Major Problems in Puppy

Wizard01

My partner bought me a Female Maltese for Christmas, we already own a Female Maltese and she is the best and most lovable family pet, great with our children, sleeps on the sofa and comes to bed every night. This Maltese has huge behavioural problems, We don't know what to do with her. We have had her 2 months and :
She still won't come to us
She runs away if we try to pick her up
She runs away if we walk past her
She hides under the stairs away from us
We can pet her and rub her for hours on end but its still the same
She won't take food from our hand
A lot more like above, when we pet and stroke her, (after catching her or picking her up when she's asleep) she goes rigid and just freezes. She plays with our dogs properly, wagging her tail, jumping on them but refuses to come near humans.
We even rang the breeder to take her back but she refused.
We don't know what to do as our other 3 dogs are perfect family pets.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Cherry Blossom

Where did you get this pup from?
<ETA> Also how old was she when you got her?

hpsheba

As above what age and where did she come from?

I had a pup like this and it took a long time to bring her around though well worth every minute to see how she is today. If you are near DTI maybe get in touch with them and get her into puppy socialisation?

If not I am sure there will be somewher near you that can help All I can offer is to be patient with her x

Debthree

Could it be that she feels confused and doesn't know her place in the 'pack'? She sees her peer (your other maltese) taking pride of place in the house (sitting on the sofa etc) and maybe she just doesn't know where her place is? She would naturally be aware that she is not as much in control in the family as the other maltese and could simply scared and overwhelmed. I would definitely suggest contacting a trainer and asking her/his advice.

Fuzzy Clam

Wizard01 wrote: »

We even rang the breeder to take her back but she refused.
We don't know what to do as our other 3 dogs are perfect family pets.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Dogs aren't items you can just return because they don't fit in with your idea of a perfect pet.
You obviously don't love her or you wouldn't have even considered giving it back. Maybe she can sense this.
I was "given" a dog and i intended to find a new home for him but within 2 days I couldn't let him go. This was nearly a year ago and he still has his issues but we're getting there.
You've only had yours since Christmas and your giving up on her already!:(

Whispered

Wizard01 wrote: »

My partner bought me a Female Maltese for Christmas, we already own a Female Maltese and she is the best and most lovable family pet, great with our children, sleeps on the sofa and comes to bed every night. This Maltese has huge behavioural problems, We don't know what to do with her. We have had her 2 months and :
She still won't come to us
She runs away if we try to pick her up
She runs away if we walk past her
She hides under the stairs away from us
We can pet her and rub her for hours on end but its still the same
She won't take food from our hand
A lot more like above, when we pet and stroke her, (after catching her or picking her up when she's asleep) she goes rigid and just freezes. She plays with our dogs properly, wagging her tail, jumping on them but refuses to come near humans.
We even rang the breeder to take her back but she refused.
We don't know what to do as our other 3 dogs are perfect family pets.
Any help would be much appreciated.

Well the breeder is likely to be a MAJOR part of the problem then. Badly bred and under socialised dogs often have such issues. I'm sorry to say op, but it seems your other half may have unwittingly bought from, a dodgy breeder (even the fact they sold a Christmas puppy speaks volumes). I would contact the breeder again to say you are making a complaint to the IKC. All good breeders should take their unwanted dogs back. It wont do any good, but at least the breeder will know how unhappy you are. I would also urge you in future to please please do more research into your breeder.
**If breeder offers to take pup after threat please don't let them as god knows what they will do with her**

So how to fix the problems. Well firstly, and I'm not having a go, you need to decide if you want to fix the problems or just give the pup away. If it's going to work you have to be committed to it working. If you think you cannot give the time and patience (and you will need LOADS) to help this pup, then best give her to a home who can do that before she's stuck in these ways for life. You have to do what's best for yourself and the pup and sometimes, this may mean homing them somewhere more suitable where they will be with people who can give them what they need.

If you decide you are willing to keep your dog and help her through her issues you will need plenty of patience. But as you've taken responsibility for your dog and committed to her, it will make it easier.

She seems very very scared. Common sense imo but you need to immediately stop forcing yourself on her. Don't pick her up when she's asleep and don't "catch" her to pick her up, imagine how you would feel if you were scared of something and it caught you to pick you up or woke you, you'd probably go rigid with fright too! (recipe for disaster - she is very likely to snap when older if this continues)

Does she have a place that is just her own? I'd suggest getting her a crate and putting it in a corner of a high traffic room, like the kitchen, cover it with a blanket, put her bed in there and put her dinner in there. She should go in, and if she is as scared as it seems from your post, she might want to stay in there. Don't close the door or anything. Just feed her and leave her bed in it. She should begin to see it as her space and feel safe there.

