I adopted a 15lb, 10.5 month old schnauzer puppy mill dog. She was rescued sometime in November and I adopted her Dec 15th. She's been checked out by a vet and they say her health is good.

She behaves as normal dogs do, only when she's around other dogs. The vet recommended that we not get a second dog right away, but to eventually get one. The vet wants this puppy to bond with us first before introducing another dog to the house.

What I'd like to know is... how do I know that what I'm doing is working? How much time do I give her, before we consider getting a second dog?

Some of the things that she does...

She won't interact with us at all. She will not approach us at all. Treats or no treats.

She does not eat on a consistent basis.

She is not treat responsive at all.

She does not consistently come out of her crate to go outside in the mornings. She did a couple of times, but seems to have reverted back. We've not done anything different to cause her to do this.

She does like her crate, a little too much. We keep her travel crate downstairs in the living room (which we now keep closed all the time) and one upstairs for when she's sleeping. If either crate is open, that is the first place she'd like to be. I don't want to discourage her willingness to go into her crate, but I don't want her to be in there all day and all night. Once she's out, I'll close the door so she can't get in. Is this a good idea?

When she can't get in her crate in the living room, she'll get on the sofa by herself (which is acceptable with us), but won't move once she's on there. She won't get down by herself to go eat or ask to go outside. We physically get her down. Is this a good idea?

I work from home and the office is upstairs. She'll eventually come upstairs, but will go sit next to her crate. I'll give her an hour or so and then go get her and place her on the sofa upstairs in the office. Is this a good idea?

She has started "digging" on tile floors, in her crate and while she's on the sofa. What does this mean? I don't mind her doing it on the floor and I'm afraid to correct her while she's in her crate, but is this a behavior I should only correct when she's on the sofa?

How much should we handle her and is there anything specific that we should do? I've watched some episodes of Dog Whisperer and Cesar Millan will mimick a mother dog's lick with his hand on an insecure dog, however, is this something I should be doing? And when / how should I do this?


I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but none of the articles I've read have addressed any of these concerns. I appreciate any assistance you can provide. My desire is only for her well being. I'd like to see her jump, run and play as she does when she's around other dogs, only with us. Any thoughts?

Dogs that are not properly socialized before they are 12 weeks old are very difficult to rehabilitate. I doubt that watching Caesar Millan is going to help much. You need a good book. Look through the list at https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/dogs/information-articles-our-dogs-expert-labman-53153.html#post251804 I haven't read it, but maybe the Second Hand Dog one would have what you need.

I think your vet is right. Given another dog to socialize with, she may continue to ignore people. I would give her access to her crate. Even if she spends excessive time in it, it will be comforting to her knowing it is available. Keep it close to you. Talk to her. Don't make eye contact or show your teeth. Keep your hands away from the top of her head. Her need for companionship may slowly lure her out of her crate. As long as it is available to retreat to, she is more likely to venture out and investigate this strange creature she finds herself with. Do not expect things to happen very quickly.

I have not actually read the noted behavioralists Fuller and Scott or Pfaffenburger, but have read quotes from their work in dozens books including the Art of Raising a Puppy by the Monks of new Skete. ''... pups raised without human contact would show fearful reactions to humans at five weeks of age but could readjust over 2 weeks time if handled often, Puppies first exposed to human contact at twelve weeks of age, however immediately reacted very fearfully and fled from the experimenters. They acted essentially like wild animals and were socially irretrievable. They had missed the vital contact during the critical period.'' p 43, First Edition.

Inara, thank you so much for opening up your heart and home to a dog in need. Rehomed dogs can be a challenge, especially a puppy mill dog. As labman points out, if not properly socialized with humans by 12 weeks of age, it is hard to undo the damage. In your dog's case, she was living for 10 months in a cage most of her waking hours. Please reconsider closing the doors and do as labman suggests. She finds comfort and security in her crate, and it will allow her to explore her surroundings further and interact with the people in her life if she knows she has a safe place to go to when she begins to feel overwhelmed. This is very important to keep her mentally in balance.

