Do nervous maltreated dogs ever get over it?

[SamMT 10]

Hello, me again, still on the quest for a new member of our family. Today we went to see the most beautiful border collie girl I have ever seen. She is 16 months old, and has been taken in by a guy with a few working dogs to rehome. He took it from a distant elderly family member who had mistreated it. He is an old farmer who is deteriorating himself and seems to have had a very neglectful and angry relationship with his dogs.

 

Consequently it was absolutely terrified, cowering with its tail between its legs. It seemed to have built a relationship with the guy who had taken it in. He had had it a week and said she had made a lot of progress and would run up and sit on his knee. She did come out and had a little wag and let us all pet her. She didn't seem freaked out by the children, and seemed a very submissive dog that just rolled over when afraid. We stayed half an hour and she started to approach us, particularly when our backs were turned we would look round to find her following us and sniffing from behind. I could see she was starting to relax and warm up.

 

My concern, despite the fact she was so adorable, and had the potential to be a bit cheeky and funny, that a dog this nervous will always be a nervous dog? That perhaps it would relax with us but we would always be wary of new situations. They knew it is a puppy and said it started out a bold confident puppy, but I wonder if they ever really get over this experience? The human brain tends to not recover from being flooded with stress hormones this early in life so I imagine dogs are the same? We have a busy household with lots of kids coming and going so a nervous dog would not be a good for the dog or us.

 

Any thoughts from those with experience rescuing dogs? Thanks

Edited July 4, 2013 by SamMT

[willman 10]

How far do you want it to "recover", my mum has a nervous - non abused sheltie it's taken a year for it to come out form under the table when visitors arrive.

I have a rescued abandoned lurcher,who took 6 months to get over "major nervous issues" such as peeing and quaking.He still isn't a bold dog but he does change depending on who is walking him.The key is to develop trust and encourage self confidence in the dog.

 

tbh calm is usually the best order for dogs with issues,in my experience.

 

Unless you have 3 hours a day and more for a BC i would have serious think about it,i know of dozens who are way to hyper for most homes.

[libuse 10]

I don't think dogs ever get over it. I have retired greyhounds and my latest adoption, who has been here 18 months, is still incredibly anxious with people. She flinches when I stroke her head even now. A vet that looked her over when we first got her confirmed that the scars she is covered with are burns and belt marks from her racing career, so I can understand why she has a trust issue.

 

I think that all you can do with a traumatised/abused dog is try and understand the source of their trauma and work around it. I don't think it's ever fully cure-able. You may always have a dog with issues, but that doesn't mean he's impossible to deal with. He just might always have idiosyncratic oddities. When you know what is non-negotiable for your dog, it makes him easier to manage

[Posiepaws 10]

A nervous collie in a household of kids coming and going is a no from the word go. Collies are very intelligent and lovely dogs with tonnes of energy, if this is turned into nervous energy is a highly unpredictable environment (always unpredictable when you have lots of kids!) then the chance of her winding up snapping at someone is real.

You will end up either shutting her away from all the action.

Nervous aggression is just as serious as dominance aggression and its a short step from cowering under a table to flying out and biting when humans try to approach.

This is not a dog for a busy family, if you want a forever pet you need something already calm and used to change in noise/numbers/situation.

Good luck with your search and please don't take this dog just because you feel sorry for it! xx

[ccit 10]

I can't see any reference to aggression in the OP's post. If there was, it would probably be best to walk away. As has been said, if you take her on, be prepared for her to always be a little anxious. It is heartening that she has made a good deal of progress in a short time. She is young enough to develop some confidence, especially if you are willing to give her plenty of time and work with her. Only you know if you are up for the challenge.

[SamMT 10]

Thanks for the replies. As beautiful as she is I think we are not the home for her as much as she may not be the right dog for us. I think our lifestyle will be terrifying for her and we will always be worrying about her, mainly about things scaring her (mostly kids!) and the outside chance age could snap as a result, even though she seemed an unlikely candidate scared animals can be unpredictable. She was so beautiful I think she will be homed.

[medusa 16]

I think that the more intelligent the nervous dog, the harder you have to work to overcome it, because clever nervous dogs can remember and imagine the scenarios that terrify them better than less intelligent dogs.

 

Certainly some rescue dogs are going to be much better suited to a situation without too much happening in their home, in order to allow them to get a grip on their life and start working on training issues.

 

One of my friends has the most wonderful rescue beagle. He's wonderful now, but he had no schooling and every bad experience and habit under the sun when he arrived as a desperately overweight dog who had been fed on unsuitable human food and beaten within an inch of his life but never walked or socialised with humans or other animals.

 

He had to start from the very beginning with everything and after 2 years he's only now learning the good habits and learning that visitors are not to be feared, warned off or stressed about, and he's still got so much to learn that would stop him fretting.

 

He couldn't have developed half of the life skills he's got in a busy home, or in a home where there were too many humans to get the learning coordinated and consistent, and I do honestly believe that there are dogs that need quiet homes to move forwards, just like there are dogs that need to be only pets. If you start off with a dog that is scared of the children then what would happen if that didn't improve with time? Does the dog go back to the rescue? Wouldn't it be better to wait for someone who doesn't have children to adopt the dog?

[Strix 11]

Thanks for the replies. As beautiful as she is I think we are not the home for her as much as she may not be the right dog for us. I think our lifestyle will be terrifying for her and we will always be worrying about her, mainly about things scaring her (mostly kids!) and the outside chance age could snap as a result, even though she seemed an unlikely candidate scared animals can be unpredictable. She was so beautiful I think she will be homed.

 

So glad you posted this. It's pretty much what I was going to say

 

This dog needs a stable home, without boisteous kids, and with somebody she can quietly bond with, for her to stand the best chance