Hi trainers!

I have a 9 month old male, neutered, Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog rescue. He weighs a little over 60 lbs. Here is what background I know on him: He and 2 of his littermates were kept (probably tied) in their owner's back yard. They got very little socialisation from what I can tell. They were turned in to a shelter at the age of 8 months, they were emaciated. The littermates were adopted and my pup, Rusty, was pulled by a rescue. I am currently fostering him until he can get a permanent home.

Rusty is a gentleman of a pup, but he does need some work. He loves to play with my female Catahoula/Lab mix and likes people. I have one cat that he has a friendly disinterest in. I live alone but my boyfriend is a very frequent visitor.

He has a wire crate in the corner of the dining room, that I covered with a blanket. He is hand-fed his kibble twice a day, to help him learn that I am the leader. He walks very well on-leash and does not pull, and shows minimal interest in other dogs in their yard and people while we walk.

This dog though, is quite fearful. I suspect this is his first time in a house. He is NOT afraid of thunderstorms or fireworks, but he IS afraid of most everyday house noises like running water or appliances. His greatest fear is the garage door. On the second day I had him, I thoughtlessly opened it and he took off so hard he broke his collar. The garage is just behind my house, so whenever we go outside, I have to lead him on-leash past it in the widest detour possible when going to the yard. He will not voluntarily pass by the garage off-lead. However, once in the yard he does like to play and will become a goofy puppy.

With all his fear of noises, I am having a hard time gaining his attention for training. I want to teach him some basics like sit, down, and stay. He has a low food drive (sometimes takes the treat, sometimes not) and a low toy drive (will only chase the toy until it stops moving, or if the other dog has it.)

Our first training session went like this. Get the dog into the yard (a feat in itself: he doesn't leave his crate most of the time, unless leashed; hesitates at the stairs; and of course the evil garage). The reason I chose the yard is because of his fear of household noises would be a distraction. Once in the yard, the dog is still on leash, I try to get his attention: (Dog stands there, looking around). Rusty.. Rusty.. Hey! You! Look! I have coookiessss... wanna cookie? (Dog glances at me, then continues standing there, looking around). "Rusty! Sit!" (Dog doesn't even look at me) "Sit!" I push him into a sit, then give praise. He wags his tail and looks happy, then loses interest again. He is distracted by the following things in our 3 minute session: a bird, the neighbor closing his back door, the wind... etc.

My questions:

1. How can I get him interested in me if he doesn't like food that much? I've tried 4 different kinds of treats as well as his regular kibble. He also doesn't seem that interested in toys. Is it too soon to try training him?

2. How can I help him get over his fears? It's all I can do to get him out of his crate to go pee!

Sorry for the epic. Thanks for helping.

Did I miss how long you have had the dog?

Oops, sorry.. I tried to give so much background I forgot the important stuff! LOL

I've had him since May 15. (so about 2 1/2 weeks)

Angela ,
Hello,Just my opinion but 2.5 weeks isn't a whole lot of time, especially if the dog might have a questionable backround.Sounds like the dog needs a little more time to build his trust in you,then I would start exposing him to the things he fears slowly and reassure him when he gets spooked. I have 2 shepherds myself who are sound dogs, but even the 8 month old gets spooked by the vacuum.Just a thought,hope it helps.

Angela, check your PM's.

My coworker adopted one from Georgia about 2 months ago. He's now about 6 months old, most mello dog I've ever met in my life. Not very food motivated, listens when he wants, but he does love the cuz toy. He doesn't chase after much, but if it's running outside like a lizard, or ants, he goes after them. I think the low drive might be something in the breed.

I too have a rescue dog whom we believe was plopped in a back yard. He was very jumpy and fearful when I first got him also. I can tell you what we did to start getting over his fears. #1, we didn't really work on any kind of obedience for the first couple of weeks. We just spent time together and went on long walks (2 -3 miles). He was absolutely terrified of cars and trucks when I first got him and he wanted to kill all other dogs. After a few weeks of gently training (no more correction than him getting to the end of his pinch collar and getting a little pinch)and me just staying very calm and upbeat through everything until he started to realize that he didn't have anything to fear as long as mom was around. Pepper spraying a couple of mean dogs that came running up to us with hackles raised and snarling actually made me somewhat of a goddess <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />. You may just need to give him some time to adjust to having a good safe home. Now my boy can walk confidently through the city without a care in the world. Also, although I find them disgusting, I have yet to find a dog that did not think that hot dogs are some sort of nectar from the gods. My boy is not especially keen on food either, but I get those dogs out and he pay complete attention to everything I say. JMHO. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Kimi, I agree with the hot dogs. Little bits of those cheese cubes that people use for cocktail parties and that sort of thing or string cheese with a dog on an empty stomach is like magic to even the majority of dogs that aren't particularly food motivated. To the original poster, as others have said, he might need a bit more bonding time. You could probably start teaching him the big four (sit, stay, lie down, and come) but anything else you could probably hold off on just a little bit longer.

I'm posting to the food portion of this. Hints from others as to what their dogs love has helped me immensely so here goes...my GSD LOVES cooked chicken and cooked beef liver. They are fabulous to use when I want his undivided attention. My dog won't even look at raw chicken but when it's cooked, OMG; I think he'd sprout wings if I asked him to <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> . Same goes for the beef liver. I cook it on the grill, cut it up and use it for training.