I also agree with labman and your vet in that you need to hold off thoughts of bringing another dog in the house until your dog interacts with you and your family members. You have only had her for 3 weeks. I know it can get very frustrating because it feels like forever, but understand that it took many months for her to get this way, it will take at least a couple of months if not a good six months, for you to start seeing any headway being made. As labman says, don't smile (show teeth), don't quickly reach down to give her a scratch, no quick movements, no hovering over her. As humans, we have a tendency to want to nurture and to talk in happy, bubbly chatter, move toys around to tempt and generally be very animated and excited with our dogs, and as we would to small children. Dogs that have been through what yours has been through don't react well to that. This dog needs a very strong & patient leader (you) and she needs someone willing to get down on her level.

Two exercises come to my mind that might help her to interact with you. Start with this one first for a week, and then the following week, start the exercise in my next paragraph and keep doing this one along with the new one. If she is sitting in her crate, position yourself on the floor a few feet away from her. Put some smelly dog treats in your pocket or hold them in your hand, and ignore her. Sit and read your newspaper or a book, pay bills,. whatever you want to keep yourself occupied, while you are waiting her out. Start with 5 minutes, the next day, 10 minutes, and keep building up the time you are just simply sitting outside of her crate minding your own business. She will eventually come out. When she does just let her explore on her own. No sudden movements, no talking to her, no touching her, just mind your own business and leave her to explore wherever she wants around you. If she starts to come toward you, continue ignoring her. Do not touch her, just keep on doing what you are doing. Let her come up to you, sniff you, and touch you. Don't try to pet her. If she sits down next to you, again don't reach out and don't pet. If she eventually tries to sit in your lap, just let her climb in and wait a couple of minutes for her to settle down. Then, very, very slowly, bring your hand to her cheek area, or the area under her chin and give her a scratch, or you can bring your hand slowly to her belly and give her a little belly rub, then stop. See how she reacts to that. If she doesn't move or run away, wait a few moments and do it again. Keep your movements slow and your touch light. This is going to be a long, hard and slow process. If you have gotten her to come to you on her own, she is finally recognizing you and even though it may not seem like much to you, it is a huge step for her. If she never climbs into your lap but seems to be comfortable sitting next to you, then slowly and gently reach out and do the scratch under the chin. Don't pat her on top of the head, because it forces her head down, will only add to her distress, and may undo the work you have accomplished. When she finally accepts you touching her, you want to attempt to give her longer and longer belly rubs. If she eventually is willing to roll over on her side for that, you can try to very gently roll her on her back while you are still rubbing her belly. The point in doing this is to show her that when she is at her most vulnerable, you are creating an atmosphere of trust in doing something that feels really good to her.

This is the second exercise: Tie her leash to your belt or around your waist, leaving her about 5 feet of lead between you and the dog. Keep her attached to you for about five minutes at a time, either inside or outside is fine. Don't talk to her. This is another quiet time and non-interactive time. The point is to get her used to being next to you, simply allowing her to start watching you and what you do, and adjusting to your world in a completely relaxed manner. Start extending the time by 5 minutes after a few days and shorten the lead a little. Eventually you should work this up to an hour a day, indoors or out. By the time you have her at an hour a day, she should be very close to you where she can lie or sit down at your feet. This is probably your best chance of getting her to accept you, pay attention to you, and get adjusted to being by your side without forcing the situation. Dogs are creatures of habit. If you can do this, she will eventually become used to staying with you without a lead because it has become a daily routine.

I don't have the time to get to your other points at the moment and right now, I think it is more important for you to focus on getting her to interact with you. Please print out that list of books that labman has on his link. The Second Hand Dog is a good one for you to read. Also the first book on the list is an excellent resource to understanding the mind of a dog and how they view the world around them. You may also want to ask your vet if he knows of anyone that trains or works with rehoused dogs. It would be worth a few sessions with a person who understands the mindset of a puppy mill dog and they can give you some other tips and training exercises to attempt to get your dog used to interacting with you, and then once she does, the normal training you need to do with your dog to establish yourself firmly as her leader.

I'm going to chime in with some comments from my experience. I adopted an ex-racing grayhound, who had spent 6 years with other dogs 24/7, and who's only real interactions with humans were with trainers. She was much more comfortable with other dogs than with people when I got her. Much like yours, she wouldn't approach me, come over for petting, respond to treats, etc. She did become much more lively when around other dogs.

It's taken 6 months, but she is now actually being more affectionate with me, and less with other dogs. (Not that she's mean with them, but is less eager to interact and play with them.) Sitting on the floor really does help. I didn't do it quite like RubyPitbull describes, but her way would probably work even better than what I did. I do recommend that you have something to lean against (wall, sofa, back rest, etc) if you are going to be sitting on the floor for an extended period, or else you may wind up with some new backaches.

