Geez, I can't believe the rescue allowed this dog to be adopted without first evaluating it.

I would get her to a vet asap and make sure she's physically healthy, since not eating or drinking is going to cause a whole new set of problems.
Then, you've either got to do lots of research on how to work with such a frightened dog or bring in a behaviorist. She needs socialization at this point not training.

I believe one of our members, Mazer, worked with such a dog but he had a second dog that was of help. Hopefully he'll respond.

Something you may want to check.........while at the vet, see if she responds differently to men vs women.

I wound up with a dog in very close condition---I have a very aggressive/dominate male guard dog who needed a companion.

I let him pick the pound dog. I doubt I could have rehabilitated her without his help.

I picked her up four times a day and taking her outside---where (when she did her business) she just did it and soiled herself. Other than that, we completely ignored her. She lay in the middle of the dining room floor for two days before even raising her head to be curious.

Once she began exploring, Max paid attention to her---and therefore so did I---praising every positive action---and ignoring any negative action. Max sensed she had never been allowed to be a puppy---so he allowed her to climb/chew/roughhouse on him for several months.

She still has freeze up moments three years later, but I can pretty much treat her like any normal dog---yell a correction(even a stern calm voice used to instantly freeze her).

I doubt you can rehabilitate her alone, it seems to me Max was more instrumental in Molly's rehabilitation than I.

Sorry handymac........it was you I was thinking of!

I would have said what handyman has already said, just give her time, GOD BLESS YOU for taking her into your home, you will be rewarded sooner than you think, she will return your love and be the best dog you've ever had, I know because it happened to me with a rottie I rescued. Keep us posted, what did you name her?
Christine

I had a dog like this, We used to call him Super Chicken in a dog suit. Go slow, your dog is not food oriented, mine wasnt either. Put the food down and leave the room so it can eat without feeling threatened.

You really need to work on confidence building, Pet your dog under the chin to raise its head, Praise it alot.and go slow. You can use Rescue Remedy to take the edge off her feeling traumatized. Good Luck

Time and love will allow this dog to learn to trust you. You will be amazed at the transformation. I've linked to a great rescue organization that goes through this a lot. Maybe you can contact them for some tips. I'd put the food down and go across the room to let her eat in a safe, sheltered spot. Give her time to realize that you mean her no harm, and she will come to you. Thank you for giving her a home.

Here is a link that might be useful: hopeforpaws.org

Just to add to the really good advice so far---it took a year to get Molly to close to 'normal'. She is still a very submissive dog---always last in line with the normal dogs around. And we've had her four years now.

It sometimes seemed she was not making progress. ,Times when unwanted behavior did not change or get better for several days or even weeks. We had years of experience training horses---which show that difficulty of behavior change a lot---so were used to that situation and just kept ignoring the unwanted and praising the desirable behaviors.

She now 'protects' our house from trash trucks, school busses, and certain motorcycles. And my eldest son has a new puppy---who plays much like Molly likes. And Molly played for hours---until she had had enough and growled at the pup.

All in all, working with a scared dog in much more difficult and time consuming than working with a dominant of aggressive dog.

In the end, the difference is very rewarding!!!

Hi everyone. Sorry about the delay in responding to all your excellent tips, but somehow, I thought I didn't actually post this--that I had written it out but pushed the close button and it didn't post. So, now I'm online looking for advice on Revolution or Heartgard and saw my post! Go figure.

To update: progress is actually good. I woke up Sun AM and she'd peed, and that was a positive sign. I put her crate in the kitchen, keep the door open and put a baby gate across so she can't get out, altho at this point, I don't think she would leave. She has learned to come out of the crate if I stand to the side and point. I didn't like having to almost crawl into the crate to pull her out to give her meds. The vet did find an eye infection like conjunctivitis, so I had to put eye drops in. She has no problem eating the pills with other food, unlike my lab, who could pick out any medicine from her bowl, altho she'd eat anything else, God love her. She was the best dog. Anyway, so my rescue, Maggie will eat if I'm across the room on the floor and looking away. She tolerates a bit of petting and will eat from my hand. I keep everything very low key and while I push her comfort zone a bit every day, I back off and give her space. She does look at me. She won't walk on a leash yet but she potties quite well on the puppy pads. So, all is going well. I'm expecting a long process, but she is a sweety. I think I got the good end of this bargain. Also found some good videos on Youtube. Thanks again for the advice!

Hi everyone. Sorry about the delay in responding to all your excellent tips, but somehow, I thought I didn't actually post this--that I had written it out but pushed the close button and it didn't post. So, now I'm online looking for advice on Revolution or Heartgard and saw my post! Go figure.

To update: progress is actually good. I woke up Sun AM and she'd peed, and that was a positive sign. I put her crate in the kitchen, keep the door open and put a baby gate across so she can't get out, altho at this point, I don't think she would leave. She has learned to come out of the crate if I stand to the side and point. I didn't like having to almost crawl into the crate to pull her out to give her meds. The vet did find an eye infection like conjunctivitis, so I had to put eye drops in. She has no problem eating the pills with other food, unlike my lab, who could pick out any medicine from her bowl, altho she'd eat anything else, God love her. She was the best dog. Anyway, so my rescue, Maggie will eat if I'm across the room on the floor and looking away. She tolerates a bit of petting and will eat from my hand. I keep everything very low key and while I push her comfort zone a bit every day, I back off and give her space. She does look at me. She won't walk on a leash yet but she potties quite well on the puppy pads. So, all is going well. I'm expecting a long process, but she is a sweety. I think I got the good end of this bargain. Also found some good videos on Youtube. Thanks again for the advice!

I'm so pleased to hear Maggie is coming around, I think you both are so lucky to have found each other.
Keep us updated as time goes by. God Bless you & Maggie
Christine
P.S. I love her name

what a great update! i'm so glad you have the patience for this as many people just don't want to take the time. you will be rewarded a thousand times over! sounds like maggie is getting bolder and that's great!

keep up the good work, will look forward to more updated. :)

Progress will be slow for a while, and then should speed up---especially after she comes to trust you.

You are doing fine!

You actually give dog food to a dog