Hey there,

First time poster! I am calling on anyone who has experience with extremely fearful dogs and may have some techniques that worked for you. About 5 weeks ago I got a foster dog that I am to rehabilitate and adopt out. She is 3 years old and was a street dog in Taiwan for the the first 2 years of her life, and then spent a year in an overcrowded shelter there. She was with another foster family for 1 month before I got her but was so scared that she hid under the bookshelf for the entire month. She has come a long way since I got her but is still not anywhere near where I would like her to be. At the moment she is...

-Trusting of me, she will come when I call her, looks for attention, will let me approach her but is becoming very very dependent on me. I would really like to see a bit more trust in others..after all she is a foster.
-Very afraid of every other person(she will try to run and if leashed will tremble and cower).
-She is very good with my dog (Stevie is a confident and calm influence on her and has been a lifesaver throughout this) but will cower if any other dog approaches and if they are close to her size(30lbs)she will snap.
-Is afraid of loud noises, anything that moves,even the chickens scare the crap out of her.

I'm sure you are getting the picture...

This is what I have been doing so far:
-Taking her for 2 walks a day (early morning and dusk) at the quieter times of day so as not to overload her.
-Asking that no one pet, or talk to her until she has gotten a chance to be around them and no longer shakes around them
-Offering treats in situations that I'm trying to get her used to(people,walks,other animals) although more often than not she will not take them.
-Introduce her to the things that scare her in very small increments (a park with 1 kid playing from 100ft away instead of a mid day playground)
-Closing all the doors in the house and putting her bed in the living room so she can be around day to day activities without running and hiding.
-I tethered her to me for a full when I got her
-Asking people that come around regularly to offer her treats.

I'm confident that one day she will be adoptable, but feel that I would be doing her a huge injustice if I adopted her out the way that she is(I doubt anyone would take her on at this point anyways).

Can anyone offer some suggestions as to how I can get her to trust others? I feel like I may have bitten off more than I can chew but seeing her at home with just her and I she acts just like any other dog. Her tail is always wagging and she follows me around looking to play. I see potential in her and I'm not going to give up easily!

Thanks in Advance. I will check out some other threads and hope to be able to help some of you out as well.

First time poster! I am calling on anyone who has experience with extremely fearful dogs and may have some techniques that worked for you.

Welcome. I’m no expert but I do have some experience with extremely fearful dogs.

About 5 weeks ago I got a foster dog that I am to rehabilitate and adopt out.

Have you ever rehabilitated a dog like this before?

She is 3 years old and was a street dog in Taiwan for the the first 2 years of her life, and then spent a year in an overcrowded shelter there. She was with another foster family for 1 month before I got her but was so scared that she hid under the bookshelf for the entire month.

She has lived her life in terror, fending for herself (aggressive dogs, apathetic people) on the streets of Taiwan only to come to Canada to be forced to hide under a bookshelf for four long, agonizing weeks, trying to get some semblance of security from the terror of the new surroundings. No relief from the fear.

She has come a long way since I got her but is still not anywhere near where I would like her to be. At the moment she is...

Again, I must ask, have you ever worked with a dog like this before? Rehabilitation isn’t actually the term I’d use. It’s very rare that a dog like this is ever truly rehabilitated. The actual fear and anticipation of it (anxiety) have become so ingrained; they must learn to “live” all over again. SLOWLY, through desensitization, in all potential situations, they can be taught to live in a more trusting, peaceful state of mind.

Five weeks now with YOU is a mere introduction for her - to YOU and YOUR lifestyle. Her fear has not been given a chance to subside – from the sound of it, not for one day let alone the weeks it takes to have them understand and feel what “living without fear” can feel like, in order to change the state of mind.

-Trusting of me, she will come when I call her, looks for attention, will let me approach her but is becoming very very dependent on me. I would really like to see a bit more trust in others..after all she is a foster.

You are teaching her to trust you to what end? To have her trust shattered, uprooted and placed in an entire new set of circumstances that will start out, once again, under a bookshelf. How much time and energy are you willing to put into this? After all, she is only a foster.

