Supporting a traumatised rescued dog to gain confidence
Bella, a beautiful, pedigree poodle bitch, had been used as a breeding bitch in an illegal puppy farm for all of her adult life, until she was rescued at 3 and a half years of age. Her current owners found her and brought her home after only about 4 weeks in the shelter.
When I met her, she had just arrived in her new home. She was clearly traumatised, closed down psychologically, and didn’t interact with her new world at all, preferring to hide in a dark corner. A comfortable den was the first priority, placed where she didn’t feel exposed, wasn’t isolated from the family but had some distance and the freedom to come nearer if she chose to.
When we adopt dogs, particularly troubled ones, we tend as humans, to give them lots of affection, freedom and love in the belief that this will encourage them to feel safe and to trust that we will be kind to them. For some dogs this can work well, but for many it brings its own problems.
When you are so desperate to help a troubled dog, luring them to do things they are afraid of can sometimes backfire. Here’s why.
A large part of positive training rests on encouraging your dog to do something, usually with a lure, and then rewarding them, usually with a treat lure. Over time the lure becomes a hand signal and the reward becomes praise or some form of ‘life reward’ like a game. If you are luring your terrified rescue dog to do something that frightens them, they may start to trust you less, retreat even more and even associate you with the negative things. This is why patience and an environment in which your dog can learn to gain confidence in their own time, is so valuable.
We offered Bella the choice of whether or not to engage with enrichment, her new guardians and the world, in a safe environment. We worked to find food and other objects that really intrigued and attracted her, and we waited. When her curiosity finally overcame her fear, she ventured forward. The first time she did this we all held our breaths. It had taken several weeks for this breakthrough and she crept out and shot back to safety several times, but she began to become braver and that change accelerated with repetition.
She still has a long way to go before she will be able to relax in our human world, but has made a really positive start. As time passes she is learning the rules, routines and boundaries of her new life and these will further increase her feelings of security and value.
It’s all about learning to communicate with her in a way she can understand and recognising what dogs really need from us to make them happy.
