Adopted neglected poodle that doesnt play or run around

Question
Hi, we got a poodle for free, it ended up being from a breeder(not a very good one. The poodles hair was all matted and dirty. He had ran free outside and slept in the barn. He let us bathe him and we trimmed his hair pretty short but the problem with him is that he chose a spot in front of the couch and that is were he sits.We call for him and he wont come no matter if we have  food or if we are going out side or if we want to play with him. We have to carry him if we want him to go somewhere.We do have 4 children 5y and younger but the olace we got him from had small children also. He hasn't barked at all ( we have had him for 3 days now)but I am just worried because he doesn't move around, he is only 8m and he doesn't play with my kids?He doesn't jump around or wince when we pet him so we don't think he was physically abused but he does act wierd for a 8m old puppy...How could I help him?

Answer
Hello Maria,
Congradulations on your new dog.  
Sounds to me like he just needs some time to adjust to his new family.  
What I think would be best for him is if one person starts off bonding with him and once he has bonded with that person, then he can get to know the rest of the family.  
Lets say that its you that is going to bond with him first.  
I would start by taking him to a quiet place and just set with him for a bit.  Talk to him and pet him for about 10-15 minutes per session (you can do several sessions in a day, but give him a break in-between them).  You should also be the one to feed him, walk him (or at least take him outside) and attempt to play with him.  

See it from his view: he has most likely been by himself, isolated and running around in this barn for 8 months.  Nobody worked with him or messed with him.  Now he gets picked up by a family and brought indoors, where there is all this commotion and activity and he most likely seems overwhelmed.  He figures that he will just sit back and take in what is going on until he can understand how your family works.  He needs to bond with and trust someone first that can reassure him that its alright to just be a dog in this family.  Though its a little strange for a puppy to not be active and playful, maybe his 8 months were inactive and boring and that is just what he is used to.
I would say with a little time, he will come out of this.

In your bonding time with him try doing the "Puppy Exam" with him.
Sit on the floor or where you can put your feet out in front of you.  Lay him gently in your lap on his back, with his head toward your stomach. (sometimes they will be very stiff and their legs will be straight up in the air, this is ok for now)  Now slowly rub his neck and belly until he starts to relax.  This step may take a couple of days so don't rush it.  Once he will relax with you (you will see his legs start to relax and he may even go to sleep), you can start to go over his body.  
Work around his head area first.  Look in his ears, eyes, in his mouth and at his teeth.  This will get him used to being handled so that he doesn't jump or flench when the Vet is checking him over.  Next, get him used to you working with his feet and toes.  Spread his toes and rub in-between them and tap on his toenails.  This will get him used to having his feet handled so that when he goes to the Groomer, they can trim his toenails.
Check his coat by running your hand over his hair backwards.  This gets him used to having his coat checked for things like fleas, ticks, bumps, brusies, cuts or anything else that he might have going on in his coat.  Running your hands over the coat backwards sometimes can feel awkward to a dog and this helps them get used to it.  
Next, feel down his tail and check his groin area.  This is a good area for fleas and ticks and alot of dogs tend to chew or bite in this area.  Its good to get a dog used to having this area checked over so they are comfortable with it.  
Take your time with getting him used to having these different areas worked with, then you can do these exercises daily (spend about 10-15 minutes) to help you bond with him.  It helps you bond with him because he learns to trust you.  He is in a very submissive position when he is on his back.  He learns that in this position, you won't let anything hurt him.  He also learns that you are his boss because your head is above his, which shows him that you are dominate.  He learns to submit to you, and that is what you want.

As for taking him out on a leash, he has never learned how to walk on a leash before so he is going to have to learn what it means to be walked.  Again this will take time.  I think once he bonds with you, it will be easier to teach him to walk on a leash.  He will want to be with you so as he starts to follow you more, just put a leash on him and let him drag it around.  You can encourage him with tidbits of food once he is eating better.  

Playing is another thing that he most likely hasn't expirenced before so it will take some time for him to become playful.  Roll a ball past him and watch his reaction.  If he looks at it but doesn't go get it, thats good.  That tells me that he is interested, but doesn't know what to do yet.  If he doesn't look at it at all, then you might have a bit more work to do.
Slowly introduce him to several different kinds of toys.  He may like things that roll more than squeaky toys that may scare him.  Just try a few and see he reaction to the different ones.  
Real animal fur toys may be enticing to him being that he lived in a barn and might have been exposed to animals such as rabbits or squirrls, which is the type of fur they use on these kinds of toys.

You can take him to a Vet for an overall check-up just to make sure that there is nothing physically wrong with him, but I really think that all he needs is time.  

Once he gets more accustome to life with you, you may think about getting him out in the public or taking him to Obedience classes (Poodles love to please and do REALLY well with Obedience training)
though that is a ways down the road yet.

Well, I wish you luck with him.  I have seen other dogs like yours come out of states like this over time and become normal members of the family.  It just takes patience, and gentle persuasion on your part.  

I hope this has helped you some.  If you have other questions or comments, please feel free to ask.

Thanks for using AllExperts.com,
Kim