Three weeks ago we bought a 6 month old Goldendoodle (Retriever/Poodle cross) from a breeder. The dog had been sold to a family at 2 months old and returned 3 months later because the family could not cope with it. He then spent just over a month back with his parents and several other dogs on the farm where he was born, with little human interaction. We believe he was over-crated and may have been physically harmed while he was out with the family, perhaps they beat him for pooping on the kitchen floor. We're not sure, but he is a nervous dog and lacks the fun and energy that you would expect from a dog of this age.

When it comes to feeding time (which we do at 7am and 7pm each day) he will not go and eat until we leave the room, even if we're at the other end (20 feet away) and paying him no attention. However as soon as we leave the room, he will go eat.

It also took 2 weeks to get him to take a treat from the hand. After 2 weeks of love and gentle encouragement he will most times take a treat now. However he takes a treat almost reluctantly and so it is not really a training tool. Today I put a row of three treats from where he was sitting towards me (I was about 4 feet away) in an attempt to get him to come to me. He would take a treat that was close to him but nothing further than about a foot away. However once I turned my back, he took all the treats and came over to me.

What is the problem and how do we address this? At the moment we struggle to get him to get out of his bed and go for a walk and it's difficult to begin training if he's not keen to take a treat!

First, I've never rewarded a dog with food so in my house whether he'll take a treat doesn't matter. I reward with praise, a great deal of praise, and a pat on the head.

He needs time and love and patience and encouragement. This dog has, at best, been ignored and has had lots of changes in its life. He needs to learn to trust, and he needs consistency in his life. I don't know that I would necessarily care if he wouldn't eat in front of me, as long as he eats!

I'm not a big fan of designer dogs. I see a lot of problems with them and people often pay very high prices for what is basically a mongrel.

Why a Goldendoodle?