House Training an Abused Dog?

All I can say is that any dog I have had from a happy home as a puppy I have not had any problems with. The Rescue dogs I have had act out for a reason, if they are fearfull of the create it is for a reason only known to them. I have a 6 year old rescue Beagle, was used on a puppy farm for breeding so does not understand about realationships with people.. I am just working on building a relation ship of trust, he wees and poos indoors,, he is shacky and cowering until I clear it up, I speak to him as though nothing has happened and he settles down. I have had him for 3 months now, started him off in a covered crate with an open door but I had to cover the door with a towel when I fed him or he would not eat. He has been out of the crate for 4 weeks now in his own bed, he is much the same when I am around but when I came home from work the other day he came rushing down stairs to his bed in a pannic he seems to have been lying on some clothes outside my bedroom door with my other rescue dog who is a totally different kettle of fish, (she will still flintch if she knows you are going to touch her but she is happy in every other way and even a bit demanding if she feels it is time for a walk).

If I leave the house and my daughter is at home she has seen him run to the door sqeaking. twice recently he has taken a treat from my hand very fearfully but he did it. He will sneak into the garden if he thinks you are not around but runs back in doors if he sees anyone. I do not expect him to be a normal dog but I would hope he can spend the rest of his life fairly happy, six years have already been wasted, he will definately be safe and cared for. I suppose in his own way he thinks he has got a bond with me unfortunatley it appears to be based on the only way he knows how to have one.
Good luck with your dog, I think the most important thing is for them to be able to trust you as the person that keeps them safe and loved. praise is how they learn to do what you want.

So I do not know if this helps but we have a rescue Yorkie that was in a puppy mill caged for 5 years and we also cannot house break him. We did take him to school like we did our other Yorkies but they said they could not use the same methods because he had not been socialized. I am about to give up on the house breaking and belly band him so he can have some freedom and run around but I wanted to comment on the eating issue.

Luca will not eat or drink in front of us. He loves us and wants to be held all of the time but we put him in a dog playpen to eat away from the other dogs and we have to turn our back when he drinks. Crazy but I wanted to let you know we also have that issue.