Helping a Dog Get Over Abuse
We have recently adopted a year-old female Chihuahua, bringing our total dog population up to three -- another Chihuahua and a Blue Heeler-Rotweiler mix, both females. We also have a very old, very crabby cat. Our family consists of myself, my husband and our 4-year-old son. Here's the problem -- the new dog (we call her Queenie) was abused by her previous owner :mad: . Of this, we are certain. She was repeatedly struck for barking (she's a dog -- what did he expect her to do -- meow???), for urinating when struck or stressed, and she was also shouted at. She is terribly afraid of the leash (was she whipped or choked? -- I think so). She has bonded so closely to me in the two weeks we have had her that I call her "Velcro Dog." She gets along well with the other dogs and is even learning how to play with them. She tolerates my son, but she cannot abide my husband. She runs, hides, avoids him like the plague, snaps at his hands, growls at him, barks at him, etc. We all understand that she is very young to have expereinced so much trauma in her little life and that she must blame all adult males for her horrible early life. But we need her to udnerstand that she has a forever home with people who will never, ever be mean to her, and that she will never be struck, or choked, or verbally abused again.
Anyone out there have any tried-and-true methods of helping her to learn to trust my husband? He has been very patient and kind, but after all -- it's his own house and he's getting a llittle tired of being treated like a robber when he comes home from work.
