Earning a dogs trust

We adopted a dog in the same situation. She was fearful for almost a year...improving a little bit each week. When we would visit my parents, she would cower at the front door if I left for even a second. Now, she runs around their house like she owns the place. Be patient and she will turn around. Introduce her to things slowly. She will have to observe you for a while to see if you are trustworthy. She and the boy dog will probably not ignore eachother forever. They'll need to establish a pecking order at the very least.


The great thing about a dog like this is watching her come out of her shell. One of our fosters spent 6 years breeding. She was terrified and would only cower in a corner for the first week we had her here. We were her 3rd foster home and we had her for several months while she slowly learned to trust us. As she started to trust me and would walk on a leash for me, I realized that she had probably never actually RUN before, or even been off of a leash. I took her to the dog park one day and let her off the leash and it was a sight to see. She looked at me like she couldn't believe it...then she leapt straight up in the air and when she landed, she just took off and you could see the joy she was feeling. I totally cried. lol
She has an amazing home now (for about 2 years) and is almost completely out of her shell and very happy and well-adjusted ...may never be totally "normal", but is the apple of her mommy's eye :)


Good for you for giving this girl a second chance at life! It really is worth the patience and time!