible. Meals at the same time, walks at the same time, keep everything you can very predictable. Just like young kids, dogs seem to thrive on routine. They like knowing exactly what to expect.

Teaching obedience commands and tricks using positive training methods can be a huge confidence booster for many dogs. But depending on her level of fear that may be something to do a long way down the road.

To teach her to play I think I'd first try it with just one or two toys rather than trying to tempt her to play by offering many different ones. I'd probably pick a stuffie without a squeaker or a not-very-loud squeaker (in case the noise scares her). I'd "play" with that toy (or two), leave it with her when she's crated, etc. First work on getting her to play with just one or two and then you can expand it to other toys. Sometimes dogs who didn't have toys as puppies simply don't understand what they are or what they're for.

Just to give you a perspective, I once took in a dog who I know for a fact had been abused. Many people with fearful rescues assume (sometimes mistakenly) that the dog was abused, but this one had fresh wounds and scars to prove it. It took two or three years for her to fully get over her fear of people and especially of men. But once it was gone it was gone forever. Of course not all dogs eventually totally let go of their fear. But most will vastly improve with enough time, patience and love.

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PipsMom

Bless you for adopting her...as the others said it will take time..search for 118 day topic on here...thats when I finally broke through with my Abby. It takes time for them to come to terms to learn to love again and trust a human...there will be plenty of set backs but with you love and attention she will get there...baby steps for now

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Missysmom

Bless you for rescuing Blair! She sounds a lot like our Missy was when we got her, she is a rescue too. She wouldn't even come near us when we went to pick her up, she just stood away from everyone and all the other dogs at the foster's. She didn't know or understand toys and definitely had fears, a lot with men. 

I can tell you what I did with Missy, maybe something in here will work for Blair. First I kept her on lead tethered to my waist so she followed me wherever I went in the house, for probably a week or so. I talked to her constantly, telling her what we were doing, etc. she was my constant buddy and still is, she follows me everywhere! I'd sit with her on my lap and cuddle with her, rubbing and petting her, gaining her trust. She slept with me, first in a crate by my side of the bed. When she'd cry I put her in bed and snuggled with her. She always had her own bed too and could go there whenever she wanted, it's her safe spot, still is.  I got down on the ground and showed her how to play with the toys, this took a long time. I'd show her the toy and slowly roll it toward her, always stopping short, first a long way away and then a bit closer till she was comfortable 'meeting' it. Her first adventures in playing were strictly rolling the toy on the ground. She gradually started playing with them and it was a great day when she actually chased a toy! She now loves to play with her toys! As others have said everything we did was baby steps, I still try to do anything new in a very slow graduated manner for her and watch closely for anything that is scaring her. I always talk softly to her and 'explain' what things are gradually showing her anything new.

It takes time for her to gain trust but just keep working slowly and patiently with her and what a glorious day it is when you see her blooming and becoming the loving pup she is! Bless you for helping little Blair and giving her the loving home she deserves!:throb:

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