-Very afraid of every other person(she will try to run and if leashed will tremble and cower).

You are moving far too fast for this girl. You know she is afraid of people, why are you forcing her into these interactions? She’s terrified. Additional terror is only making it worse. I’m surprised she trusts you at all.

-She is very good with my dog (Stevie is a confident and calm influence on her and has been a lifesaver throughout this) but will cower if any other dog approaches and if they are close to her size(30lbs)she will snap.

Balanced dogs are a wonderful thing to behold, for humans and other canines; and if your foster was to live the rest of her life, SOLEY with Stevie, I’m sure he’d do a wonderful job bringing her over to the light side. However, this is not reality. He’s probably doing a great job keeping her out from under a potential bookcase; but it’s only a matter of time before her continual state of anxiety starts to wear on him as well. It works both ways.

As well, she has shown you that she is willing to defend herself with a “snap” to dogs that are close to her size – keep introducing her to humans in a panicked state and it won’t be long before she snaps at a 30 lb child.

-Is afraid of loud noises, anything that moves,even the chickens scare the crap out of her.

This dog is living in a panicked state. What do you do when “the crap is being scared out of her”?

I'm sure you are getting the picture...

Yes, unfortunately, I believe I am.

This is what I have been doing so far:
-Taking her for 2 walks a day (early morning and dusk) at the quieter times of day so as not to overload her.

How does she like/dislike the walks? Generally, at this early stage, this dog is expending so much energy living in fear; I wouldn’t be taking her outside of her immediate surrounding until she’s settled, living peacefully and anxiety free in the home environment.

You have chickens that she must come to terms with and fun marker training that could be started. Have you found out yet what, if anything at this point, possibly motivates a fun, relaxed side to her?

-Asking that no one pet, or talk to her until she has gotten a chance to be around them and no longer shakes around them

If she is shaking around people, you need to be pro-active and remove her. Is she crate trained or just bookshelf savvy? You must act immediately to put her at ease. This is where true trust gets built.

-Offering treats in situations that I'm trying to get her used to(people,walks,other animals) although more often than not she will not take them.


A dog that is panicking will not take food, nor should it be offered. You are only attempting to reward the panic and reinforcing the fear. Remove her from the situation (and please don’t put her in those situations) when she stops shaking, offer her a treat. The relaxed state of mind is what you want to reward.

-Introduce her to the things that scare her in very small increments (a park with 1 kid playing from 100ft away instead of a mid day playground)

“Introduce her to things that scare her”… again perpetuating the fear. This is like putting you in a forest and only having one wolf run at you instead of the entire pack. You don’t go into the woods until your fully prepared to defend yourself, physically and more important, mentally and emotionally.

-Closing all the doors in the house and putting her bed in the living room so she can be around day to day activities without running and hiding.

She has no escape or safe place. She’s being forced to endure hustle and bustle that she has no understanding of. People (which scare her) are around and she’s expected to lie calmly on a bed in the middle of the living room? Again… do you have crate – a den that she can call her own and feel secure in while she is able to observe how the household operates?
-I tethered her to me for a full when I got her

I’m not sure how long this is or what you were doing while she was tethered to you. I can’t help but think you may have been feeding chickens and running loud household appliances. Again, possibly forcing her to live in this state of fear and while attempting to bond and build some sort of trusting relationship.

-Asking people that come around regularly to offer her treats.

Again, she is not ready to meet new people yet. Work on your bond with her and her complete trust in you. Once you have this, the slow process of desensitization can start.

I'm confident that one day she will be adoptable, but feel that I would be doing her a huge injustice if I adopted her out the way that she is(I doubt anyone would take her on at this point anyways).

Taming the fear to a state where she will start to feel comfortable in her own skin can take a lifetime of work with these dogs. The fact that you are trying to hurry through some process in not doing this dog any favors, if not making things worse.

You need to understand the work if you’re going to make a difference. And I truly believe, once the work begins with dogs that are this fearful, the dog should never be re-homed again. It violates everything she has learned to trust, respect and expect.

