I am collecting a 7month old German Shepherd x Collie male dog up from the Rspca tommorow.  He has been with Rspca in kennels, since he was 5 months as he was a bad cruelty case.
He had been kicked and beaten very severely, starved and had no hair left on his body. He was so traumatised when the officers siezed him and took him to the kennels he would attack in fear.  Now with them he is fine.
When i went to see him he coward away but came round when he realised I wouldn't hurt him, but with the kennel staff was happy and jumping around them wanting a fuss, because he had learnt to trust them.
However he has not been in a house since his terrible ordeal, so noone knows how he will react, especially as I will also be a stranger to him.
I am not worried about the house training side but am worried he will hide behind the sofa and not come out and get aggresive in the beggining if we try and get him out, also I am concerned if I let him in the garden he will not want to come back in the house.  If I can I will obviously take him outside on the lead to start with, but i don't know if i will, in the early days, be able to get near him to put a lead on.
I have always had dogs but never one who has been through so much or with these problems.
Seeing him with the staff he now loves I can see he is going to make a wonderful dog once he trusts us and hopefully then we can overcome most of his fears with time.
I wondered if anyone else had taken on a dog with similar problems and how they coped in the early days and any tips on what they would do or not do again.
I just want to give him every chance to lead a happy life with lots of love.
I don't have any other dogs in the house at the moment and there is just me and my 13yr old daughter live here.

Bev

you need to discuss this with the people who he is now happy with, how long it took them to gain his trust etc.  does he get taken for a walk or is he just let out into a run ajoining his kennel, and if he does get taken out of his kennel, how long did it take to gain his trust with that? obviously it is very difficult trying to give advice without seeing him, but I have worked with a few nervous dogs, that were fear aggresive, they were both in kennels and fine with their owners support but not when they were not arround, how i dealt with this was that i opened the pophole between the run and kennel so they could go on either side and i just sat in the courner not looking at them, but being aware of where they were and had liver treats on me (one being a lab!) and finally they came up to me and i could clip a lead on them.  the lab took about 2 hours and the terrier cross took nearly five, but after that, they were both fine with me.  but every dog is different, is there a behaviourist at the kennels where he is that could offer you assistance if you need it? as this will probably boost your confidence.  good luck with him and well done for what you are doing
Sarah

Good Luck Bev. Let us know how you get on. With lots of TLC he will get there in the end. :D

Patience and consistancy are the keys to training a dogs trust.  This doesn't mean molly coddling and spoiling though - if the dog wants to hide, then let it, ignore it (pretend it isn't even there, don't even talk about it) don't be tempted to try and 'encourage' it out into the open, as the dog will simply see this as 'reward' for the behaviour, and repeat it :(

Have you had a dog before?

Hi Bev,

Not attempting to better the advice you've already had  (and I'm sure there will be more forthcoming ;) ) but just wanted to say "well done" on being so kind as to give this poor youngster a home.  Sure you'll have your ups and downs just like anybody would but it's so encouraging to read you looking for even more advice on here too and he's not even with you yet.

When you think he can cope with the pressure, give him a gentle {{{hug}}} from me :P
Good luck, Teri

Hi bev,
I have to say it brought a tear to my eye to read your posting .
You must be a very kind loving and generous person to take on such a sad boy.
I hope you keep reading as you will receive some very helpful advice on this site from many people with the experience to help you on your way to a hopefully long fulfilled friendship.

regards
Roni

I agree, it's heartwarming to hear this poor chap will have a good home.
I would take advice from the people who have been handling him successfully to start :)
Accept that he may well be scared/aggressive/fearful etc to start, and expect very little of him. Talk to the rest of the family, so they all understand it's important he is allowed to venture out in his own time.

One of the things you could do as he gets a bit bolder is to teach him to followe your hand with a tasty food treat in it; it can help when you need tomove him from one place to another and eventually he will follow your hand without any titbit in it :)

If you want to try some training, I would suggest  something very upbeat such as clicker training (good basic book available from Pets at Home).

He maynot  have been socialised, so if he seems aggressive or scared towards people or other dogs, you may need to speak to a behaviourist who could help.

Hth a bit,

Lindsay
X

Dear bevb yes I've been in a very similar situation to yourself though not quite so bad I feel as my dog still had hair and yes I would most definately rescue a "hurt" dog again. In my opinion, forget about walking your babe for a while until she really feels confident and loves you and this will take time. It's good you have had dogs before as you will need all your patience and skill just now to avoid any mistakes and try to make your dog a happy boy who loves life! I think you must treat each dog individually and so can only speak from personal experience PLEASE remember this. When we got Daisy she was very afraid,  agressive, nervous, and to crown it all had diahorrea (a separate  issue). When we took her home we were normal in the household, you and the dog are in the lucky position not to have any other dogs. I kept her close to me always being confident and giving her lots of praise and food  I gave her several small feeds in the day and treats! I used food as a reward always for example if we were playing with a ball and asked for it she would have been very aggressive we said "give" and when she did give lots of verbal praise and a treat, gradually decreasing the treat and increasing the verbal praise. She also had her bed in my bedroom so that she would know she had company and was part of the family. This is only a snapshot  and Daisy has done very well in obedience and is a very loyal bitch but even to this day I would avoid situations which would cause stress to her. I have been told that  in other hands she would have bee n PTS.Please go slowly and gently Love Sonja

FIrst day we had Echo I thought he was going to die of fright. He tried to escape out the doors, windows you name it. He peed everywhere and panted and shook like a leaf. 8 weeks later he is much happier and more confident. We have issues to work on but the trust is building.Be assertive at the rescue in asking for advice and support from them, Im sure they will wish to make this rehoming work and be delighted to help. Then just be patient, calm and consistent. It takes time to learn what the dog likes or not. Keep posting.

Thanks everyone for your help and support, I have arranged for a behaviourist to meet us at the kennels and then follow us home so she can see how he is here from the start and advise accordingly.

Digger to reply to your post the answer is yes I have had dogs for the past 30 odd years and when my husband was alive we used to breed and show.  I lost my last dog sadly a couple of weeks ago and couldn't bear the house empty and dogless, so decided to get a rescue dog that needed a home.  I asked for advice as I have never dealt with a dog with such a traumatic background and being responsible wanted the best for him and my experience over the years did not cover this.

Bev

bevb, you will do just fine you are clearly preparing . Ialso had a behaviourist for Daisy but whilst they may be good listen to yourself and your experience and it is you who will do right by the dog not anyone else, due to your previous experience, "listen" to your babe. What will u call him? love Sonja (ps) not the behaviourist!

They called him Prince at the kennels but we are going to call him Tyro.
Well the day has dawned so please think of us as we pick him up at 10.30 am and i feel quite positive he will soon learn we won't hurt him and feel he can trust us.

Bev

good luck

Bev, I cannot comment on the behaviour since I have never been in this position, But I would like to say you have my utmost admiration for what you are doing. I wish you and 'Tyro' all the best. :)

Kay

Any news on how you all are getting on? love Sonja

Hi Bevb,
Just wanted to wish you all the best with Tyro, Hope it all goes well today & I'm sure he'll soon realise what a wonderful new Mummy he has.

Lots of Love,
Dee.xxx