Well, Izzy has still not warmed up to my husband. I have NEVER seen a dog or any animal for that matter, ever have this reaction to him. She had to be abused some way by a man. She seems so calm and well adjusted around me, then when he walks in, she freaks out! Any dog professionals, or life long dog lovers that can enlighten us with any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.
After 4 nights of sleeping with me in our bed, she has slept the last two nights in her new crate. She did very well and slept for a good seven hours. The first night she made a whimper and a bark, but that was it. Last night quiet as a mouse. (Knock on wood) We have had no poop accidents in the house since her first over night with us, and no piddle accidents in two days.
She walks well on a lease, friendly with all dogs she meets along the way, except when they walk by our house with their owner. She barks less at women with their dogs than men. Rides great in the car. I just don't know. My husband is getting very discouraged. We've had her a week this Saturday, and she did not act this fearful of him when we got her. She was just more leery of men, but now she seems terrified.
She is pretty quiet during the day, except for the passing occasional dog with a man. Trash trucks, cars, UPS, mailman, no problems. At night she barks at any sound she hears or if someone is outside. Good watch dog for sure!
She spins in circles and my husband wonders if that may be an indication something is wrong with her. I don't know much about dogs, but I don't think so. I think she does it when she is excited, anxious or trying to please. Maybe it was a trick someone taught her...
I feel so bad for my husband, because I know I would feel weird if an animal reacted that way to me. I know we can't take it personally. She was abused in some matter, by a man, and we have to be patient. I had him try to give her little bits of turkey hot dogs, but she would not come close. Finally, he tossed it to her and of course she snorted it up.
Like I said, we would GREATLY APPRECIATE any advice to make her more comfortable, safe and welcomed to our home...
4 comments:
Time and patience and I'm sure she will warm to your husband. We got our dog Couch from the refuge at 6 months of age and he had an inate fear of garden hoses. When they were unattended he chewed them up but when you held one he cowered and backed away. We feel that he must have often been beaten with a garden hose as a pup. He will now stand near you when you are hosing the garden but it took a long time to gain his confidence. Your husband may be a similar shape or something to some past bad experience. Just be kind and patient and I'm sure she will come around in the end.
Maybe she just needs time to adjust to her new life and needs to learn to trust him. Shelby's personality has totally changed since she came here three months ago. She is quite a character now. She just needed time to learn to trust us and to figure us out. She is terrified of kids and has nipped at three of my grandkids. I think if she was around them more (they live out of state), she would learn to trust them too. The spinning could be just excitement, or maybe an obsession if she does it for too long or too often. Shelby was leery of my husband at first. He gave her space and eventually she warmed up and now she goes crazy when he comes home. (she still likes me best.....grin...) Your little girl probably just needs time to adjust to her new home, and life.
Thank you Marcella, I sure hope she does warm up to him. She seems to go in spurts, but is noticeably more nervous around him, than with me. We hope to take her out together today to a pet friendly area where we adopted her a week ago. Maybe have lunch down there and just walk and enjoy the day. We'll stop by Petsmart to get her a hard rubber bone...
Thank you Mickey Dee....(grin, smile) I know what you mean about her liking me best...(BIG SMILE)...she is so sweet. I feel she would do anything to please me. I want to take her to CA to see how she does and for only a short visit (3 days) at Mom's, to see how she does. Eventually, I'd love for my grandsons to meet her, and I think she does well with kids, at least she did last Saturday with all the people around.
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