When she is in there ignore her completely. It is important that everyone in your family knows that when she is in the crate they don't look at her, speak to her and never put their hand in when she is in there. As far as she is concerned she is invisible in the crate. This will give her somewhere to go when she is stressed.

Ignore her for a few days. Keep your voice gentle around her. Don't try to catch her. Then don't give her brekkie one morning, and when the house is quiet, sit on the kitchen floor and throw chicken at her from a distance. You might not get her very close to you, but do it at her pace. Talk gently, call her name, say good girl etc. You might not get too far on the first day, but keep at it until she is happy approaching you when you sit on the floor.

With scared dogs, it's truly a day by day thing. They have to come to you, make her want to be around you. Really all you can do is stop forced interaction, give her a private little den, stay gentle and patient with her and spend a few mins every day interacting with her from a distance. Don't push her, it wont get you anywhere.

The Sweeper

Fuzzy Clam wrote: »

Dogs aren't items you can just return because they don't fit in with your idea of a perfect pet.
You obviously don't love her or you wouldn't have even considered giving it back. Maybe she can sense this.
I was "given" a dog and i intended to find a new home for him but within 2 days I couldn't let him go. This was nearly a year ago and he still has his issues but we're getting there.
You've only had yours since Christmas and your giving up on her already!:(

Fuzzy Clam, if someone who has purchase a dog from an ethical breeder has a problem with that dog, is it entirely appropriate for them to approach the breeder for assistance, and if the breeder is worth their salt they will most certainly take the dog back. They may not offer to refund the purchase price, but they absolutely, if they are a truly ethical breeder who cares about the dogs they breed, take the dog back.

More likely, the OP may have purchased this maltese from a backyard breeding operation, a breeder who has purebreed dogs but who isn't registered and doesn't show, and is more in it for the cash than for the improvement of the breed. It would stand that the pup was not socialised early in life, which is why she's a small bundle of nerves.

If the OP has three other dogs, the new maltese puppy may have bonded closely with them and is still terrified of humans. This would also fit with her being a BYB puppy, birthed and not raised 'at home and under foot', with a bond only with her mum and siblings.

OP, a house with three dogs, you, your husband and your kids, is not going to be a quiet, calm house. Your pup was probably not socialised before you got her, and I would question the ethics of any breeder who breeds for a 'christmas litter' - most ethical breeders won't breed pups around Christmas.

So what's the big deal about ethical versus someone who just does it at home as long as they're not rearing crossbreeds? Ethical breeders put a lot of work into their dogs. Their pups are born in the home, and raised in the home environment, adjusting to the sights, sounds and smells. Kids, the TV, the vacuum cleaner, the doorbell, the telephone, sunday roast smells, dinner time, breakfast time, the quiet in the middle of the day when the kids are at school, the washing machine on spin cycle - all of those things which would be utterly new and terrifying to a dog bred by a breeder who doesn't put the work in with socialisation.

I would also question the age your pup was when your husband bought her. Some unethical breeders let pups go from 6 weeks of age onwards. A pup ideally shouldn't be separated from mum until in excess of 10 weeks. (Did you know that puppies go through a fear imprint period between 8 and 10 weeks, and you should avoid separating them from their mother, shipping them, or any surgical procedures during this time?) The additional time makes no difference if the breeder is ethical, as the pup will still be getting socialised and gaining life experience.

Puppies also go through a number of 'fear' phases, a hangover of evolution where it pays to get scared of things just after you get mobile - keeps you alive.

It sounds like your pup could have come from an unethical breeder as a Christmas puppy, if she was too young she hit your house at Christmas time (a period of total madness in any house with kids), she was terrifed of everything around her, bonded with your dogs instead, and what you're experiencing now is the hangover from that start.

For starters, you need to immediately stop chasing the pup or picking her up when she's asleep. (Seriously. If someone picked you up when you were asleep it would frighten the living daylights out of you.)

I know she won't come to you, but she's scared of you and your overtures are even more scary for her.

Consult a behaviourist who will come to your house and talk you through some techniques. It may be necessary to separate her from the other dogs, and then spend some extremely quiet time with her to build your bond from scratch. You need LOTS of temptation - work your way through treats and toys until you find something she loves. Don't be pushy with her.

