Working with abused dogs

It’s hard to keep emotions in check when discussing abused animals, and I hope this write up makes sense.

Guilt is a human emotion that should not be inflicted on dogs – guilt makes people treat their dog with kid gloves so to speak, and in the long run, doesn’t help anything. If you feel bad for the dog, you’re likely not going to be willing to do what it takes to help the dog. And in that sense, you’ll probably be keeping the dog living in a fearful state – that isn’t fair.

I’ve known many people that have taken in abused dogs, they are shut down, won’t take affection,
hiding out somewhere in the home, try to pet them and they pee on the floor. I’ve seen people working with abused dogs for a year, two years, and more trying to gain trust with food and toys and praise, and never really achieving a happy and outgoing dog.

One needs to rock the dogs world so to speak, they don’t want to live in that dark hole – and need to be pulled out of it. The dog is likely in this situation because of a human being – now a human being that feels bad for the dog is trying to bring the dog out of its’ shell. While yes, it’s achievable, you can slowly build trust between you and the dog – but building trust with everyone else and the environment will be a battle. There is a difference between trusting a human as a person – and trusting their judgement. There is an easier way, and it’s alot quicker. I don’t care how good you think you are, a human being cannot teach a dog how to be a dog.

Many times, these abused dogs need to be rebuilt from the ground up, they don’t know they are a dog and probably never experienced being a dog. I tend to treat abuse as a worst case scenario.
Look for a mentor dog, an easy going, outgoing and confident dog that you can borrow. Dogs need dogs, and one good dog that is a compatible match for the abused dog will create magic. I’m
not suggesting adopting a second dog, that could be disastrous, but do explore your friends dogs – bring them over and let them meet your abused dog. If you can find one dog, one mentor that the abused dog will accept and follow – you are going to win the battle and you’re going to win it quickly. I’ve seen it so many times.

Let the dogs spend time together without interference, leave them alone. It’s amazing to watch an
abused dog come out of their shell and follow a confident mentor dog. I’ve experienced severely
abused dogs come out of their shell in a matter of days if handled correctly. I’ve actually seen abused females learn to lift their leg to pee – cause the mentor is a male, that’s how far gone she was. Don’t interfere with this process, no matter how much you want to, but take every opportunity to work with the mentor dog. Show affection to the mentor, give the mentor treats – I guarantee, the abused will be paying attention. The key here is to gain the trust of the abused animal through the mentor, an abused dog will trust another dog before they trust a human. The first time the abused dog approaches you looking for a treat or affection? It’s an incredible feeling – the dog is showing you it’s ready to try, I know what I am now, I’m ready to communicate – but don’t push me. Let the dog do it on its’ own time, let the magic happen. The dog needs to CHOOSE to come to you, once they make the choice – they don’t forget.

When you’re the dog is ready to walk, leash the abused dog to the mentor, let the mentor lead the
abused. You will be leashed to the mentor. These are simple tricks you can use to quickly bring a dog around as the abused animal isn’t feeling your energy, your guilt, your negative – they are strictly led by the mentor – all they feel is the confident dog. The mentor dog is going to do his thing with the abused in tow – the mentor will show the dog that “Hey, I’m not scared, come on, follow me.”

If I meet a dog that I can’t show affection to, alot of times the owner is around to say it’s not trusting toward strangers, fair enough – it’s not uncommon. There are alot of skittish dogs out there for various reasons. I’ll call my minpin over to meet the fearful dog – and generally, they follow his confidence to me and I can show affection – give the positive reinforcer. What happened here? They trust my dog quickly – and they trust me through him – not a bad dog, can’t be a bad human.

It never ceases to amaze me how fast dogs are willing to follow the confidence of another dog to
someone they’ve never met.

It’s about trying to think different.