I adopted an abused chihuahua...how can I help to make her more comfy in her new home?

Question

In april the love of my life was stolen from me. My 4 1/2 lb chihuahua "shakey" I have another chihuahua, his sister pepper. Pepper and I have missed him so much since he has been gone. I just started looking at pups again. Then I got a phone call from my mother-in-law saying a friend of hers had bought a dog out of an abusive home and told me she would give me it for free because she knows I'm a chihuahua lover and would take good care of her. She defiantly has been hit and yelled at allot. She is afraid to even eat. I had to hand toss piece by piece last night going "its okay baby its okay yummy mollies food. Its for mollie its okay" then I would repeat it to my chihuahua pepper so Mollie would see its okay. She is very sweet, but extremely shy and scared. I am doing my best to give her space, but let her know we love her and its okay to come near us and eat with us. Her and Pepper are exactly the same size 3lbs and have really taken a liking to each other. Which is great! I just want this poor baby to be happy. Do you have any tips to help make her feel better about her self and her new home? We are extremely affectionate with our animals. All of them are spoiled to death. Mollie has no self confidence in her self. Like I said shes even afraid to eat , like she usually gets yelled at for doing it. I have adopted a dog before, but not like Mollie. I just want to rehabilitate this young chi(8-10 months) to my best ability! I already love her so much. I believe god put her with me to help heal each others hearts! She is the first dog that I have fell for since my male chi was stolen in April.

Answer 1

I'm sorry about your other dog, and you did a good thing by rescuing one, instead of buying a new one. make sure you don't give her affection when she is nervous and scared. because you are nurturing the behaviour and she is going to think it's okay to be nervous. also, never go to her, when you want to be with her, make sure she comes to you. make sure she comes to the food, don't give it to her. it will require a lot of patience, but it will work out. Watch the Dog Whisperer with Cesar Milan, it will help a lot. Good luck and God bless ! :)

Answer 2

Give your dog lots of love and affection. All dogs love that and it will help your chihuahua know you care about her and won't hurt her. Play with her a lot and reward her for being good. Give her a little special area just for her that it somewhat small (dogs like to be in small places of their own, Big space can make them feel uncomfortable at times) area with toys and bones for her where she can go and be happy by herself.

Answer 3

well first off a kudos to you for taking in that little one and taking the challenge for her! I know it can be tough but you really just need a lot of patience to let her come to you. when you are watching tv or something try putting her in the room with you and lay down on the floor while you watch tv, this way she can scope out the room on her own with no one bothering her or making her more nervous, she needs to be able to feel the freedom. eventually she will most likely come to you sniffing and poking with her little nose, this is a time when she is almost testing you to see how you react to her. dont be loud dont make any sudden movements just let her come to you and as she gets more comforable and sure that what she is doing is ok slowly start to pat her just make sure not to move too quick or by the sounds of this situation she will probably run and hide from you. she needs to see that you are going to respond to her in a loving way. make a habit of spending time like this with her, more of an ignoring thing (as awful as it sounds because i know its going to be irresistable) until she is comfortable coming right to you but just because she comes to you once does not mean she will automaticly do it the next time its going to take a while for her to become comfortable and confident in you. try not to like go and pick her up a lot wait until she comes to you. this is like the most important thing. and the eating, i know eating next to pepper seems the best but maybe she just needs to be left alone with a bowl, not even pepper around. Maybe even try mixing soft food that just smells too irresitable for her to resist. she has to eat and she knows that, abused dogs know survival, she knows how much she must eat to keep herself alive so she will slowly get used to the new portions. as for her and pepper try having them sleep in the same place together, thats how we got our dogs to get used to eachother, we created sort of a small pen (on purpose see why) with a large box attached where we put an oversided pillow. the reason for a small pen is so there is a little room to get out of the box and use the papers and dogs will not sleep where they go to the bathroom usually so they were forced to sleep together in the box, but unfortunatly with this technique the only way to really keep them off the papers is to not clean them right away. obviously every morning we would clean the entire area but at night after they are put in there dont clean the pee up, thats also where the papers come in handy because the pee spreads almost the whole paper so one or two good ones is all it takes, but for smell reasons we do clean the p**p off the paper but do not change it. this is also a good place to put an extra food and water bowl maybe she is just more comfortable like i said eating alone when no one can see her or whatever may be her thing with the food, you just have to try everything and anything until she gets used to the food being a normal everyday thing. Also after she does start eating like a normal dog she will most likely over eat for her size this is okay not to worry she probably could use a pound or two. after her stomach grows to normal size she will learn to regulate herself. always be cautious when you go to pet her so it does not seem like you are raising your hand to her, she will always feel the abuse and always be more cautious of everything that happens just take a lot of time and give her the love she desires, i know it is frustrating but like i said kudos to you you have given your little mollie a wonderful chance at life! good luck!

Answer 4

Bless you for giving this poor baby a home!  And condolences on the loss of Shakey.  I'm sure you and Pepper miss him badly.

I have a chihuahua that came from a puppy mill when it was closed down.  She had been kept in a cage and bred every time she came into heat for the first four years of her life.  When I got her home, she came out from underneath the bed often enough to eat something, bite someone, or pee somewhere.  My other dogs slowly won her over and showed her the ropes and let her know that nothing bad was going to happen to her here.