Try in the evenings when the kids have gone to bed, sit on the floor of the living room at puppy level. You can bring your other maltese in if it calms the pup. Start a gentle game with your established dog and use some excellently smelly treat so the pup can smell it even if she's hiding. The behaviourist would be better able to identify whether or not it's useful or detrimental to have the second dog present.

You need to take this slow and gently and you absolutely need to back off the puppy. You need to befriend her - let her come to you, instead of grabbing her up for a cuddle. The first time she comes to you, stroke her and lots of adoring praise with your voice, but DO NOT pick her up. Lots of animals hate to be picked up, and if she's already scared it may just exacerbate her fear. You need to wait until she's a lot more comfortable until you start grabbing her up for a cuddle.

My worry would be that her extreme fear will turn to fear aggression and she may start fear biting, especially if she's freezing when touched or lifted, so you do need to bring her around.

Is she house trained? Where does she live during the day? Who's home, so on so forth? You need to build her confidence, and I think you'll need professional help to do it.

Cú Giobach

Wizard01 wrote: »

She runs away if we try to pick her up

We can pet her and rub her for hours on end but its still the same

, when we pet and stroke her, (after catching her or picking her up when she's asleep) she goes rigid and just freezes.

+1 everything previous poster said.

From the above comments it really does seem you are forcing yourself on the pup, if you were asleep and someone suddenly grabbed you, would you appreciate it (especially if you were already scared of them)?
Chasing and catching an animal that is scared of you isn't the best thing to do either.

Dogs don't understand affection as we do, some dogs can take too much affection as dominance by you and others as submission from you.
If a dog is nervous or scared it can take you going "there there good doggie, it's gonna be alright" as praise and this can actually reinforce the feelings it already has instead of actually calming it down.

A dog is at its happiest when it has a clearly defined pack leader (not a boss or a master) ie someone/dog who has its best interests at heart and will "lead" it to good situations (food, water, play etc) and "lead" it away from bad ones. When a dog sees you in this light it will shower you with affection (submission in its eyes) trust you with its life and follow you to hell and back.

One of the very best things you can do now, is to take a step back from the pup and "let it find its feet" so to say. Basically, stop frightening it.

micheleabc

I perfectly agree with the previous three posts, the breeder must have been a very dodgy one, maybe even a puppy farm, a professional breeder would take responsibility. In the other hand with time a patience you would be surprise of the results you may get from the little pup. OP from your post it seems clear that also you have a very big advantage that not everyone has, the other 3 dogs. Let the new pup interact with them as much as she can and pull yourself back especially in trying to catch her, that will only have the opposite effect. Try for the moment to leave her space to move around, interacting with her only for the minimum necessary. She is still so young that she will learn a lot from the other dogs, including the way to interact with humans; remember that if she is afraid of people is not because she is weird, but mostly because she has been segregated away from anyone for all her little existence. She will learn the new way to live by the other dogs and, she will learn that she can trust you. It will take time, maybe more time that you have at your disposal, I would definitely suggest an expert in dog behaviour. Try also to remember that if that little dog has a chance to became normal, it can happens only by you and not going back to that breeder (which by the way you may mention his name so at least on this forum nobody else will give him more money). If it can be useful at this web site: http://www.k9training.ie you may get in touch with a girl who is very good in dog behaviour issues (and very affordable prices too if you are not too far from Dublin). I wish you the best luck.

portgirl123

hey i wonder did this maltese come from a breeder that ppl that bought pups from her are always on a certain site warning ppl not to buy pups from her? always there are ppl giving out about her, they say her pups have behavioural and health issuses

lrushe

Wizard01 wrote: »

My partner bought me a Female Maltese for Christmas, we already own a Female Maltese and she is the best and most lovable family pet, great with our children, sleeps on the sofa and comes to bed every night. This Maltese has huge behavioural problems, We don't know what to do with her. We have had her 2 months and :
She still won't come to us
She runs away if we try to pick her up
She runs away if we walk past her
She hides under the stairs away from us
We can pet her and rub her for hours on end but its still the same
She won't take food from our hand
A lot more like above, when we pet and stroke her, (after catching her or picking her up when she's asleep) she goes rigid and just freezes. She plays with our dogs properly, wagging her tail, jumping on them but refuses to come near humans.
We even rang the breeder to take her back but she refused.
We don't know what to do as our other 3 dogs are perfect family pets.
Any help would be much appreciated.

