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In need of advice about abused and now rescued black lab

2K views 16 replies 13 participants last post by  FieldofDreamsMiniHorses 
#1 · (Edited)
My family recently adopted Bo, an 18 month (estimated, of course) black lab from a local rescue volunteer. We've had him for a week yesterday. Bo was found in the woods near a busy road and he'd obviously been there for some time. He did have on a collar, but it was very tight and he had obviously been abused. He's very submissive and cowers any time we come near him. He'll start to warm up and wander over hear us and let us pet him some, but he's still very shy. He does GREAT on a leash though - he follows to the right and doesn't pull at all. He has taken to "camping out" on the landing at the top of our stairs and any time someone calls him or moves toward him, he bolts for this spot, which I guess feels like a safe place for him. For the first 6 days we had him, he was perfect in the house. No accidents, he figured out how to use the dog door and went in and out to do his business - that came to an end on Friday. He hiked his leg and hosed down my wife's rocking chair and when she saw him do it, she yelled and he cowered on the floor and peed all over himself. I caught him squatting and peeing in the hall way (on tile, luckily) and he did the same when I corrected him - just laid down and peed all over himself. Today, we got ready to leave and I wanted to put him in his kennel and he took off for the top of the stairs. I went to get him and gently pulled his collar to get him to come with me and he started peeing and nothing i could do could stop him. I'm so heartbroken to see this beautiful animal in this state. Do any of you have any advice as to how we can gain his trust and teach him that he's safe here with us that that no one is going to hurt him? If he's going to pee everywhere when he gets scared or corrected, I'm not sure how I can handle that. I hate to make him an outside dog, it's so stinking hot here, but I also can't have him peeing all over the house every time someone walks toward him or makes a loud noise. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Edited to add: In the week before we adopted him, he was neutered and he still has his stitches in. Gets them out on Monday. Not sure if that might have something to do with the problem we're having or not, but figured I'd add that in just in case.
 
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#2 ·
My last lab was starved and beaten. She weighed 35 pounds when I rescued her. At the end of one year she was up to 75 pounds. She was afraid of everything when she came to live with me especially loud noises. I hired a trainer who was known to work with abused dogs at the time. He was wonderful and Tucson improved. She never did get over her fear of men or sudden movements and bit several people who did stupid things (like walking in my front door without my telling her it was okay). She lived for 12 years and was a wonderful dog but I had to stay vigilant at all times.

Good luck.
 
#4 ·
Have you sought help from an animal behaviourist?

While you need to correct the behaviour when he pees indoors, do not yell at him -- he will not understand what you are yelling at -- him peeing inside or him peeing period. Make sure you CLEAN every spot he has peed on with a good disinfectant cleaner. Natures Miracle is awesome as it removes the odor, if he can smell his urine he will continue to pee where he has before.

I would coax him with treats to come to you rather than pulling on his collar since he is clearly afraid. He has been through a lot, you will need to continue to be patient which will include allowing extra time for things. For awhile until you get him over this hump, don't do any "last minute" must go in his crate scenarios --- leave PLENTY of time for you to get him there positively, not forcefully.

You have had him for one week, that is nothing really. A dog needs at least 6 weeks to get used to a new home, new family and understand what you want from him -- a dog that has been abused and you have rescued will need perhaps a bit more time, but definitely patience and understanding. Based on what you have described, I wouldn't rush this guy.

Tips on the internet are great, but you can always benefit from calling in a trainer who can see the dog in person and better assess the situation.
 
#5 ·
You are wonderful for rescuing him and in time you will have a great loving dog, but it will probably take a lot of time and patience. My Duke, 9 is the only dog I ever got who was not a young puppy. He was almost 9 months old when I got him, most likely mistreated. He was not housebroken, was afraid of everyone. The first thing he did when he came in was lifted his leg to the wall. I said "NO. Outside." and rushed him to the door. I had Mitzi and Judy at the time and they immediately are at the door whenever I say "outside". He went out with them. I had the luxury of these two stable dogs to show Duke proper behavior.
Bo has to learn all that on his own. To this day, Duke still has his "safe" places where he spends most time and hides. Bo has already found his safe place in the house. Duke's safe place outside is under a bush where he cannot be seen. For what it's worth, the only advice I can offer is to keep a calm surrounding for him and not use raised voices to avoid his submissive peeing. Get him on a schedule for feeding, watering, and walks so he can learn to potty outside at regular times. (Maybe the dog door is not so good to get him regular.) Praise him a lot whenever he pees outside. Dogs seem to love a regular schedule, to know what to expect at what time. Also, clean up his indoor pee spots completely with Nature's Miracle so it doesn't encourage peeing over the same place. You may want to take a fresh sample of his pee to the vet to check for a possible UTI .
Good luck with Bo, and keep us posted.
 
#6 ·
Awww.. Thank you SO much for rescuing him. As the others have said, you may want to look into having a behaviorist come and give you some in-person assistance.

I would also figure out what kind of treats are high-value to him. For Abbey, it's cheese and chicken.. Then when he goes to the bathroom outside, tell him he's a good boy and give him some treats. If he weren't upset by loud noises, I'd tell you to hoot and holler, but probably not at this point.

Good luck and please keep us updated! We love pictures, too!!
 
#7 ·
We went through a lot of that stuff with Dozer when we rescued him. Time, patience and routine is the best advice I can give. I would also suggest crate training if you're worried about him not peeing in the house. If he's out of his crate, make sure you can watch him all the time...same as you would if he were a puppy. I also agree with the others about seeing a behaviorist if that's an option for you.

