# Just rescued A GSD that is unsocialized



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

Hi. I am so glad I found this forum. My name is Cheri and we just "rescued" a 3 year old German Shepherd a week ago.
We got her from a family that could not keep her. She was an outside dog her whole life on a chain.

We (myself and my 12 yr old and 9 yr old) went to spend some time with her a couple time before agreeing to take her. 
In this one short week she has bonded with my family like she has known us her whole life. I totally trust her with my children.
We also have a collie and for the most part they are fine with each other. Except when my collie makes a sudden move the shepherd get really nevous and might bark and stuff. (I assume out of fear)

She also ducks her head if she lets strangers pet her for that brief second. The old owner told me to knee her in the chest if she jumps. I would NEVER do that and she has never jumped!

My concern is that she seems aggressive to others. 
I realize we have her only a very very short time and we won't give up on her. 
If we keep taking her outside on walks to around people..will she eventually get socialized? 
He tries so hard to trust but there is always that last moment when she backs away and starts barking like crazy. It breaks my heart to see how she fears people. The people that had her taught her tricks and how to sit, stay, wait for it, shake and high fives and my children are actually teaching her to pick up her toys and put them away. She is super smart and is now an indoor dog. I just need help having her trust and not be fear agressive. 
Sorry so long winded but I want to do right by her!


----------



## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

Living on a chain has done that to her. Sounds like you are doing a good job with her. She might improve with time, there's no way to be certain. Until then, keep her a distance she feel comfortable, and don't set her up for failure. Also, people, especially strangers, should never pat a dog on the head. That is a dominate jester. Even one of my dogs ducks when I try that.


----------



## Magwart (Jul 8, 2012)

Bless you for saving this dog from life on a chain.

Socialization is a slow, gradual process that happens over months, and possibly years. When she is interacting nicely with the collie, talk her through it with reassuring language, and _lots _of praise. She'll pick up on your cues. 

Give her time to learn to trust and figure things out, then add new situations very gradually, at a pace she can handle, and make sure you carry lots of treats to reward for being brave and accepting of those new situations. The goal is for her eventually learn that she can totally trust you to bring her into new situations that are safe.

Eventually, a basic obedience class should be part of the socialization program. It gets the dog around other dogs it doesn't know, in a safe way where none of the dogs can touch her (this means keeping your distance from other dogs and people in class--your job is to keep your dog safe, so don't let others bring their dogs close "to say hi"). Over the course of the class (6-8 weeks), she may open up slowly to being closer to others, and your trainer should be able to help. For a dog like this, the first obedience class is less about how many skills you perfect than creating an opportunity for some therapy for the dog's psyche. Look for a really understanding positive trainer who is supportive of helping to rehabilitate the dog. (One of my rescues literally tried to hide in the bushes so other dogs couldn't see her the first day of obedience class. By week 3, she liked coming to class and was curious about other dogs. By week 6, she was happily in the class circle with the other dogs, occasionally allowing other dogs to sniff her backside and very tentatively smelling other dogs herself--it was _huge _progress. I hope very much it works as well for your new girl.)


----------



## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

I am glad she's now living in a home that cares for her!

shy-k9s : shy-k9s this is a great website for you to check out and join, if only to read the archives. 

There is also the Calming Signals DVD to check out - you can buy or it there is a website to rent things BowWowFlix? 

What you want to do is always keep her under her threshold for fear reactions and let her build her confidence up to the point where they go away - in other words, do not let her get to the point of barking, backing up, stop the interaction before she gets there. So for now, walking and seeing people is more than enough - I would keep her in and around the house only for 1 month minimum and put the socialization on hold. 

Your collie, if a social dog, may be able to help on walks. Definitely check that site! Good luck!


----------



## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Is it real aggression you are seeing? Or inappropriate excitement?

DOG CLASSES but have a private to speak with the trainer prior to attending.

You clicker train? Great for adult dogs --> http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...0-intro-clicker-training-perfect-puppies.html


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

Thanks for all the positive comments. We already LOVE her.

Like I said...she reacts to us like she has known and trusted us her whole life! She LOVES to play fetch with my kids so they play ball with her ALL the time. They even lay on their backs and put her toys on their faces and she GENTLY comes over and takes it off their faces without ever touching them. 