As others have pointed out you have unwittingly bought from either a puppy farm or BYB.
Good breeders won't sell at Christmas, will accustom their pups to any situation it might come across in an average household before it leaves them and if everything still doesn't work out a good breeder will take your pup back even years down the line.
Your pup was mostly likely produced for money only therefore her 'breeders' never bothered to socialise her with people she was more likely left to her own devices with just her littermates and mybe other dogs as company so she is therefore more comfortable around dogs than people.
It is not impossible to work with a dog like this but you ( or rather your partner) has made a rod for your own back and it will take alot of work. With nervous dogs I have been known to sit on the floor for hours waiting for them to approach me in there own time. If she needs her own space give it to her, a crate in a quite room with a light blanket thrown over the top and remember pups sleep for most of the day so they shouldn't be molested by children or adults when they are sleeping.
If she has all her injections I would enroll her in puppy socialisation to bring her out of her shell.
She will come around but it will depend on how much work you are willing to put in.

Wizard01

Hi everyone, thank you for all the replies. To try and answer some of your questions.
My partner bought her from a lady in Cork (6 hour drive from us) and collected her when she was 10 weeks old.
She is not house trained as we don't want to scare her even more by giving out to her when she has an accident, my other 3 dogs are.
We catch her and lift her onto the sofa with our other dogs and let her lie there where we gently stroke her and talk to her but as soon as she gets down she runs under the stairs where we have now put a dog bed for her.
Usually the only time we really have to catch her is when we let her into the garden and she won't come back in, all my dogs sleep inside and i don't want her to be left outside all alone.
We bought her as our family pet and are prepared to put in the work with her, we have tried sitting on the floor offering her treats for hours on end but she just ignores us and lies where she is, leaving her alone and not bothering her, playing with the other dogs on the floor to see if she will join in but nothing is working.
It is heartbreaking to see her so scared of us, but we really are the end of our tether, which is why we rang the breeder.
We have had dogs all our lives but this is one we are really baffled by. Our other 2 dogs are Yorkies but they are older 8 years and 6 years so they really just lie round the house all day.
Our biggest fear is if she manages to "escape" from the house if a door is left open, we have 4 children that we will never catch her! Our back garden is completely secure but with the good weather coming in there will be lots of children coming and going.

portgirl123

Wizard01 wrote: »

Hi everyone, thank you for all the replies. To try and answer some of your questions.
My partner bought her from a lady in Cork (6 hour drive from us) and collected her when she was 10 weeks old.
She is not house trained as we don't want to scare her even more by giving out to her when she has an accident, my other 3 dogs are.
We catch her and lift her onto the sofa with our other dogs and let her lie there where we gently stroke her and talk to her but as soon as she gets down she runs under the stairs where we have now put a dog bed for her.
Usually the only time we really have to catch her is when we let her into the garden and she won't come back in, all my dogs sleep inside and i don't want her to be left outside all alone.
We bought her as our family pet and are prepared to put in the work with her, we have tried sitting on the floor offering her treats for hours on end but she just ignores us and lies where she is, leaving her alone and not bothering her, playing with the other dogs on the floor to see if she will join in but nothing is working.
It is heartbreaking to see her so scared of us, but we really are the end of our tether, which is why we rang the breeder.
We have had dogs all our lives but this is one we are really baffled by. Our other 2 dogs are Yorkies but they are older 8 years and 6 years so they really just lie round the house all day.
Our biggest fear is if she manages to "escape" from the house if a door is left open, we have 4 children that we will never catch her! Our back garden is completely secure but with the good weather coming in there will be lots of children coming and going.

yep this sounds like the breeder that they are complaining about, they are now advertising under a mans name