If you are like me, there will be times during this phase where you are going to lose hope, and wonder if this is ever going to work out. Stick with it. The rescue agency I got Trink from said that it's normally about 4-6 months before the dog's true personality comes out. Right now Trink is curled up in the "scary cat room" a few feet away from me, after a session of me sitting on the floor scritching her and the dominant cat. 6 months ago, she wouldn't come within 10 feet of the door to this room, and the cat could keep her pinned in place just by looking at her. They do get better with time. Your pup is much younger than Trink, so hopefully she will come around sooner.

Good luck with your pup!

Thank you so much for your advice. I wanted to let everyone know that while it is frustrating and can be discouraging, trust me - I won't give up on her and I won't loose hope. The dog I had previous to this one was also a rescue dog. The only difference was the previous dog while traumatized, wasn't as traumatized as this one is. While I am willing to accept her for who she is, I am currently not willing to accept that she won't become a well balanced dog eventually. My intention is to continue working with her, no matter how long it takes. Even after she becomes well balanced, she'll need continued exercises to remain balanced. They'll just be different exercises.

I've already seen some progress. :)

The first time was when we were working on going outside and I set her down on the upper landing, with myself on the step above her. While ignoring her, she turned around and started sniffing me. Reached up to smell my face. She's reached out to smell my face before, this time however, there was an honest curiosity about it, rather then the scared "check you out" sniffing.

The second time (on a different day), I had gotten up to get something. She had gotten off the sofa and made a small attempt to follow me. When I returned and saw what was going on, I was delighted. As I was approaching my seat, she made no attempt to walk away. This was a new step for her. I did not want to spook her so I got down on my hands and knees and stayed still, not looking at her. I made small movements forward, stopping until she relaxed and then moved forward again. I did this until I was 3 feet from her. As I waited for her to relax, she approached me and checked me out. Not as curious as she was before, but was not as frightened.

I'll try sitting next to her crate when she won't come out (unless its first thing in the morning and I know she has to potty). I'll sit there with treats, ignoring her until she comes out.

Your suggestion for attaching her to me with a leash, I'm not sure I understand. When she's on the sofa, I can sit next to her and she won't move away. She absolutely freezes whenever a leash is put on her. My impression is that putting a leash on her is extremely upsetting for her. I'm not sure I want to do this exercise right now. Do you still maintain your position on putting a leash on her to get her used to being close to me?

Inara, in your original post, you stated "she won't interact with us at all. She will not approach us at all." So, based upon that info, not knowing the dog, the situation she was in, and what you might have done so far, I gave you exercises that I do with rescues who have had limited contact with humans. Obviously, if the leash appears to traumatize her, then don't use it. For now. As you get to know her personality, what you detect as "extremely upsetting for her" may very well be simple fear of the unknown. If a dog never had to wear a collar or a leash, they are going to resist it because it restricts their movements. In time, if you want to take long walks with your dog, visit friends, do any of the number of things we normally do when our dogs are on a leash, you are going to need to train her to accept it. But, for the moment, it is not necessary if you feel that she will backslide. That was simply a secondary exercise to get her used to you.

Regarding the exercise of sitting a few feet from the crate, don't sit next to it. Sit a few feet in front of it so that when she is looking out from within, she won't have any distractions. The point of this exercise is solely to get her to focus on you. This is a dog that didn't have the proper human contact. So, she needs to eat, breath, sleep, with you and your family if you want to undo the damage that has been done to her to get her to the point of relaxing and completely accepting you. This will be your best shot at getting her to become as close to a healthy mentally balanced dog as you can. Look at it from her point of view. She knows you aren't dogs. You are something different. She is in a completely different environment than she has ever known. She doesn't understand what is happening and why she is there. She is confused and it is going to take her a while to adjust. You don't know what happened to her during her limited contact with humans before. So, you need to consciously minimize any possible negative experiences she may have endured, no gentle corrections just yet, but simply force her into the today and now, focusing her on the fact that the "beings" she is surrounded by aren't going anywhere, are something she needs to deal with, and they are not a threat. She will eventually recognize and accept that you are a new pack structure that she is living with and she does have a place in it where she will have a warm place to sleep, food, and attention. So use the crate now as a tool. Bring it with you in whatever room you are in if you plan on staying in a room for more than a few moments. When you go to sleep, put her crate next to your bed or at some place on the floor so that if she wakes up, you will be in her line of vision. Bring it into your home office and position it so that she is very close to you and is forced to focus directly on you when looking out. Using the crate in this manner, will resolve your issue with the scratching and digging of your couch. The reason she is doing that is, it is a breed thing. Schnauzer's are working dogs and the breed was used to get rid of vermin. They are actually quite adept at catching rats. Digging is part of their nature. Since your dog is young, she doesn't have clue as to what the difference is between a couch, the floor, or the dirt outside. So, for now, encourage her to use her crate. That crate will actually become your best friend in your dealings with her. As I said earlier it gives her the sense of comfort she needs. Your goal is to make her as comfortable as possible around you. The adjustment will be easier for her. Given enough time, if all she sees is you when looking out of her comfort place, she may connect you to those same feelings of comfort she gets from her crate.