Can anyone offer some suggestions as to how I can get her to trust others? I feel like I may have bitten off more than I can chew but seeing her at home with just her and I she acts just like any other dog. Her tail is always wagging and she follows me around looking to play. I see potential in her and I'm not going to give up easily!

The beautiful tail wagging and play behavior is her, teaching you, what she needs. She is showing you that being alone with you, in a calm state, not forced to react to fear based situations, is what she needs right now. There is a cute little soul that wants to emerge, but the further you go down the fear path, the less you will see of this.

If you’re not planning on keeping this dog, I would try and find a new home as soon as possible. These dogs generally don’t do well with children. An ideal home would be an understanding older couple with nothing but time on their hands a good behaviorist on speed dial or someone who knows what they are dealing with.

If you do decide to keep her, stick around, there are some incredible people on this site that can help you help her.

Thanks in Advance. I will check out some other threads and hope to be able to help some of you out as well.

Specifically, look through the desensitization threads; however, and of course this is my opinion only, she is not ready to start this work yet. Let her live fear free for at least a month, no pressure just fun games and great treats.


This response probably sounds quite sharp and I’m sorry if it’s offended you in any way. I believe your heart is in the right place but perhaps the dog is not. It was solely intended for relief of pain in an already traumatized dog.

Good luck with her, I hope she finds peace.

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HUGE ditto to the whole post, and particularly this recap:

Specifically, look through the desensitization threads; however, and of course this is my opinion only, she is not ready to start this work yet. Let her live fear free for at least a month, no pressure just fun games and great treats.

And no one who takes on these damaged guys will be upset at straight talk, CJ. That's why she's here.

I am with CJ that this is not going to be an easy fix and you should either decide to keep her forever or find someone to take her that will. Fostering her will make progress with you and her and then rehoming her will destroy your work and her trust and the new home will be at square one.

I have dealt with Border Collies, GSDs and mixes that were fearful and distrusting but nowhere near as socially isolated as your dog. So I am saying....easier.
I could straighten them around and as soon as they rehomed them they regressed to a point of needing more work. I learned fast to either decide to keep them or find them someone capable and wanting another dog.

CJ outlined it much better but my short version.....

Treats is a waste and distraction she is too stressed to register this as anything but torture.

There is no rule that says this dog should accept people. Forcing it is not socializing it is stressing her. She needs a home, rehabing her, unless it is all training issues (like chasing cars and stealing food) as it often is with fosters, is a long slow work. Hence the suggestion that you choose to keep her or rehome her now.

First off, thank you for your HONEST and unbiased suggestions. Your suggestions are almost the polar opposite of the input I've received from the foster manager(FYI:I did not listen)and I am very thankful for that. Secondly, I think I may not have detailed well enough the situation and steps taken.

To answer some of your questions, in no particular order;

How we got into this situation
No, I have never had experience with a dog quite like this. The foster coordinator dropped this dog off with me because I have experience with a "somewhat fearful", depressed and nearly shut down dog . This is not the same at all and I was given ZERO information on this dog before it was dropped at my house. The only thing I was told was that all the dogs that come from this particular shelter are very well socialized due to the close living quarters and amount of interaction with other dogs. Clearly, this is not the case. I did not seek this out nor do I consider myself an expert in this field. This is the situation I find myself in and I am trying to do the best I possibly can for this dog. I am extremely dedicated to this dog and given the short amount of time I feel that I have brought her quite a way. I am beginning to understand that a dog like this may never be "rehabilitated" but my hopes for her are that she can live a happy life and be comfortable in the situations that she is bound to encounter unless she lives a life in absolute solitude(not a fair option). I understand that getting Tawny comfortable with me and then sending her on her way may sound quite harsh and may be upsetting for some. Although I am fostering through an organization, I get final say on who's to adopt her and at the time being she is adoptable ONLY to someone who is capable and has experience. Unfortunately, these people are few and far between around here and the balanced dogs are much easier to find homes for. If ever she were to go to a home with a more "capable" person and began to regress I would take her back and call her my own in a heartbeat. I do not have a dead line and am willing to keep her as long as I have to, even if it's forever but would like the opportunity to help more dogs. If I keep Tawny, I am helping one dog. If I am able to help her enough that she will do well in a quiet, loving home then I will be able to take on the next dog(given that more information is provided beforehand). That being said, I would never put Tawny in another home unless I was 100% comfortable and confident that she would be better off with them. I am also aware that I may just have a new member of the family.