Your biggest asset is Pepper.  Dogs are pack animals and Pepper will let her know that you love them both and will look after them and be kind to them.  If little Mollie is still under a year old, it shouldn't take her too long to forgot her horrible past.  Go slow and easy with her until she gets a little more comfortable with you and realizes that she's with you to stay.

My chihuahua is 12 and blind now.  She's also a therapy dog that visits nursing homes and doesn't have a care in the world.  I'll bet by Christmas you won't believe that Mollie is the same dog that she was in August!

Good luck to all three of you!

Answer 5

just love her, sounds like you doing good job, she will have to learn to trust again. may take awhile. cheers to you.

Answer 6

Thank you for adopting your Chi!  

You have said everything you are doing and it will be enough.  Your new little Chi will be fine in a few weeks with your love and devotion will become a wonderful companion.  (sigh)  If everyone wanted to adopt and care for a dog like you are doing would be great!  Pepper will help too! :-)

Add:  Don't give up on finding "Shakey"  I once found my dog after 6 mos of looking!

Answer 7

I don't think tossing the food at her is a good idea. She'll see your hand moving quick and also she may have had things thrown at her before. What I would do is fill her bowl and set it a reasonable distance away so that she can feel comfortable eating it but also where it's in your sight. Right when she finishes eating tell her "good girl" and lots of praise, but in a nice calm manner since you think she's used to being yelled at. All you can really do is give her plenty of space and not too overwhelm her by trying to always talk to her and get close to her. Let her come to you on her own time. And when she does make sure you're call but praising.

Answer 8

You have a special place in your heart to take on this scared little girl.  As the owner of 3 chihuahuas, I have had many problems with my youngest.  She has trust issues, is afraid of any other person besides me and my husband, and is even scared of the wind (seriously, she is).  You are on the right track with what you are doing.  It is a good sign that she is bonding with your other dog, it will make it easier for her to transition that trust to you.  It is going to take some time, I'm not going to lie and sugar coat things to make you feel better.  Chihuahuas are naturally skittish of new things and they have the right, they are so tiny! My suggestion is to use Pepper's bond to your advantage.  You will have to let Mollie become comfortable with you on her terms.  

My best suggestion is to get a blanket and cover your lap while sitting on the couch.  Have Pepper on your lap, and if possible put Mollie up on the couch, on the opposite side.  Get some yummy treats, like boiled chicken breast, or something that has a very strong smell. Start by feeding Pepper, and praising her very quietly.  If Mollie shows interest, but is too scared to make it to the blanket, put a piece of chicken in between you and her in the middle of the couch.  If she is enticed enough, she will come forward to get the chicken. When she does that, do not reach for her, just say good girl Mollie, again very quietly.  If she feels comfortable with Pepper, she may go on the blanket with her.  The blanket is a good way to let her onto your lap without her feeling threatened.  You don't want to do this for very long each day, maybe 10 minutes or so, but eventually she will get excited to see the blanket, the treats, and you as well.  I hope this helps you, and God bless you for opening your heart!

Answer 9

Just be patient, don't try to force her to cuddle and don't over protect either, she will never get confidence if you overwhelm  her.

Let her quietly check out her new surroundings and get used to you and your family.   It takes time, but she will learn that she is now safe and loved.   A young dog like that will be fine, given time.

If you try to protect her from everything, she will pick up on your nervousness or pity, so don't be too quick to step in if she seems to be considering something.

I have fostered and rehabilitated dogs for 6 years now, they all come around and get confident once they realize they are not going to be abused anymore - some take longer than others.   She will also pick up cues from your other dog and see that she is in a loving, safe home.

Glad you took her in, give her time, don't rush her.   She will figure it out for herself soon enough.

Answer 10

Maybe you should show her more love and care like trying to talk with her, feed her, and take her to the park every afternoon... It works for my dogs when I'm doing my homework... When do you adopt her? maybe she haven't get used to her new home...

Answer 11

Hie thee to a professional trainer. I too adopted an abused dog, and she was scared of her own shadow and would bark viciously at anyone came near. All the scarier because she's a pit. The trainer helped me to see that it was because she was so afraid.

When she does stuff like come up to me for affection when she's scared, I have to correct her and say "No" and even push her away from me! Oh, I felt like such a jerk at first! But the trainer explained that dogs think backwards from us. So while I was trying to soothe her, I was actually telling her "Mommy like it when you're nervous and scared. Goooood girl." So, while I thought I was reassuring her, I was actually reinforcing that being nervous and frightened is what I want from her.

With Mollie, where you're "Good girl"  while she's skittering around afraid to eat, she hears "Mommy likes it when you're nervous and skittish. Good girl." Be firm. Not cruel, but firm.The trainer taught me my new mantra "If it's her idea, it's a bad idea." YOU are the one that decides when she gets affection.

Leave some food out. When she goes to it all on her own and eats some - don't interrupt - then make over her when she's done. "OH what a good girl! Yes!" Eventually she'll realize that since she only gets praise when she;s relaxed and not nervous, that this is the behavior we want from her. I hope this helped a little, and good luck!

Answer 12

shower her with lots of love and affection - if she will let you - maybe wrap her in a blanket and hold her . You will just have to give it a lot of time and continue your efforts - she will eventually come around

Another suggestion is that you look for a chi rescue near you,and get in touch with one of the rescue people and let them know of the situation - not to go after the pweson that did this but they will be able to give you lots of tips - and if they are close enough perhaps they can even work together with you with her,,,

Keep pushing forward though becuase it will take time,but eventually she will know that everything is safe