Troubled Dog needs help

[DMorris]

Does anyone know of a sensitive dog trainer who can help me with a rescued dog that is afraid of people?

[Shandi]

How long have you had the dog? Where are you located? Most shelters know how to do this, and will
also help you find a qualified trainer/dog whisperer.

Does anyone know of a sensitive dog trainer who can help me with a rescued dog that is afraid of people?

[scamperwillow]

I know someone who adopted a dog like that and has had great success. Let me know if you'd like me to put you in touch. She is doing agility training right now.

Does anyone know of a sensitive dog trainer who can help me with a rescued dog that is afraid of people?

[djmama]

Bless you for taking your dog on and seeking help for her. I'm sure a trainer will move her along the road to recovery faster but, based on my limited experience, just you being who you are and loving her will make all the difference.

I fostered a dog, Millie, who was very shy. The first time I offered her a treat, she put her head down and crawled to me on her belly, getting just close enough to take the treat, then she slunk back to her corner. It was heartbreaking. I don't know what had happened to her, and I'm not a trainer, but I had her for about 5 months before she went to a forever home, and by that time she was still a little reserved at first, but was not what you'd call a troubled dog anymore. I gave her lots of love and reassurance, which I'm sure that you do as well. And I introduced her to many nice, understanding people (my friends). We took lots of walks and people we met were very sweet to her. I took her everywhere I could, so she would build good experiences, and we took a two-week road trip which included lots of camping and a stay-over with dog-loving friends and their dogs. By the time she got back, she was a happy camper.

Good luck to you and your pooch!

[Claire]

Does anyone know of a sensitive dog trainer who can help me with a rescued dog that is afraid of people?

Hi DMorris,
I can wholeheartedly recommend my husband Michael Ossenbeck for respectful, sensitive dog training. He's worked with shelter and rescue dogs quite a lot over the years.
He says there are a number of ways to help build the dog's confidence including basic training, agility, and nosework.
Exercise will help with good brain chemistry.
A few suggestions: Do not pressure the dog to interact with people. Rather, let it progress at its own pace.
It would help you to learn how a dog communicates through body language so you can better understand its emotional state.
As you see more confidence you can gradually add more challenges to the training.
Michael recommends the book Help for your Fearful Dog by Nicole Wilde, found in the Sonoma County Library.
His contact information is (707) 396-8055 and [email protected]
Good luck,
Claire

[Sativaluv]

Thank you for taking on what will be a frustrating but eventually a very happy responsibility and relationship. I cannot verify the previous poster's husband by experience with him but she stated much of what I would have as well as the other on the importance of love and not pushing or stressing him.

The most important thing is that you develop a trusting relationship which may be very difficult but once that innate distrust is gone with you then other people that you trust will start falling into the same category and you are left with how to deal with scary strangers in which I leave to the experts, as I am still not sure how to deal with them myself!

Kindest Thoughts!