On walks

As far as walks go..Tawny gets very excited when the leash comes out(jumps up on me and wags her tail violently) and she definitely has the energy to burn. We play “tag” in the backyard and I’ve never seen a dog run and jump as high and as fast as this girl. As mentioned, I take her out at the quietest times of day when the chance of running into scary things is quite low. We usually run into one or 2 regular walkers and many times no one at all. Since I’ve had a chance to talk to these people quite a few times they each know not to try to pet her and to basically ignore her so walks are getting less and less stressful. The dog walkers in my area have been extremely accommodating. On our walks Tawny loves sniffing around and exploring. If I didn’t see any enjoyment, I certainly wouldn’t be taking her. I often jog with her, it seems as though the quick pace keeps her mind off of things and her tails goes right up instead of between her legs and she is much less apprehensive. I give her many treats when we stop for a sit down . We don’t ALWAYS run into things that scare her. She will now take treats from an elderly man that we run into regularly(she chews them and spits them out. I guess they’re not tasty enough). I definitely see the error in me trying to reward her in an anxious state. This makes sense! I was trying to make the situation more enjoyable, not reward fear…I truly appreciate this bit of advice.

In the home

To clarify. Tawny is truly comfortable with me at home. She acts just like any other dog. She is peppy, playful and affectionate. She will even roughhouse and play tag with me. I think the fact that I can chase her around and she wags her tail and comes back for more was what made me believe that we are at a point of trust. I work from home and there is no one here except me and the animals from 6am-6pm. The day to day life that I’m trying to get her used to is the phone ringing, the tv or radio being on, someone knocking on the door and she is doing great with these things. When I do have company over, I let her go to her safe place(bed and teddy in my office)She is not crate trained, I was told that she will cry and rip frantically if crated. the office is far enough away that she feels safe but close enough that she can still hear what’s going on. I do not FORCE her to sit in the living room when we have company. This couple I speak of has been around her a lot and she is comfortable enough that she will walk in and lay on the bed. Although I close off her hiding place and the bedroom, there are many other places to hide and this is the space she chooses and will curl up behind Stevie and sleep. After someone has come to the house a few times Tawny starts to peak out into the room we are in. When she becomes curious, we lure her in with tasty treats. I’ve been allowing people to pat her head while she’s accepting the treats as long as her tail is not tucked up. Although she will not look towards any of these people for attention or play and they will not be able to approach her I thought the fact that she is keeping an eye on them in search of treats was OK. There are currently 4 people that she will accept treats from with a bit of coaxing. I felt as though I was on the right track in this department but could probably dial it back a bit and maybe just concentrate on getting her used to one thing at a time.

When Tawny is afraid

When Tawny is very scared by something, I will remove her or the thing that scares her whenever possible. The chickens get cooped every 2 hours so I can take Tawny outside. If something happens (a vehicle goes by or a dog or a kid etc.) and it is unavoidable I will just ooze as much confidence as possible and keep us moving along. I bought some chicken giblets I plan on frying up and giving to her once she has calmed down from the incident. (again… thank you)

On tethering

When Tawny was tethered to me for a week, I wasn’t doing a whole lot and truth be told it worked very well. I can’t emphasize enough how quiet and relaxed my house is during the day. Basically all I did was take her with me to the living room if I were to fold laundry, or to the office if I was doing paperwork etc. I did not make her endure loud noises like vacuums or weed-wackers nor did I take her with me to run errands. I wanted her to get used to being around me and to realize that I was not a threat. During this time I basically ignored her until she reached out to me.

Just to clarify..It’s not my intention to hurry Tawny. I'm looking for knowledge so I can do things RIGHT not fast.