Work on that for a couple of weeks and then, come back and update us as to how you are doing, if you are experiencing new issues, or have additional questions.

''Regarding the exercise of sitting a few feet from the crate, don't sit next to it. Sit a few feet in front of it so that when she is looking out from within, she won't have any distractions.''

Ruby, are you assuming it is a plastic crate where the best view is out the open door? Although I state in my sticky that plastic crates are more den like, wire crates are quite common.

Other than clarifying that point, I can only it sounds like very good advice to me.

Yes labman, due to the small size of the dog, I am assuming it is a plastic or soft sided carrying crate, more den-like that a wire crate. Good point not to assume. That is the kind of crate I use with small dogs. If it is a wire crate and the dog is able to see out from all sides, I would advise Inara for the time being, to cover the crate and minimize distractions to force the dog to focus solely on her.

As I said in another thread, be careful not to give a chewer something to pull in and shred.

Thank you so much for all your advice.

Her progress so far:
She'll follow me up/downstairs (at a considerable distance).


She'll come into the home office and get on the sofa on her own.


She is stretching out when laying down more, instead of staying in a tight ball.


Her tail is in the mid point position more. Especially when outside or when she thinks we're ignoring her.

I reconsidered closing her crate and she's responded quite wonderfully. I've been completely ignoring her. Sometimes I slip up and say "good girl" quietly when she does something I like (like investigating in a curious manner as opposed to a frightened manner). This usually spooks her and she runs back to her crate. However, the time it takes her to come back out again is becoming less and less.

An excersize we're doing is taking her soft yummy treats and breaking them into smaller pieces. Placing them at a point as far away from us as we can reach and then placing it closer and closer. The point at which it's not worth it for her to get it is getting closer and closer to us.

The crate for her to sleep in that is upstairs is a wire crate and it is positioned that if she wants to, she can see me when I am sleeping. I do have a heavy blanket on the top of it, to keep off drafts and to prevent me from looking at her when opening/closing the door. The crate is too bulky to carry from room to room as my house is on the small side. It's not too big for her because I have a divider in it to make it smaller. Since she's coming out of the crate on her own, that exercise is probably not relevant anymore.

She's investigated one of her toys and chewed on it for a couple of minutes. I try not to leave her unsupervised (for long), but at the same time when I go up/downstairs, I want to give her the opportunity to follow at her pace. It was on one of those occasions that unfortunately she liked my throw pillow better and has chewed off two corners of it. Not sure what to do to encourage her to chew on her toys instead of things she shouldn't. I've tried to remove anything within her reach except her toys, but as with children - they can be resourceful if they want to.

She still does not approach us, but I believe it will happen in time. The first three weeks of being with us, nothing. Now after four weeks she has shown tremendous progress in the last week.

Inara, you are doing a wonderful job! Just keep plugging away. As I said earlier, what may seem like a small advancement to you will be a huge one for her. I am very thankful that you have the patience to get through this. That will serve you well with this little girl.

