I recently rescued a husky/german shepherd mix from the pound and have discovered some interesting behavior in her I've not encountered before. Luna is about a year and a half and has had a litter of puppies, though she has now been spayed. She is a joy to have, sweet and affectionate and quick to learn. My vet cannot confirm if she was previously owned or was born a stray, though she learned how to sit almost immediately, so I think it's likely she's had an owner before. I also believe she was abused, as she is excessively shy and submissive, afraid of loud noises and random, commonplace objects (if i have a shoe in my hand, she runs to her crate, but she will happily chew them to shreds if i leave them on the ground). Whenever I would reach out to pet her from above, she would urinate, though with attention, a quiet voice and lots of petting, that has been overcome. She is still fearful, though; so much so, she won't play with toys (tug of war or fetch) or chew rawhides, unless she is bored due to being crated while I'm at work (about 4 hrs a day). I take her to the dog park on a regular basis, where she is lively and obviously enjoys herself. But the only "playing" she'll do at home is "chase", where we run around in the back yard. How can I show Luna that her toys are hers and are there for fun, not to scare her? I've tried treats, peanut butter, leaving them all about so she has to pass them every where she goes... but she still ignores them 100% of the time when i am around and ducks submissively if i hold them out to her or pick them up. How can i get her to play with them, with me or by herself?
dog afraid of toys
- Thread starter allykat55
- Start date
we had a foster dog who was alot like this. Not quite as extreme though. She would not play with toys, however once we had her around my brother's dogs as well as my dog, she would see them running around our yard playing with each other, and toys, and she did begin to join in. It's a shame we couldn't adopt her, as she had alot of improvements. I don't know much about this subject but i do know other, well behaved dogs can be amazing teachers and could help her get interested in the toys.
Some dogs just don't care much for toys, just like not all humans like the same activities. It's possible that with some time and confidence-building exercises you could teach her to play with you with toys, but it's also possible that won't happen.
My dog isn't crazy about toys, but I taught her to fetch by teaching her to retrieve. (I used basically this method.) Since retrieveing got her so many treats and rewards when I was training it, she now loves it and does it just for fun; but then, we've been practicing for several years now. Anyway, it looks so much like she's playing fetch, I have a hard time convincing people that she was never toy motivated.
My dog isn't crazy about toys, but I taught her to fetch by teaching her to retrieve. (I used basically this method.) Since retrieveing got her so many treats and rewards when I was training it, she now loves it and does it just for fun; but then, we've been practicing for several years now. Anyway, it looks so much like she's playing fetch, I have a hard time convincing people that she was never toy motivated.
I don't know if you are aware, but the reactions you list can occur even without abuse. A shy dog or unsocialized dog or a dog not exposed to many experiences will be more fearful in general. Loud noises and commonplace objects are scary if an animal hasn't been exposed to them. Reaching over a dog is very scary to them but most dogs learn very young that it is ok for humans to do that. I still always recommend petting under the chin for a dog.
So . . . I am always hesitant about stating that a dog is abused. It could be genetically disposed that way. Or it could be that it wasn't exposed to lthose things.
So . . . I am always hesitant about stating that a dog is abused. It could be genetically disposed that way. Or it could be that it wasn't exposed to lthose things.
How do you react when she's acting afraid? Your responses to her actions are very important here.
For example: if she's acting afraid of the toy, and you're holding it out to her trying to encourage her to take it, you're only reinforcing that the toy actually is a scary thing. When we try to calm or "encourage" them when they're afraid, it's perceived by them as praise for their immediate action. She's not hearing "it's okay baby, just a toy, no need to be afraid", she's hearing, "oh, you're scared? That's right babe, be scared, atta girl, you're doing the right thing" because that's what your tone is telling her.
Once she stops being afraid, then praise and encourage and tell her what a strong, brave girl she was!
With a fearful dog, in my experience, if you're acting like something's wrong too, she's just going to have it reinforced. If there's nothing to be afraid of, act like there's nothing to be afraid of.
For example: if she's acting afraid of the toy, and you're holding it out to her trying to encourage her to take it, you're only reinforcing that the toy actually is a scary thing. When we try to calm or "encourage" them when they're afraid, it's perceived by them as praise for their immediate action. She's not hearing "it's okay baby, just a toy, no need to be afraid", she's hearing, "oh, you're scared? That's right babe, be scared, atta girl, you're doing the right thing" because that's what your tone is telling her.
Once she stops being afraid, then praise and encourage and tell her what a strong, brave girl she was!
With a fearful dog, in my experience, if you're acting like something's wrong too, she's just going to have it reinforced. If there's nothing to be afraid of, act like there's nothing to be afraid of.