Your new dog was rescued from a puppy mill. A puppy mill is a large-scale commercial dog breeding operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs. Unlike responsible breeders, who place the utmost importance on producing the healthiest puppies possible, breeding at puppy mills is performed without consideration of genetic quality. This often results in generations of dogs with unchecked hereditary defects.

Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization. Puppy mill dogs do not get to experience treats, toys, exercise or basic grooming. To minimize waste cleanup, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs—and it is not unusual for cages to be stacked up in columns. Breeder dogs at mills might spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements—or crammed inside filthy structures where they never get the chance to feel the sun or a gust of fresh air on their faces.

This means that these particular dogs were likely housed in a cage for their entire lives, and before coming to us had never worn a collar or leash, been on a walk, or met people outside of their caretakers. They were forced to pee and poop in these cages and have learned to lie in their own waste because no clean surfaces were available to sleep on. It is going to take a long time and lots of patience to teach these dogs to be OK with walking outside, with strangers coming over, and with peeing and pooping outside, especially with the older ones, whose habits are well-formed.

Because these dogs missed being exposed to the world during their critical socialization period (up to 4 months of age,) puppy mill dogs tend to act as though everything in the world is a terrifying thing. Indeed, since they had no idea until recently that there was a world outside of their cage, being adopted into your home will, at first, be a very scary thing for your new pet –almost like moving to another planet!

Your undersocialized dog will require your calm, patient assistance to learn that the world is not such a scary place, and that you and other humans are worthy of trust. Take things slowly, go at the dog’s pace and you’ll have the reward of seeing your shy one overcome their fears.

Your dog has never been away from other dogs, so if you already own a brave dog, they’ll offer a very valuable role model for the shy one. Your new dog may try to hide from you – many of these dogs like an enclosed space such as a crate or underneath furniture. It is not uncommon for an unsocialized dog to hide under a couch or table for days or even weeks at a time, only coming out to eat and drink at night. You may want to give your new dog a crate, maybe covered with a blanket, to be their “safe haven.” If your dog is extremely fearful, you may want to choose a plastic crate so you can take the top off if you need to get to the dog.

Obviously, dragging them out from under the furniture is not the best way to teach your new dog that the world is not so scary, so if you’re taking home one of the more fearful dogs, you may want to set up a “safe room” such as a kitchen or bathroom with a baby gate, or an exercise pen (a metal doggie “playpen” available at pet stores.) Put an open crate, food and water on one side of the room and a few wee-wee pads on the other.

When you first let the dog run loose in your house, you may want to leave a light leash dragging so you can get them out from under furniture if they hide. You may want to have the dog sleep beside your bed in a crate (for a small dog, maybe on a table at eye level) so that they’re exposed to your presence and can quietly bond with you while you sleep.

Please do not have a big party to “socialize” your dog as soon as it gets home (unless you have one of the puppies, who are already becoming quite social.) Give your new pet at least a few days to bond with you before introducing strangers.

You will need to acclimate your dog to wearing a leash – we’ve found that very fearful dogs tend to react better to a body harness than a leash, so will probably send your dog home wearing a harness. Once the dog has acclimated to you and your home, try attaching a leash and feeding the dog delicious treats (chicken, cheese or liverwurst) as they follow beside you. These dogs tend to panic and buck around if you try to pull them anywhere – this is why they need to be acclimated to leash-walking slowly, indoors, before venturing out.

This is how most people picture life with a dog: long walks in the park, parties with lots of friends over, going off and playing in the dog run. This may be possible with your new dog one day, but please be patient; it may take a long time to get there.

Because these dogs have never been outside, the park is like an alien planet to them, so you’ll need to take things slowly and make sure they’re comfortable on a leash and harness indoors first. If your dog is comfortable in a carrier, you may want to carry them to a quiet place, like a nearby park, then let them sit on your lap or sniff around on their leash and harness

Your dog will likely bond strongly to their primary caretaker after a time, but with an older puppy mill dog, there is a good chance they’ll remain fearful of strangers for a long time, maybe forever. It is your job to keep your dog safe from invasive human contact; do not let strangers on the street pet or pick your dog up. If your dog learns you’ll keep them safe, they’ll be far less stressed on walks.

When you bring new people into your home, you’ll find it’s often easier to have them play “hard to get” when working with a fearful dog. A friendly human greeting (direct gaze, leaning over, reaching with hands) is actually quite threatening in dog language. Instead, have guests make themselves small, avoid eye contact, and just let the dog approach when they’re feeling comfortable.

One great way to meet a shy dog is to sit on the floor, reading a book and scatter treats all around you. This way the dog approaches and takes treats as close as they’re comfortable, and is repeatedly rewarded for their bravery. Do not pet the dog until they’re practically “begging for it” or you could undo all your hard work. When the dog is taking treats easily from your hand, start a gentle scratch on the chest and maybe work up to under the collar as these are non-threatening gestures to most dogs.

Did you know that yawning, looking away and licking lips are signs that a dog is worried about something? If the dog is shrinking away from something, try associating that thing with their favorite treat or toy in the world, over and over, until the thing is no longer scary. For example, if your dog is afraid of traffic, start in a quiet park with cars far away and give a tiny piece of chicken every time a car goes by. As the dog relaxes, get a little closer to the road each day. The same thing can be done if the dog is afraid of strangers (or anything!) with treats coming from you at first.

Some sources say that you should never comfort a shy dog as it will “reinforce their fear”. This is nonsense – please go ahead and do whatever it takes to make your dog more comfortable! If the dog is getting more confident, you’re doing the right thing.

Some dogs take great comfort from human contact, and if some gentle petting helps your pup calm down, go ahead and do it! Agility training and obedience classes (using positive, food-based training techniques) may help give your dog confidence.

Walking with another dog sometimes helps increase confidence – consider borrowing a neighbor’s dog if you don’t have a second one!

Make sure that your dog’s walking equipment is very secure, for extra safety in case she gets frightened and tries to back out of her collar or harness. You may want to put one leash on the collar and a second one on the harness at first.

Make sure that your dog has a well-fitted collar with her tags on at all times and you keep your dog’s microchip information up to date – fearful dogs can be great escape artists!

Shy dogs mailing list: http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/shy-k9s

Shy dogs website: http://www.fearfuldogs.com

Housetraining A Puppymill Dog

CONFINEMENT

LOTS OF TRIPS TO POTTY AREA

Recommended Reading:

Way to Go!. Patricia McConnell