Feral pup

[Bobba_fett 117]

Got this 12week old pup from a mate, he has a fair few dogs and hasn't spend any time with at all, its spent most of its life in a pen with the other pup away from the house.

I got it home and it would come near me, its been a week and its much the same. it wont go with me with out another dog there and when its out and about it going off and coming back to check in the the other dog rather than me.

 

so i'v put it in a kennel on its own, i have to walk it on the lead. just 10 mins ago i was walking it in the field next to the house and it was walking fine with me wagging away and i sat down to clap it and i just let go of the lead for a second and it was off right back to the kennels trying to get in with the other dogs.

 

last night i had it in the house to try and get it used to me it seemed happy, i let it out with the house dog for a shite everything was fine, then when i took it out on its own to put it back in the kennel and spent 10 - 15 walking round and round the kennel trying to call it to me. It tryed to dash past me and i made a grab for its cruff and the f****r started howling and bit my arm and then my hand drawing blood.

 

any Ideas? Is keeping it on its own away from the other dogs and only letting it spend time with me the right thing to do?

 

Its a big mungrel, its half guard dog breeds half GWP.

[Clare 33]

just sit in the kennle, let him come to you, take some warm sausage and just take it slow, if you rush it hes noting going to get better, he needs time, if im really honest he needs a trained hand find someone who has dealt with shy/nervous dogs, they can be turned around but its hard going and not a quick fix

[Bobba_fett 117]

thanks, do you think keeping it on its own will help or harm the progress ?

[Clare 33]

thanks, do you think keeping it on its own will help or harm the progress ?

 

personally I would put it with the most friendliest happiest dog you have

[The Duncan 802]

a shy and subservient dog may help to bring a less shy dog out of its self IME, but really it sounds to me like the dog needs some one on one time with an informed pack-leader to develop trust and confidence in the human relationship.

 

Is there a good remedial dog trainer nearer to you who could have a look?

[Ideation 8,216]

a shy and subservient dog may help to bring a less shy dog out of its self IME, but really it sounds to me like the dog needs some one on one time with an informed pack-leader to develop trust and confidence in the human relationship.

 

Is there a good remedial dog trainer nearer to you who could have a look?

 

Remedial dog trainer?

 

Ask lab.

[ftm 3,357]

spend lots of time just you and dog and it will come to trust you -once you have its trust you can start moving on from there -but dont expect it to happen in a short space of time good luck mate hope you win your little battle of wills-billy

[skycat 6,173]

The reason your pup is like this, and is finding it hard to change and trust you, is because the 'magic' window of opportunity has closed: that window is open from birth until around 12 weeks of age. If the pup hasn't had a good interaction and socialisation (handling, playing, stroking, all good things) with a human up until now, it is going to find it very hard indeed to cope with not just you, but any change in its environment.

 

It has obviously only bonded with other dogs up until now. You can win it round, BUT ONLY if you are very patient, NEVER act hastily or violently (as in grabbing it by the scruff) or moving too fast, or doing anything which makes you seem dangerous or predatory. The pup is like a prey animal: scared, confused and in an alien environment. It is also retarded, because the brain cells haven't been able to make all the connections they need to in order to become a well-rounded, socialised animal. It is almost like dealing with a rather thick, wild animal.

 

I repeat, you will need tons of patience, and a lot of time. For the pup to trust you, you must never do anything to it but slowly, with kind words: even kind words won't get any reaction to begin with, because the pup doesn't understand praise, play with a human being.

 

I would kennel it with a laid back, sociable dog, so the pup can watch how the other dog responds to you, but you also need to spend time with the pup on its own, away from the support of the other dog.

 

The following is taken from an article I wrote:

 

Unsocialised pups of less than 8 weeks of age generally settle into a new home fairly quickly, no matter how neglected their initial rearing, b

ut if you take a pup of 10 weeks or older,

expect the transition to be doubly stressful for the animal, because it has now reached an age where all but its immediate family are viewed with suspicion and terror.

 

This is why you need to be on hand 24/7 for the first week after you bring such a pup into your household. I prefer to rear pups in the house initially, because they immersed in the daily life of their new family far more quickly than if you leave them in a kennel and run, unless that kennel is right outside your back door, where the pup can observe the comings and goings of the household from behind bars, where it will feel less threatened and vulnerable.

 

If you rear the pup in your house, make sure to get a crate, which provides security and a den of sorts, from which the pup can watch daily life close up, but still feel protected by the mesh of the crate. Never underestimate the usefulness of a crate, for not only does it provide the pup with a feeling of security, it also means that family members and other dogs are less likely to trip over, stand on or unintentionally startle the timid puppy.

 

You need to place the crate in a corner of a room which, whilst used on a regular basis, is not right in the main thoroughfare of household traffic. The pup should be able to observe and hear what is going on, without being right in the thick of things. Much depends on the activity level in your house, and I would try to keep very young or noisy children at a bit of a distance to begin with.

