Developing a loving and trustworthy relationship with dogs is the first thing that every pet owner must do. But making your dog believe that you really love him becomes difficult when the pet has lived in the shelter house.
Still, building up a connection with rescues is certainly doable. It might take a bit more adapting on your part but with time, you’ll have a best friend for life.
Recently, Reddit user ThrowM3Away22 made a post, describing this exact journey and people found it so heartwarming, they started sharing similar stories of their own. Here are some of the most emotional ones.
We managed to get in touch with FloydianCrazyDiamond and the Redditor was kind enough to tell us more about their dog. “Her name is Molly,” they said. “She’s mean, feisty, sassy, and aggressive, but also really cuddly and sweet when she wants to be.”
“I used to be her groomer and her previous owners surrendered her to me when they realized they weren’t fit to take care of her.”
FloydianCrazyDiamond had Molly for 9 months and earned her trust just by being patient and letting her roam free. “In her previous home, she was locked in a kennel for 5 years straight, so I just never locked her up anywhere,” the Redditor said.
“She passed away on February 3rd from heart failure. She was showing signs of heart failure when we got her, but she improved almost immediately so we thought she was better and it was just a ‘broken heart.’ The day she passed, she got to try watermelon for the first time. She was so excited that she ran from couch to couch and ended up falling between them. She was fine, I just had to grab her since she got stuck. So I think she went out happy, full of watermelon.”
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This is so wholesome. It made me happy reading it and if you dont mind I have a related story to share that might make someone else happy too:
A year ago I started sitting a very old and sick dog. I knew this dog for most of my life and his owner is the most passionate and caring and competent owner a dog could have. She had 3 Whippets, the old, sick one, a young and ‘normal’ one, a really good boy, and a very young traumatized dog. The lattest is really aggressive against other dogs due to his trauma and with every other owner he would be a straight up danger to other dogs. All of those 3 wonderfull animals were brothers, which is also a big part in why the traumatized one (Johnny) could live with the other two without incidents.
Now my old and sick buddy Finn had a rare disease which kinda made his nerves disappear. It was harrowing to watch and got really bad, he couldnt really walk and bend his legs anymore, so he waddled everywhere. But his brain wasnt damaged – he was a happy and loving dog. And very attached to the owner. It was difficult to care for him, and she had trouble finding a dog sitter – she couldnt leave Fin at home alone, what if he fell? Or something happend?
But he could not walk properly so he couldnt come with her anywhere – not even on walks which his brothers desperately needed.
And so I was entrusted the glorious task of sitting him once a week. I had a great time with him, he layed on my lap, ate bananas out of my hand and eventually his owner taught me how to get him into the garden, so she could stay out a littler longer because I could help him go pee. Thing is, he could not bend down his knees and poop on his own, so you had to kinda hold him up on his leash. One day as I was there he couldnt manage that anymore. He hung there, trembling and so I kneeled down, hugged him and pushed his hip down, while holding him so he couldnt fall over. At first he was still trembling, trying to move his legs on his own, then suddenly I felt his whole body go kinda limp. He was still breathing, just really relaxed and just concentrated on getting that s**tty job done. It was a heartwarming feeling, having this dog trust me so much. He passed on a while later. I remember him very fondly, his brothers are fine, old but happy and healthy.
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Congrats on the milestone!! So happy for progress! Mine was similar. The old owners kept her in a kennel for so long that she learned to hold it in as long as possible and barely drank water. We had to take her out every hour to try and get her to pee. We’ve had her for over two years and she just runs out and pees with no problem! It’s so great watching a rescue become a doggo again.
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We only adopt dogs who have suffered severe abuse/neglect. Their behaviors make sense when you think about where they came from. Keep offering love, security, routine, good food, clean water and gentle touches (as well as comfy dog beds), and they gradually come round. One dog took almost a year, but man, he is the BESTEST boy now. Keep it up. Your dog wants to be a good doggie.
This also reminds me of the first dog we adopted together, who was at one point in his life trained to scratch the back door if he needed to go out. He was a big dog and our back door took a hit until we trained him to growl if he needed to go. One day my dad was visiting and the dog comes up to me and starts growling. Freaked my dad out until I told him it was okay, that the dog just needed to poop. Once I explained why we trained out dog to do that, my dad was impressed.
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I’m not trying to be dramatic, but this makes me nervous because I have a similar story. I was laying on my couch watching TV when suddenly my cocker spaniel came up to me screaming. I took him outside and he pooped and stopped screaming. I was very confused. He was a little under a year old and none of my other dogs had ever yelled about needing to void their bowels. I took him to the vet and she gave him a clean bill of health. Almost half a year later, same scenario, laying on my couch watching TV when my cocker spaniel comes up to me screaming again. But this time he fell over. I realized immediately he was having a seizure. He was diagnosed with epilepsy. Not saying that is the case for your dog, but your story reminded me of my own and no harm in sharing info. Maybe someone will see and it will help their puppet!
Side note: We did phenobarbs and sodium bromide to treat his epilepsy, but he gained weight rapidly and his liver was shutting down. Worst of all, he still had seizures at least twice a year. Took him to a new vet, stopped his old meds, and started CBDs. He’s had 2 seizures in 4 years since!
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I am so happy that she is somewhere safe and where she is being loved. It may take some time for her to completely come around to trusting you but when she does you will treasure her even more.
My little guy also went through this same issue and would be scared to even ask to go potty. Now he’s got the potty dance down and also the potty word down when I say “who wants to go potty” – he about jumps for me to put harness and leash on him. I love him and wouldn’t trade him for a pup that doesn’t have his past. Pretty sure we are together for a reason
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It’s the best feeling when they finally trust us, isn’t it?
One of my pups was quite mistreated before coming to me and for the first year, he would run away from pets and scratches, and a belly rub was never an option.
Now, he actually comes to us to initiate pets, cuddles, scratches, and rolls over to request a full belly rub.
It’s a great feeling.
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That’s such a happy story! My mixed girl was very obviously owned by someone before we found her in a shelter, and each time we took her outside of the shelter (once when we first met her, and once the day we adopted her) she immediately went to the bathroom and had obviously been holding it a while. She’s very rarely had an accident during the two and a half years we’ve had her and honestly has a bladder of steel because she is so stubborn and won’t go until she really has to. Most days she will go after dinner around 5 pm and then hold it until the next morning even though we take her outside and beg her to PLEASE JUST PEE BEFORE BED. My poodle was so good at going on command that it was very strange to get used to.
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Awe, I am so proud of her, too! I foster, so know some animals can have quirks. My Husky is a rescue and he can scream when terrified, perhaps she was beat when she pees and thus the scream. Poor hun, working with my little Atlas to make him feel safe and reduce. Food aggression.
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My late Boston terrier’s mother was abused and the people that rescued her was able to calm her anxiety by breading her. She had the most amazing offspring that gave us 15 years of outdoor recreational fun and companionship.
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