accidental rescue - Page 1

Although I am a GSD owner/lover, I have a question about Great Danes. Went to that portion of this sight but nothing much there. I have (in addition to my beloved GSD) two Grt Danes about 2.5 yrs old. Yesterday, a woman I am not familiar with came to our house with a GT Dane pup born Feb 3, 2013. The dog has ACK registration, and she had the shot record from a reputable vet. She said she came to our house because she had seen our danes as she passed by several times and wanted the dog to have a good home. She said if we did not take her she would have no choice but to "let her loose", so obviously we did. I sort of isolated her from my dogs until I could verify the shots etc, then we checked her over. I called the vet on the records and they said they dog was in good health etc when they did the examine & shots on June 6. The woman said her husband was abusing the dog etc so she had to find it a home immediately. Said she had tried to sell the dog but no luck. She literally gave us the dog (a beautiful little Mantle), papers and all. Here is my question:
She said the husband was physically abusing the dog & that she was very shy & timid because of it. Once she left, we realized the dog has no problems with males (my son & husband she warmed right up to) The dog's issue is with me. She will not come to me, nor will she allow me to pet or touch her in any way. She ducks her head when my hands move. She will only allow me to touch her if she is in my husbands lap. She is terrified of me. I suspect the abuse may not have come from the husband. The lady said she left the dog inside all day every day, then got upset because the dog was relieving itself in the house and was chewing things us. We have only had her for two days but have experienced none of that. She hasn't chewed anything up and had only one "accident" in the house. My response was to simply mop it up, then my husband and I together took her outside to the yard for about half and hour. My big danes have taken her into their hearts already, and my GSD sniffed her, then seemed bored with the whole situation. I need suggestions on how to get her to understand she will not be abused by me. I am being patient  , speaking to her in a calm and quiet voice, and allowing her to approach me on her own terms. Is this the right path, or is there something else I can do? She is already so attached to my husband she whines when he leaves the room and will stay as far from me as possible. Can anyone help or suggest? Thanks for any advice or insight offered.
Deborah

Texasdeb: WOW

I think you have it right, the abuse came from the woman. So, now you have to suspect her whole story. If the husband's name is on any of the paperwork, it might be worth your while to try to contact him directly. It occurred to me, he might not "know" his dog was given away, and instead was told some other story.

I think all you can do at this point is be very patient with your new dog for the immediate time. After some time when she's really comfortable in her surroundings, I think you can get her to a better place with you, and really what sounds like ... women in particular. Doing the hand feeding will probably help with building trust and her accepting dependence on you, but I think you don't want to rush her. Thank goodness she ended up with you, that is a blessing, no matter what is her story. It was meant to be.   

I have rescued many different breeds over the years.  Many of them have been abused to different degrees.  Ultimately many factors to take into consideration.  The dog's individual personality, the degree of abuse and your personality.  Time and love are always going to be the big factor.  I had one that used to just scream when ever anyone walked up.  That one was extreme and so I basically had to force the dog to accept attention till he got used to the fact that hugging and petting were something that was not going to hurt him.  He actually got used to it rather fast.  And I had one of the most loyal velcro dogs a person could have.  When I was home he had to not just be next to me but had to be in contact in some fashion.  Don't give up.

I agree i think the abuser was the dog's dumper. Lucky dog she's got you now. So here's the plan. Your husband and son ignore the dog. No laps, no handouts nothing. They remain neutral. You feed her, offer her treats. Talk nice to her and don't try to pet her right away. And if you do need to touch her do it slowly and from below instead of from above. She's going to take some time to warm up to you. Just be fair and be her link to the better life.
I had the same problem with an american bulldog i got from the pound. He didn't like my dad. So my dad fed him, gave him treats, walked him and in a few days he was looking for my dad to give him dinner and take him out.
I later adopted that dog to a man, and it was men he didn't like before. So i can me fixed.
Best of luck and take your time.
Fry

Thanks to all of you for the rapid responses and the sensible advice. I have been investigating as much as possible. Seems the husband is in jail and appears quite a serious charge. Didn't find out much but was able to locate the vet who gave the original shots. The name on the paperwork for the vet was not the same name the woman gave me but the description fit. So far, we have approached her with calm and gentleness. She has quickly attached herself to my male dane who is about 2.5 yrs old and he is sort of "parenting" her. I am trying to give her some latitude, but when she is around I talk to her, try to use a soothing voice, and do not force myself on her. We have lots of patience in our house as we have rescued many. We have a deaf albino dane, a blind cat, a Siberian husky who is vision impaired, we are a patient household LOL Thanks to all, we will try your suggestions and keep you posted. Thank the Lord for this forum!

In addition to Dragonfry's advice, I would also limit the contact the pup has with the other dogs. It may speed up the bonding process with you. If the pup bonds with your other dog(s), she has less of a reason to "need " you :)  Good luck and thanks for rescuing the poor baby.

I would do as Dragonfry suggested. Ignoring her (no eye contact) will make her feel less intimidated. Almost as if she was invisible. Eventually she will see the other dogs get attention and realize that its ok to get some attn as well. BUT she still needs to follow the rules of the house while she is in this invisible stage. I mention this because many times we humans try so hard we let rules slip while we are trying to make friends. When rules are enforced, sometimes the dog slips back into that fear stage.

I usually ignore rescues for the first week or so. They come around when they are ready.

This morning I was greeted by my GSD in his usual manner. He rolls over on his back and makes his little noises, which means please sit down here and rub my belly. I got down with him, and we were playing a little, I rubbed his belly, he gave me kisses, and all the while the Dane pup was watching. She came closer to me than she has so far, and I ignored her but started talking to Gunther in a calm voice. You know, saying I love you and giving lots of hugs and pets. She actually got within touching distance but rather tense, ready to run if I made a move. I didn't. I just loved on Gun, let her see how happy he was with my attention then got up and went to sit down. She is watching me now, intently but still nervous.  Patience, this baby needs patience. I am so appreciative of all the input and am certainly using a lot of the advice. Y'all seem to have a "working plan" for this girl and it is a good one as she is very slowly coming around. Will keep you posted. Thanks again