 

Small amounts of stress are good for puppies. Manageable stress helps to make the pup stronger, building a healthy immune system, but we don’t want to flood the pup with too much information at this stage. Each mental step the pup takes will initially appear to be very small; maybe simply the angle of the ears will change when the pup no longer flattens its ears at a new sound, but pricks them up instead, showing a tiny degree of interest, rather than outright fear.

 

HAND FEED THE PUP

Hand-feeding helps to create a bond, and although a very frightened puppy will initially be unwilling to accept food from your fingers, you must persevere. Sooner or later, hunger will override fear. When this happens, you have achieved a real break-through. The moment the pup starts to see you as a provider of good things, you’re on the right track.

 

I seldom speak much to a timid puppy, and when I do, I speak very quietly, almost a whisper. Once again, I am careful not to overwhelm the pup with unfamiliar noises and movements. I move very slowly as well, and I never look directly at the puppy, taking special care not to stare it in the eye. All these things are designed to show myself as non-threatening. I never bend over the crate, but approach from a low level sitting down on the ground as soon as I am close to either kennel or crate.

 

And I spend time sitting either right in the run, or next to the open door of the crate. I may chat away very quietly to the pup, once it has got used to the sight and sound of me, and I sit sideways to the puppy, never facing it directly. I leave one hand trailing on the floor between me and the pup, and that hand is open, palm upwards, covered in tasty, meaty goo!

 

I try to avoid picking the pup up until it has come and climbed all over me as I sit, because I want the pup to take control of its surroundings (this includes me) before putting it under the stress engendered by being lifted off the ground. Sometimes it is unavoidable, but if you do have to pick up a frightened pup, don’t be tempted to hold it against your face: simply transfer the pup calmly and smoothly to where you want it to be, without making a fuss of it.

 

Don’t push yourself at the frightened puppy; never put your hand on top of its head, but always stroke under the chin and down the shoulder until the puppy has learned to understand your hand as a good thing. It needs time to learn that you are not a threat, and even though dogs are remarkable in that they do generally adapt very quickly to a loving and positive environment, the pup that has learned nothing of humans and their ways during the first 12 weeks of its life, will take a lot longer to learn that its life is not under threat.

[The Duncan 802]

softly softly catchee monkee

[wilbur foxhound 480]

take it with you where ever you go if you go somewhere in the car take it with you in the passenger seat keep speaking and patting it if it does something good make a big happy fuss with it it will come once it has your trust

[Casso 1,256]

Got this 12week old pup from a mate, he has a fair few dogs and hasn't spend any time with at all, its spent most of its life in a pen with the other pup away from the house.

I got it home and it would come near me, its been a week and its much the same. it wont go with me with out another dog there and when its out and about it going off and coming back to check in the the other dog rather than me.

 

so i'v put it in a kennel on its own, i have to walk it on the lead. just 10 mins ago i was walking it in the field next to the house and it was walking fine with me wagging away and i sat down to clap it and i just let go of the lead for a second and it was off right back to the kennels trying to get in with the other dogs.

 

last night i had it in the house to try and get it used to me it seemed happy, i let it out with the house dog for a shite everything was fine, then when i took it out on its own to put it back in the kennel and spent 10 - 15 walking round and round the kennel trying to call it to me. It tryed to dash past me and i made a grab for its cruff and the f****r started howling and bit my arm and then my hand drawing blood.

 

any Ideas? Is keeping it on its own away from the other dogs and only letting it spend time with me the right thing to do?

 

Its a big mungrel, its half guard dog breeds half GWP.

ok bud , it may be a big mongrel but if its half guard dog the fear it has at the minute becomes explosive as it ages, on the whole most guarding breeds protection dogs express when under stress outwardly , biting barking growling

, whereas most running dogs, sight hounds, whippets, bird dogs are imploders internalize stress/fear, flight instead or fight in order words,

 

with that said i would looking for the pup to overcome as much fear as possible as far as humans go ,

Feed in your space all meals , at your feet, out of your hand, out of the hand is better, not treats all its food, hunger overcomes fear, we see it all the time with wild animals coming into contact with man through hunger.

If you just throw a bowl of food down to the pup, you are just feeding the fear, the pup isn't overcoming anything to satisfy itself , the fear is just been reinforced thats all its doing ,

coming into your space to eat is making it work for its food its the natural order of things, it mother nature's plan for animals,

 

another point going on here is that the bonding is a different thing completely, dont think praising ,fussing , calling , having it in the house is going to pulling on its heart strings, the pup is instinct based its all in its head, you need it to reference its gut through hunger,

think about bringing a young deer into the house trying to socialize it , you need it to overcome fear before you can bond, fear is untrainable because its an instinct there is no thinking involved, its functioning on auto pilot,

 

All its meals in your space bud, with no fuss, (fussing is just putting more stress on top of a situation with already has shaky foundations), until you can see personality evolving in the pup in association with you, fear is a lot more dangerous in the explosive breeds but im sure you can go along way to pull the pup round, best of luck,