We adopted a rescue dog - words of encouragement for both of us?

Cute pup but you've only had her a few days. Whatever happened to her earlier, she is just a scared girl. It may take months to get her used to things and she could have fears of certain things the rest of her life.

We rescued a Lab who was abused. We got her at 1 1/2 yrs old and she was terrified to bark or even whine because the prior owner beat her when she barked. It was 6-8 months later before we even heard her bark (and she scared herself as well as us!). We had to put her down due to cancer and tumors at 10 1/2 yrs old. BUT even tho we got her over most fears, she still would cower if we raised our voices to her and she was afraid of thunderstorms too.

I have to log in just to assure you that you're doing fine. My girlfriend and I also adopted a rescue. I guess she's about 1 and a half years old. She was rescued from the dog meat trade (I'm from Vietnam), and you can imagine how terrible that must be for a dog. She was extremely afraid of men and everything that surprises her. But after 4 months now, she has adapted to her new life perfectly, we even found out that when she had been rescued, she was being pregnant. Recently, she gave birth to 5 beautiful puppies and they are living a comfortable life. The key here is love. dogs can sense love as positive energy. Adopting a rescue is one of the most wonderful thing you can do, for you and for the dog.

Give it 2 to 4 weeks and she will settle in and be much easier to live with.

Invest In training, a well trained dog is a joy to have

Do nothing s it too much attention and dote over the dog, as it will see you as a weak leader. But to almost ignore the dog for the first few days.

Don t get in the dogs personal space or allow the dog to get in yours without inviting it.

Hang in there. It will get easier.

Animals take a long time to overcome fear. It took 3 years before the cat we adopted would stop freaking out when we picked her up.

As you already know, continue to give her LOTS of love!!! When I rescued my puppy she was timid as well, though probably not as bad as yours..

She loved canned food and so I would give that to her as a "special dinner" and I would constantly give her treats for greeting people, playing, and even wagging her tail. I know it seems weird... but I think it helped while she was trying to adjust to the new environment. Give her lots of toys, treats, and affection while trying to avoid loud noises... I'm sure you already do this.. but some dogs never get out of the skiddish phase, but I wish y'all the best of luck!

You are doing everything right. Especially just letting her be near you. Once she realizes that you all are 'safe' people, she will relax. She's like a fearful child that has never known anything but fear, pain, and abuse. Be patient, it will pay off in spades.

By the way, she sounds like a really cool dog. Once it won't give her a heart attack, please post some pictures.

She's only known kindness for four days. Be patient, and try to avoid the "things get too hectic" stuff around her.

This takes time.

She is absolutely adorable, bless your hearts for adopting. she will be just fine just give her a bit of time to get used to things :)

Here is a photo of her the night we brought her home.