I see hope since she has bonded us so completly and so fast. She lets us rub her head and just reacts with licks and she rolls over to have her belly rubbed.
The previous owner even delivered her to us with her tow chain! We put her out on it just to get some fresh air while wedo some brief work around the house and she cries to come in. What a life she must have had outside from 6am to 9pm. 

My son has Aspergers and uses a weighted blanket and yesterday we had a terrible thunderstorm and she was terrified. We actually put the blanket on her and she immedietly fell asleep.

OH BTW...seems to be mostly assgressive to men. hmmmmm.


----------



## iloveshepherds (Jul 10, 2012)

awww..poor girl. Im glad she found a place in your home! she sounds like she is really happy.if she has an issue with men, you can always try to have male friends come over and give her treats........of if on a walk before she gets excited when she sees a person, stick a treat in her face..or a squeaky ball to redirect her attention.


----------



## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

If your dog did well with a weighted blanket during a storm, I would recommend a thundershirt (www.thundershirt.com). It is a tightly wrapped tee shirt fabric "shirt" for a dog that works on the premise that being hugged creates a sense of calm and security. The thundershirts have velcro closures and I have seen them work wonders for anxious dogs.


----------



## billsharp (May 3, 2011)

Great move to rescue this dog. Love the positive report and vibes you are getting from her.

Not to be a Debby Downer, but I am concerned about your degree of trust placed in a dog who was chained outside for 3 years, and you've only had for 3 weeks, around your children. I assume you are supervising closely ALL contact between them. I don't want to see a post from you after a tragic event saying "she had been so good with them up till now--I don't understand how this happened." 

Again, great news about her and it sounds like a match made in Heaven--just please take it slowly and cautiously with the kiddos, ok?


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

billsharp said:


> Great move to rescue this dog. Love the positive report and vibes you are getting from her.
> 
> Not to be a Debby Downer, but I am concerned about your degree of trust placed in a dog who was chained outside for 3 years, and you've only had for 3 weeks, around your children. I assume you are supervising closely ALL contact between them. I don't want to see a post from you after a tragic event saying "she had been so good with them up till now--I don't understand how this happened."
> 
> Again, great news about her and it sounds like a match made in Heaven--just please take it slowly and cautiously with the kiddos, ok?


Aww thanks so much. I totally understand and am ALWAYS ALWAYS around when the kids are with her. I know how fast things can happen.


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

WVGSD said:


> If your dog did well with a weighted blanket during a storm, I would recommend a thundershirt (www.thundershirt.com). It is a tightly wrapped tee shirt fabric "shirt" for a dog that works on the premise that being hugged creates a sense of calm and security. The thundershirts have velcro closures and I have seen them work wonders for anxious dogs.


That is funny you mentioned that. after last night my mom ordered her one today! I will let you know how it goes


----------



## clearcreekranch (Mar 18, 2010)

If it were me, I would not ever, ever put that chain on her again. Might cause more problems.....


----------



## LuvShepherds (May 27, 2012)

In my experience, rescued dogs that haven't had much positive human interaction tend to bond quickly with their new owners and can be very protective of themselves and their owners. They see strangers as people who want to take them from their new family. I don't told let strangers touch my dogs, ever, unless my dog gives me the signal that it's OK. I have a reactive dog, and it's just asking for trouble to let strangers near. Instead, I keep treats and toys with me and I watch the dog. If he looks calm and accepting, his ears are alert, his tail is wagging in a happy way, I'll let him approach the person who is holding one of my toys or a treat, and let them give the item to him. I've figured out what calms him down (water, for one thing), so I might give a guest a water spray bottle. For some reason, he is calm around a sprayer, even if it's never used. If you can find a few soothing items that your dog values more than protecting herself, once you are ready to socialize, try using those.

I never let my dog show aggression toward a person. If he does, he is immediately isolated from all of us for a time out period. It's worked well so far, but it's always a challenge. I can never be completely sure he won't go off on someone, so I always stay alert but calm in strange situations. He's also gone after people he knows if they move quickly or try to take something he wants, so a lot of what we do is management.


----------



## x0emiroxy0x (Nov 29, 2010)

The best way to socialize a fearful dog is to let it watch the thing that it fears from DISTANCE and slowly decrease the distance.

