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Rescue dog thinks its nocturnal

19 10:40:52

Question
QUESTION: I adopted a one year old Great Pyr/Anatolian Shepherd mix one week ago.  She had lived outside on a farm for her whole first year but did spend time inside sometimes at the foster home.  She now is inside here at my house full time but she has been terrified since she arrived.  

She hid under the desk for the first 6 days only coming out twice in six days to go potty.  Literally.  Now she will roam the house in the middle of the night and won't relax until I come out of the bedroom to be with her.
She would already be in the bedroom with me in her crate except I can't get her to move out of her hiding spot at bedtime, so I end up going to bed and then getting woken up by her at 1am or 3am....   I'm exhausted at this point and can't keep doing this since I already have my own baby to also take care of.

How do I get my new dog to sleep at night?    Any ideas or suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.  
Thank you!!!



ANSWER: It might be a good idea to try and coax her out a lot in the day time with a special treat,like small pieces of hotdogs,that often encourages them to move-even if she only comes out for a second,give her a treat EVERY time she comes out of hiding,even if it is brief it is common for dogs to hide for a while until they become used to everything

But i do understand that you want this to stop,so in the daytime or evening(when ever you are home)even put a leash on her and even gently give her a tug,but while talking softly to her and offering treats,a yelling ect will make her want to hide more

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the suggestions!  I really appreciate it.
I have tried the treat method (and would never dream of yelling at this beautiful girl) and tried the leash.  She is not at all motivated by food even though she's only eaten one bowl of food in 9 days now (she should be eating 4 bowls a day)....     but I will try giving her treats every time she comes out as I didn't do that yet - that sounds like a great idea...    

Trying to tug gently with the leash only makes her pull back more.    Is it possible that she really was never abused?   she is soooo loving when I come to her, but I have to actually get work done during the day, so I can't sit in her hiding place all day (I work from home)... but her reactions make me wonder if she was abused...  

Answer
It is possible that she was abused,but more then likely it is that she is not used to being inside,and also was not socialized so is afraid of everything new,usually abused dogs are more nervous and run away from people and noises rather then just staying in one spot,but anything is possible since you don't know her history

And it could also be possible that someone was rough with her,like when she was a puppy someone may have dragged her on a leash,or again it could be that she has never been walked on a leash before-so it will take time for her to trust you