We just rescued a 2 year old miniature Poodle. She seems to be defensive. The previous owners never brushed her hair. She had two years worth of matted hair. The veterinarian had to sedate her so that they could clean her up and shave her. For example: if my husband is holding her she will growl and try to bite me. If I am holding her she will growl and try to bite my husband. But other than that she's pretty well-mannered, she's not food aggressive, she's got good manners, she is pretty trained. She's two years old and we just got her on February 25, 2019.
Anyone have any advice? Please we are desperate.
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She has had trauma in her past. You will have to be gentle with her. No loud voices or sneaking up from behind. In time she should trust you more, although she may always exhibit traces of the behavior she learned during her formative years.
I would suggest letting her have some space and not picking her up for a while. When you feed her, don't talk or praise, just put the food down, and take it up after about 20 minutes.
If you take her out, do so in a calm almost bored manner. If she jumps up and wants to sit with you, act bored. If she acts like she wants to be petted, then do so-but once she acts up, get up and walk away from her.
Keep bits of hot dog pieces in the fridge and when she is good, you can give her one in a bored manner.
Let us know how it goes if you do this for a week. She probably needs a safe place to hide, like an open kennel.
Blessings,
Robyn
Oh my!! Poor little thing!! She is so new to you and will need lots of love and patience!!
Get her in to the vet ASAP to make sure there is nothing health wise going on and perhaps consider getting her on something to help calm her down a tad until she can realize she is safe with you both.
Post back with updates!! Blessings to you all!!!
Hi,
She will have to wear a muzzle when groomed just like my chihuahua, Andy. I would take her to the vet for the first couple of times, if you need to clip the nails.
After many years of doing this for my chihuahua, I am able to do her nails (most of the time) without a muzzle.
The best thing for you is to have your pet groomed at the groomers, so that you are not the 'bad guy', especially in these early days.
Blessings,
Robyn
thankfully, dogs are a pretty forgiving breed and will adjust well to a new, loving home. It is a good sign that she is as well behaved as she actually is
re. grooming, most likely her other family situation either never groomed her, so it is a new/threatening situatin to her, or they did so in a way that it hurt. She will eventually get used to it
in general handling her as little as possible, and always being gentle and calm, will do wonders for her temperament
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