How's this for sad?

I was talking to a client today about their dog and how very not socialized it is. We can't touch him or leash him, so it's a very good thing that he follows, otherwise we'd have some serious problems taking him outside three times a day. Turns out that they acquired the dog when it was probably around 4 weeks old because the people who had the mother were tossing the puppies over the back fence into the woods. Before that however, the mother was being starved while nursing the puppies and this particular dog was the 'runt' of the litter and getting shoved aside by the bigger puppies. I think she said only 2 or 3 of that litter survived...this dog, one it's brothers that is owned by a different neighbor and one other. The mother died shortly after this dog was taken in by the clients.

It also doesn't help that he's almost 2 and not neutered and the current owners are afraid to socialize him too much because of how leash aggressive he is towards children. Supposedly he's a black lab/golden retriever mix, but he looks more rott/lab/golden to me. He's got the black and tan markings for it anyway. He's being boarded with us for almost two month, so I hope he continues to warm up to me. I played with him while his mom was talking to me, so hopefully he got more of the idea that I'm okay.

How sad. People are so cruel. You know he has head problems being taken away from his mother and litter mates at such an early age plus the people isolating him. Good luck working with him. If you have 2 months some headway can be made with you working with him if you are able. He will probably never be 100% normal but he can learn to be social if the owner would take the time. If he is not kid friendly then you know keep him away from them. It is good of you to be concerned to try and give him a more normal life. Good luck and keep us posted on his progress. Being in a boarding kennel may help him seeing other dogs too. Too bad he's not neutored.

if he has the eye points i think you are right.. a lab/golden wouldn't have those. Mean people suck. Glad your there for him.

Well, I did get him to let me really pet him today, instead of just trailing my hand along his side as he walked past, so that's good news. His owner said she's getting him neutered as soon as they get settled into their new place, whenever that will be. He's going to be my project, since the busy season is done with and I'll have some extra time.

At 4 weeks of age the new owners had plenty of time to mold the pup into a well socialized adult dog. The critical period of socialization ends at around 16 weeks of age...too bad for this puppy it ended up in an uneducated owners home Even some guardian dogs are taken away from the mother dog early so it can develop a bond with the sheep.
What these new owners need to do is first get the dog casterated and then get the help of a professional animal behaviorist who is going to work with dog and owner.
I have living proof at home that an unsocialized adult dog can come around beautifully. My Rottweiler, owned by a person who was in jail, left tied in a backyard, and fed by 2 drunks down the road by leaving a bag of food for this poor chained dog with no shelter. She had never seen anything other than what the backyard allowed and was never socialized and never on a walk, in a house etc. She was almost a year old when I took her in (the SPCA had confiscated-thank goodness for neighbors who finally came forward and called), and with the help of an animal behaviorist and my Newfoundland dogs (to set a good example) we made her into a perfect dog. yes, she also lunged at every thing that walked by us, she also attacked myself and my Sister twice (due to predatory drift). They can over come this, but, they need professional help with a behaviorist who practices positive training only.

Yeah, it sounds like the lady has a good heart and intentions but without the necessary knowledge. After all, she tried to keep this dog in an apartment with a 25 pounds weight limit...I'll see if I can't find some numbers for her to call regarding a trainer...she does want what's best for the dog and was willing to listen to me when I told her that her coming by everyday while the dog is being boarded will only confuse it and impede any progress we might make between the pet guardians and this dog. She'll be taking him home for the weekends anyway, so I said she needs to stick with that plan, but she's free to call us whenever she wants to for an update.

Meanwhile, if any of you can give me some tips on how to warm this dog up to me, they would be much appreciated. He won't take food or treats from a stranger, which is good in most cases, but is just frustrating here. I do have his favorite toy though.

One thing you need to do is figure out if the dog is fearful or offensive. With my Tottweiler she was offensive, in some ways this is easier to get over than a dog that is fearful. A fearful dog you need to teach them that every thing out there is not going to eat them. I have a fearful Newf (genetically fearful as she was with mom and brother and sisters til about 10 weeks, stayed with breeder and other dogs for 2 years went to shows was obedience trialed etc.) Anyway, with her she has her comfort zone...used to be her crate or the breeders kennel...now, it's my Sister's room. For her, she will shy and freak out if we even move a plant in the house. What we do, is first we don't over react by coddling her and enforcing the fear. When you rush over and talk gently and try to encourage the dog this tells the dog that yes it should be afraid as my friend/owner is telling me so. A fearful dog needs confident people and to work on building the dogs confidence with different games like tug of war etc. Obedience works great, and the NIFIL policy also gives a fearful non confident dog some rules that makes them feel comfortable.