fifilarue

Hello All
Apologies from the outset for the long post.
I hope I'm not hijacking this thread or going off topic but I have broadly similar problems to the OP in that I adopted a 2 year old Westie a few weeks ago and a few problems have emerged that I'm not sure how to sort out. I have to say from the outset that I am mad about him. Full of beans, bright as anything and all the rest. I lost my old dog in January (aged 14)and was so broken-hearted that I said I'd never get another one but, as the saying goes, that was the plan The new dog had been dumped and was straying for a while before he was brought to the rescue I adopted him from. He's been with me now for a couple of weeks. I work from home and even when out and about, he comes with me. Lots of people around too and a good sized back and front garden, lots of walks etc. The 'problem' is that he won't go out into the garden alone, he stays by my side all the time. Even today, which is a stunning spring day here, he's lying on the floor inside, afraid to let me out of his sight. Given his background, it is understandable that he is needy. I know it's going to take a while for him to lose that feeling. The thing is that I'm not sure how to go about helping him to stand on his own two feet? I go out with him as often as possible, we play football and other stuff (was in and out like a yo-yo today:)), go for two walks a day (at breakneck speed) but I would love for him to feel at home and not to have to be stressed out. He seems to be constantly looking for his family (the b**t**ds) too, which is even more heartbreaking. He looks for a safe place to hide (even under the car, which isn't the safest place really). He also won't sleep in his (new) bed-at all. He prefers to sleep on the floor, which can't be good for him (old house, draughty floorboards). He won't even sleep on a blanket on the floor. There's no question but that he is with me for the long haul-he's a great little fella and deserves a good life. I just want him to feel safe and that he has a home where he is loved but I'm just not sure how to go about it. The not going out into the garden on his own is particularly distressing. Could anyone please advise me in case I mess him up even further? I should add that he has loads of manners, is house trained and a pure entertainer too-it's not all doom and gloom :)

ISDW

Wizard01 wrote: »

Hi everyone, thank you for all the replies. To try and answer some of your questions.
My partner bought her from a lady in Cork (6 hour drive from us) and collected her when she was 10 weeks old.
She is not house trained as we don't want to scare her even more by giving out to her when she has an accident, my other 3 dogs are.
We catch her and lift her onto the sofa with our other dogs and let her lie there where we gently stroke her and talk to her but as soon as she gets down she runs under the stairs where we have now put a dog bed for her.
Usually the only time we really have to catch her is when we let her into the garden and she won't come back in, all my dogs sleep inside and i don't want her to be left outside all alone.
We bought her as our family pet and are prepared to put in the work with her, we have tried sitting on the floor offering her treats for hours on end but she just ignores us and lies where she is, leaving her alone and not bothering her, playing with the other dogs on the floor to see if she will join in but nothing is working.
It is heartbreaking to see her so scared of us, but we really are the end of our tether, which is why we rang the breeder.
We have had dogs all our lives but this is one we are really baffled by. Our other 2 dogs are Yorkies but they are older 8 years and 6 years so they really just lie round the house all day.
Our biggest fear is if she manages to "escape" from the house if a door is left open, we have 4 children that we will never catch her! Our back garden is completely secure but with the good weather coming in there will be lots of children coming and going.

You shouldn't give out to dogs when they have an accident anyway. Instead, take them outside lots and praise them when they do go to the toilet.

Great advice already given, so I've nothing else to add except that I hope you manage to work through her problems.

fifilarue wrote: »

Hello All
Apologies from the outset for the long post.
I hope I'm not hijacking this thread or going off topic but I have broadly similar problems to the OP in that I adopted a 2 year old Westie a few weeks ago and a few problems have emerged that I'm not sure how to sort out. I have to say from the outset that I am mad about him. Full of beans, bright as anything and all the rest. I lost my old dog in January (aged 14)and was so broken-hearted that I said I'd never get another one but, as the saying goes, that was the plan The new dog had been dumped and was straying for a while before he was brought to the rescue I adopted him from. He's been with me now for a couple of weeks. I work from home and even when out and about, he comes with me. Lots of people around too and a good sized back and front garden, lots of walks etc. The 'problem' is that he won't go out into the garden alone, he stays by my side all the time. Even today, which is a stunning spring day here, he's lying on the floor inside, afraid to let me out of his sight. Given his background, it is understandable that he is needy. I know it's going to take a while for him to lose that feeling. The thing is that I'm not sure how to go about helping him to stand on his own two feet? I go out with him as often as possible, we play football and other stuff (was in and out like a yo-yo today:)), go for two walks a day (at breakneck speed) but I would love for him to feel at home and not to have to be stressed out. He seems to be constantly looking for his family (the b**t**ds) too, which is even more heartbreaking. He looks for a safe place to hide (even under the car, which isn't the safest place really). He also won't sleep in his (new) bed-at all. He prefers to sleep on the floor, which can't be good for him (old house, draughty floorboards). He won't even sleep on a blanket on the floor. There's no question but that he is with me for the long haul-he's a great little fella and deserves a good life. I just want him to feel safe and that he has a home where he is loved but I'm just not sure how to go about it. The not going out into the garden on his own is particularly distressing. Could anyone please advise me in case I mess him up even further? I should add that he has loads of manners, is house trained and a pure entertainer too-it's not all doom and gloom :)

Try Maureen Byrne, not only does she run Westie Rescue, but is also a behaviourist, http://www.westierescue.ie/