Dozer is/was really challenging at times, but is SO worth it. I would do it again a million times over.
 
#8 ·
I saw on one of the "It's me or the dog" episodes that if you train your dog to sit, it cuts down on the submissive peeing. It is harder for them to pee when they are sitting. You may want to work on the "sit" command.
Also, they do grow out of submissive peeing in a lot of cases. It does take some time for them to become really comfortable in a new home, so take that into account.
Both of mine were about 8-9 months old when I adopted them from rescues. Teddy had most likely been abused--and while he is better, he still has issues. We had to work through quite a bit.
 
#9 ·
Thank you so much for rescuing him! My thoughts are: 1st...he has only been there a week, don't expect miracles. 2...don't assume just because he is 18 months he is house trained. I would train him just like a younger puppy. Remember to treat and praise, NOT yell or scold him. 3...try crouching to his level, instead of towering over him. He might be going to the high spot in the house so that he is higher than you. 4...I would get a clean bill of health from the vet regarding any UTI's. 5...please don't give up on him and stick him outside, you could lose a really good dog....6...reading your story has touched my heart and I pray sweet Bo will come around soon. :pray:
 
#10 ·
Mdearmon,

You did a great thing by getting a rescue. All these posts are totally right on the money and I would print them out and keep them close.

My story is very similar to yours, and it turns out great. When I got Annie (that was her name so I kept it) they told me strait up she was kept in a barn most of her 21 months. I knew then she was still in the "puppy" stage and what I was in for. However she knew some basic commands and was somewhat behaved.

The problem started when it would rain or storm. She was just terrified and would curl up on the couch and burry her head and lay there. She would then pee and I started seeing a pattern, however I'm not 100% sure it's incontinece (sp).

So I started working with her very hard. When it started storming I would play ball with her inside and turn on music. She slowly has come a round and I would take her ouside when it rained to play fetch. In the first 3-4 weeks, when it stormed, I would try to cuddle with her and a couple times she even let out a little growl and then I found pee again.

I just kept following this same routine and now she is much more comfortable when it storms.....and I have not found any pee accidents in about 6-8 weeks. She now even lays her head in my lap and she will lay on her back and let my little pup Rubin climb all over her....She is just now beginning to warm up and be a real good buddy. I will have had her 4 months now as of today.

So my point is it may take some time and please hang in there.....
I kind of felt like you did but know labs can be some work (rescue or not) but it more than pays off in the end.
 
#11 ·
Great replies and advice, I also have an abused resuce. Java was 5 when we rescued her, couldn't tell she was a lab, she looked like a Chow, I don't think she'd ever been brushed. Took her to the vet, she had the worst yeast infections in both ears our vet said he had ever seen, took us almost a month to get them cleared up. She also had a really bad UTI, got that cleared up but we keep her on cran caps. She adores my husband but if he picks up a broom, Java runs, hides, and cowers. Same thing with a flashlight or any loud noise. I got some advice from a great judge, she suggested when Java was doing something she liked, my hubby should pick up a broom, away from her then put it away, same with the flashlight. I'm not going to say we solved the problems completely but they are much better. We don't yell, but we do have gkids that can get noisy when they come over and at first Java would love on the gkids until they started getting noisy, then she'd hide. She's been with us over 3 years and everything has gotten so much better, it takes time but they are so worth it!
 
#12 · (Edited)
I think a trainer is a good idea.

With Ernie it took time. He wouldn't relax or go near people. I closed off all the house except the dog room so there wasn't so much room for him to worry about things happening. After about a week or so he would sit with his back to the far wall so he could see anyone coming or going. I didn't pamper to him, but gently went about daily things. As he had never had treats it took time to get him to realise they were a good thing. Lots of praise and treats. One day I fell asleep on the sofa and woke up to find him sitting near me.

The vet I had at the time didn't believe in the soft approach and Erns would rear up on his hind legs ending up being sedated. Horrible. A trainer told me I would never be able to deal with him and I be hard on on him. I didn't want to break what little spirit he had so ignored it and went with my gut taking a more gentl approach. I gave myself a year, kept a journal with weekly goals.

He came right, but from time to time things trigger his fears and he will snap or shake. Hang in there it takes time and you have only had him a week. Good luck.
 
#14 ·
So, we took Bo to the vet on Tuesday. This is the first time he's seen our vet. He gave him a clean bill of health, no heart works, no UTI (thanks for the advice on this, he said it was a good thing to check as well) and he also said that this was a case of submissive peeing and that he'd get over it with time and love. My 13 year old has already bonded with Bo and has taught him to fetch and to sit pretty dependably. Bo still cowers when I'm near, but he's taken to coming to me when I'm sitting down and letting me pet him. If I stand up, he bolts though. And if I'm trying to coax him outside, he's peeing. I'll just have to leave the taking him out and taking him to his crate to the other "less intimidating" folks in the family, I guess. Based on the feedback I've gotten here, I'm willing to invest the time to make him comfortable and I really hope and pray and am optimistic that he'll become a great part of the family.

Dog Vertebrate Dog breed Canidae Mammal
 
#16 ·
Awwwww....he's SO handsome!!! Congrats!

Good luck with him. Remember that there are a ton of people here who have been/are dealing with the same thing...so feel free to ask any questions or just vent. :) He'll come around in time and you'll be left with a wonderful new member of the family.
 
#17 ·
He's GORGEOUS!!!
 
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