Tawny truly has come a very long way in the short 5 weeks that I have had her and I look forward to working with her as long as is needed even if it means forever, although that is not my intention I am aware that it is a possibility and please don't read into the phrase "only a foster" too deeply, I do truly care about this dog.

Thanks to everyone for your responses. You've given me a lot to work with and also a lot to think about.

An overcrowded shelter in Taiwan is certainly not a place I would view as a socialization center. Possibly quite the opposite but that’s neither here nor there. She is here with you now.

And I don’t believe that anyone here, myself included, feels that fostering and re-homing dogs is, in any way, harsh or upsetting. Again, quite the opposite, these dogs generally find incredible homes and get a new start on a great life, benefiting tremendously from the interim placement. I commend these folks and have also fostered dogs in the past.

As you stated – “she is trusting me but becoming very, very dependent on me”. This is not equipping her with the skills she needs in order to cope with a new home – hence, you are getting her to trust you to what end??

Extremely fearful dog needs to have positive and undaunted interactions at every turn. I’m glad you are here looking for help with this.

Her transition to a new home needs to carry on what you’ve started, not send her back to square one. She may never encounter the old man in the park again; however, she will be placed in a home environment (noises, people moving around, etc). How will she best cope with that? Proper crate training can be transferred with instructions and have her at peace, or at least feeling somewhat secure, anywhere. I think this is probably the best thing you can teach her at this point.

Also, there are many dogs that don’t take well to being petted and live somewhat as loners (as do some people), bonded only to one or two others. They are extremely happy and well-adjusted/socialized because their owners know what they need, instead of how society or some foster organization perceives all dogs should be.

I have three now that came from unfavorable situations (who are the absolute loves of my life). Would I like to save 10 more, absolutely, but that’s just not feasible right now. I believe, as do most, in the best quality of life I can offer – quantity, unfortunately, is what brings tears to our eyes in the overcrowded shelters. I do the absolute best I can for every soul that I allow to enter my life (and it is always our choice – not theirs). Often this means a very thorough assessment in reality.

All I’m saying is that if you truly want to help this dog (she is small and probably very cute – pictures are always welcome here by the way!!) step back and look at the constants that will be entering her life. Start slow, very slow and allow her to live without fear. This will go a lot further than trying to expose her to a bunch of different scenarios that are currently putting pressure on her and she may never encounter again.

When she does get introduced to that special someone, they may be a bit of a hermit themselves, perhaps not – this we never know, but she will come with a set of instructions that have produced positive results – not a list of fear based exposures and things that “scare the crap out of her”.

This post is far too long already and I’m sure others will chime in but as far as her taking and spitting out treats, again we need to be careful what we are training. A dog knows very quickly if they want to eat something or not and generally aren’t that picky. She is just going through the motion, in an anxious state, because she knows it’s what you want her to do - when they shove food at me, I open my mouth, the humans are happy and they stop bugging me – nothing says I have to eat it. Steak or liver would probably have this same reaction – a dog will not eat (swallow food) in an anxious state. Set the rewards up for success and have it mean something. You shouldn’t have to “coax” her to take a treat – this is not reinforcing anything other than take the treat and the human goes away. You should be the only one rewarding her at this point; she doesn’t need to be forced to take treats from everyone she meets. This also may create unwanted behaviors in the future for you or the new owner, when she successfully comes to terms with the fear issues.

Again, I’m glad you’re here. If you have specific questions, we’d be more than happy to help out.

Thanks CJ. I definitely see your point on all counts. I guess for now I'll try applying a bit more focus on the the things that she already enjoys rather than asking her to enjoy the things that I feel she should as a "normal" dog. I'm going to rethink my tact a bit but as I'm not sure when(could be quite some time)her perfect home will show up I'll try and keep a slow and steady pace going. I've looked at a lot of info on crate training and I think I'll start prepping her for that too. I think I'm calling too much on past experiences at the moment that aren't really relevant to this situation. Thanks for giving me a new outlook on the situation.

Here are a few links to some photos. They're large so I won't put them right in the message.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52855248@N07/

And yes she is small and cute...for a rippling ball of muscle..