My GSD was fearful of strangers. So scared he wouldn't take a treat from them. We went to either Petsmart or the river EVERY DAY for 15-30 minutes.

We started out going when it was less crowded. At Petsmart we would sit on a bench in the back and I did no training. Rocky was just able to watch people. At the river we sat about 70 yards from everyone and did the same.

After about 2 1/2 weeks of just watching, I started incorporating training. If Rocky looked at someone walking by then looked away and ignored them, he got a treat. If he focused on them and would not look away, I ignored *him* and let him see that these people would not hurt him.

Eventually it got to the point where he could lay down the whole 15 minutes and people could walk by without him getting up. (If they are nervous they will stand up, ready to run)

Then we progressed to walking down aisles that people were on and ignoring them. Treat for ignoring them. Then we progressed to asking petsmart associates to give him treats (*THIS IS KEY! Do not ask random people in the store to do it, because 99% of them think they are the dog whisperer and will pet your dog even if you ask them not to, and will say sit 80 times instead of once).* 

Once he was perfect with employees, we let him take treats from the regular people in the store.


****the most important thing in petsmart is to look as UNAPPROACHABLE as possible in the beginning. You don't want people walking up to the fearful dog in the first 2-3 weeks. You want them to ignore him so that he does not see them look at him and get scared. I made a vest for rocky that said IN TRAINING DO NOT PET. If someone starts to walk up to you, immediately put your hand up in a stop gesture and say "I have a fearful dog in training. Could you not approach us". It sounds rude, but other people, as I said, think they are the dog expert and will try to mess with your dog.


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

x0emiroxy0x said:


> The best way to socialize a fearful dog is to let it watch the thing that it fears from DISTANCE and slowly decrease the distance.
> 
> My GSD was fearful of strangers. So scared he wouldn't take a treat from them. We went to either Petsmart or the river EVERY DAY for 15-30 minutes.
> 
> ...


OMG I love the vest idea!!!! My mom sews so I will have her make one!!! AWESOME


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

clearcreekranch said:


> If it were me, I would not ever, ever put that chain on her again. Might cause more problems.....


good point. say goodye to the towchain!


----------



## huntergreen (Jun 28, 2012)

what a great thing you are doing for this gsd, and lessons you are teaching your young children. as stated slow and easy around your children though. get rid of the chain, might not want to put dog outside alone anymore either. a sit/stay would be more useful when doing housework as would be some crate training.


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

My two big babies! So glad they get along as well as they do.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Beautiful dogs! You might want to get a crate for her so she has a safe place of her own when people are over or she gets anxious. You're doing a good thing


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

Stosh said:


> Beautiful dogs! You might want to get a crate for her so she has a safe place of her own when people are over or she gets anxious. You're doing a good thing


Thanks so much! 
Actually we have a big crate from my Collie. He does not need to be in there anymore. She goes in with no prblem but I only put her in there when we go out. I was told she gets in trouble when left alone in the house. 

but the safe place is a fantastic idea!


----------



## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

jitterbug said:


> Aww thanks so much. I totally understand and am ALWAYS ALWAYS around when the kids are with her. I know how fast things can happen.


I didn't want to be a Debbie Downer either but I totally agreed. But seeing your reply sets my mind at ease. How lucky this dog is to have you & your family.


----------



## Mac's Mom (Jun 7, 2010)

jitterbug said:


> My two big babies! So glad they get along as well as they do.


They are both very beautiful. I'm glad they get along so well. My only advice is to watch them carefully. My second dog, Bart, was an outside dog on a chain as well. He became very attached to us quickly, like you mentioned yours has. And he seemed to get along with Mac very well. But Bart had resource guarding issues with us & food that lead to some marking and fights. Not saying that will happen with you, just something to watch out for.


----------



## jitterbug (Jul 27, 2012)

I just wanted to stop in so you all didn't think I left ya! LOL 

Well....We are doing much better since I have given her some time to readjust and just keep her inside or to go on our walks. She has even let my dad take her and walk her and she HATED HIM!! They now play catch and she lets him pet her.

I did however find out through snooping that she is not almost 3 but is only about 18 months. So that was interesting.

We are waiting for our thumder shirt so I will let you all know how that goes!

Thanks for all the advice ((hugs))


----------