Regarding the throw pillow incident, if you catch her doing it, pick up a toy in one hand, very quietly say "no", gently remove the pillow, and replace it with the toy. At this point, she may run away as soon as you approach. That is okay because you are stopping her from damaging something you are concerned about. But, eventually she won't run, and the technique I have described will help you. For now, although I know you want your home to look nice, put the pillows away and anything else that she might get to, if you want to allow her free reign to give her a sense of comfort and belonging. As she gets more comfortable, curious, and doesn't hesistate to interact with you, than you can start closing the door to the crate when she is in there. You also should close the door to the crate upstairs in your bedroom when you all go to sleep. You don't want her to wander around at night. You want her to stay with you. Also, when you go out to run errands, crate her and close the door. Allow her free reign, only when someone is around to monitor. I know you can't watch her 24/7, but if you are very involved in something and don't have time to interact with her, again, crate her and shut the door. You need to have some down time to get stuff done, and it teaches her in an indirect and non-threatening way, that you are in control. That is the time she will take a nap.

I know about correcting a pup only in the act. Unfortunately we found the chewed up pillow after the deed was done. I've not corrected her at all if I didn't catch her doing "it" (whatever "it" was). This includes housebreaking accidents. I've only been able to catch her twice for that and responded appropriately. She's only had one mistake since but that was entirely our fault for not being able to read her signal to go out. My boyfriend isn't as watchful of her since she's "my" dog and didn't make sure she had gone when he let her out. Sometimes she needs to be reminded that she has to potty when you let her out. Especially when she turns around and wants to come back inside right away.

We've been crating her with the door closed at night and if we're not home. I'm very rarely so involved in something that I can't keep an eye on her at this point. However, I also limit her movements to which ever floor I am on. The stairs are blocked off if we're going to remain on one floor. It is only when I'm changing floors that I leave her unsupervised and the stairs unblocked. After she changes floors, I limit her movement again to that floor. Since she has a crate on both floors this should be okay as there is a safe place for her to go no matter which floor she's on.

I just found it weird that she'd chew on the pillow and not the toy that was sitting right there. However, I've seen dogs do this countless times before. She has not been running away when I say "good girl" in a quiet manner today, so when I saw her chewing on her toy I praised her. Unfortunately, she only chewed on it for a minute or two.

Slow and steady wins the race! :D

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'll keep you posted as to her progress.

Hello Inara:

You sound like you are trying to do the right thing.

Might I recommend another book in addition to the one already recommended: "Purebred Rescue Dog Adoption" by Liz Palika.

Don't be put off by the title - it covers all sorts of rescue dog behaviorial problems that you might encounter at home, whether your dog is considered to be a purebred or not.

I was able to find a copy in our local library so you may want to try there

I can not believe this.

I had to go into the office today. When I got home I was greeted by a whining and wagging dog. She was doing that "happy to see you" dance, too. Unfortunately (for me) it only lasted about 10 minutes. However, I'll take whatever I can get. This totally made my day!

Congratulations Inara! 10 minutes is actually a long time. You should give yourself a pat on the back. You have done a wonderful job. Keep up the good work.

I agree that the happy dance is a good sign. Keep in mind that dogs have different personalities, and she may never be a highly energetic dog. My Trink meets me by coming over, wagging her tail, letting me pet her, and then going back to her place and settling down. That's just the kind of dog that she is, so I don't expect more from her.

Thank you all soooo much, for all of your advice and encouragement.

While all of the advice has been beneficial, I am most grateful for the answer I got when I asked about closing her crate door. Even though I hate it when she runs there at the slightest spookiest thing (seriously, her shadow on one occasion), it has been the most effective and easiest advice to follow. Now that she knows that she can go in there when ever she wants, she doesn't go in there that much anymore. She doesn't even use the one in the living room at all anymore. Thankfully, she comes out of her crate on her own to go outside, in the mornings and after we've been away from home a long time. That was the only time I would pull her out.

Ignoring her is of course, the most difficult thing for me to do. I am doing a better job of that, then when I first got her. However, it's tough. She's a real cutie and has started doing some funny things. I have a boisterous laugh but try real hard to laugh more quietly.

Funny story - either last week or earlier this week, I was recounting the day to my house mate and had said "bad girl" in the story. I was not aware that she was venturing out of her crate and into the home office. My house mate told me that just when she was getting up the courage to come into the office on her own, I said "bad girl". She immediately turned tale and ran back to her crate. I laughed myself into tears when I realized what had happened. Obviously with the greeting I got yesterday - she's recovered from my for paw.

Not as funny but still cool story - usually she's already in her crate when it's time to go to bed, however, last night she went to her crate on her own when I was brushing my teeth. Cracked me up.