My parents have a dog that came from an abusive home. He was a little pup when we brought him home to love him and take care of him. We discovered that whenever we brought out a fly swatter, Snoopy would freak out. We concluded that his previous owners must have used a fly swatter to hit him or scare him. We had to be sure that Snoopy wasn't around when we used one, we got real good at hitting flies with towels instead. Huney needs love and reassurance, good luck!