Scared 6 Month Old Pup

[Gunnar_&_Me]

I recently got a 6 month old Black and Tan coonhound I have alot of hounds for hunting and have noticed that most hounds are pretty nervous dogs as pups but can be easily bonded with, this pup was apparently never messed with and just lived her life in a kennel because she will not come close to any person but will go straight in her kennel whn I bring her inside an just sit on the floor she will run around everywhere but never come near me I have been working with her for a week and made no progress I could really use any tips or advice anyone has to offer!

 

[Evie]

When you say you've been working with her what have you been doing? What have you tried to get her to be your friend?

Is she scared/nervous around you or is she just uninterested in you? If you touch her how does she react or can't you get that close? If she is afraid to be near you or to be touched by you, DONT force her to be touched as this may increase her fear/shyness rather than decrease it.

Where do you feed her? Personally I'd be trying to gain her confidence in you with food. Food is the key to so many animal's hearts LOL. My suggestion would be to do either (or both) of the following: make sure that when you feed her that you are in sight. To begin with (Once again i'm not 100% sure just how shy/uninterested she is) have her food bowl at what ever distance she decides is far enough away from you to eat, and just sit there quietly as she eats... every time she has a meal. Then you can slowly start sitting closer and closer to her as she eats. But if she ever feels uncomfortable at how close you are (eg. moves away or refuses to eat) then you need to back off and give her more space until she's comfortable again.

Alternatively, if she is more uninterested than shy, I'd be using treats of high value (eg. cooked chicken) to get her more interested in you. You could start by just randomly throwing her pieces of chicken as you walk by, so she starts to associate you with really awesome food. Then once she starts to become a little more interested you could just reward her (by throwing her chicken) when she comes towards you or pays you any attention. But never push her boundaries and always let her make the decision to come near you and then heavily reward her with food or playtime (I'm guessing at this stage she hasn't yet learnt to play with people so food might be your best bet )

Hopefully this can be of some help.

Goodluck!​

 

[MaryK]

Excellent post Evie. She's obviously not used to being handled and needs enticing, food sure is the way to the majority of dog's hearts that's for sure.

Definitely, as Evie has said, DO NOT try to force yourself on her, she must come to you of her own volition.

When you're sitting near her, just GLANCE in her direction, then away, DO NOT stare or look continuously at her, as this is threatening to a dog, whilst a glance sends the signal you're not a threat.

A week isn't a long time either when you're working on a specific problem, patience is the key and Evie's given you great advice as to how to make yourself interesting to her. Also her questions are very good and answers will enable us to further help you get your pups attention thus enabling you to bond with her.

 

[Gunnar_&_Me]

She is very interested in people she wants to be around me but when she gets close it's kind of like she may have been hit before.
When I work with her I just sit on the floor with a little pile of food and occasionally say her name we had a big break through yesterday I happened to have a coon tail so I sat with that and the food and she came over a couple of times nudging me and she wanted to play just not for more than two minutes. I'm Definatley not rushing her, I always try and get the shyest pup from a litter because after you gain there trust it's amazing. Thank you for the great advice

 

[Amateur]

I say give it time and just keep doing what you are doing.

I read somewhere that you can play with a dog toy all by yourself like its the best thing going - just ignore the dog
the dog will think you are weird but curiosity may get the better of him and may want to join in to see the fun.
THe dog totally has the option to join in or not and for how long - but you just keep on playing. Then after half an hour put the toy away. If he missed his chance he may join in sooner next time.

It may have some effect.

 

[boatman442]

I recently got a 6 month old Black and Tan coonhound I have alot of hounds for hunting and have noticed that most hounds are pretty nervous dogs as pups but can be easily bonded with, this pup was apparently never messed with and just lived her life in a kennel because she will not come close to any person but will go straight in her kennel whn I bring her inside an just sit on the floor she will run around everywhere but never come near me I have been working with her for a week and made no progress I could really use any tips or advice anyone has to offer!

To me it sounds like you got a puppy from a PUPPY MILL. That is the Last place in the world you should ever get a dog from because of what you are going through. Lots of people do not even know about puppy mills until they have some kind of experience with them.They usually are dirty and filthy. They do not get any socialization, and usually they are abused. Most of the pups in your pet shops are from puppy mills. Those kind of people are into breeding just for the money and nothing else. I would like to think that when people breed it is for the Love of the dog and to make the breed of dog better. I remember very well my experience with puppy mills. Years ago i purchased a puppy from a puppy mill. I did not know what a puppy mill was. We got the puppy home and it was scared and never left the couch where we first put him down at. We thought he was mentally ill or something. But is was nothing like that. He was scared of all kinds of sounds, & movements. When he had to go potty we had to carry him outside. He did his business but then we had to carry him back into the house because he was to scared to move. After a very long time doing this we almost gave up and thought it was hopeless. I am so thankful we did not give up. When he did get off the couch it took a very long time to get him comfortable in just that room. Our next hurdle we had to over come was getting him to go from living room to another room. He was very scared just to cross the threshold into a different room. Once he accomplished being in two different rooms he was still scared to enter any other rooms. All i can say is don't give up even when it all seems hopeless. There will be a day it will all come together. We learned to give him all kinds of loving s, attentions and time. We learned that he had to TETHER him to us with a rope so something so that wherever we went in the house he went with us. Also we got a 30ft or longer leader and took him out in the country someplace and just let him run. this seemed to help us the most. I hope that you don't have to go through all this but if you do just don't ever toss in the towel that will just make the dog worse off. Hang in there and all your work and time will be very well rewarded. Most of all this type of puppy just needs time & patience, & time an patience, and more time patience and all the patience we can give him. You will not be disappointed. If you find out you got the dog from a puppy mill turn them into the A.S.C.P.A. We did and when we did that we found out they were turned in before and got fines and shut down because all there dogs we at that time walking around in there urine & feces several inches deep. May the Lord be with you and your new family member. talk with him and pray with and for him each day.

 

[threenorns]

doesn't sound to me like the pup was kenneled all her life - more likely the owners of the dog's mum practiced that tired old saw about "don't interfere with the puppies until they come out on their own".

i have *much* experience with pups and kittens (used to live on a farm -they happen. a lot.) and in my experience, the best way to get a shy,neurotic animal is to leave them alone until they come out of the nest on their own.

the ones where i was right in there messing with the babies as soon after birth as possible - even while they were being born - and every day after that came out to have the loveliest, quirkiest personalities and the highest intelligence and sociability.

that being said, a week is nothing, esp if she's come from a full house to total or near-total isolation. just keep doing what you're doing, like you said, no rushing her, and she'll come around in her own time.