dog wont take treats

Question
I have a 2 yr old border collie i just adopted from a shelter that is deaf. She refuses to take treats from my hand. she will actually run the other way and wont come near you until she thinks it is gone. I have no history on this dog because the shelter picked her up as a stray. she doesnt even know how to play with toys. she is scared of them to. this is the first deaf dog i have owned and dont want to do something wrong not knowing her past and what she may have been through in her life. she is a very sweet and loving dog...just has a few issues. hope you can help me.  thanks

Answer
Some dogs just don't like treats, though I expect she'll warm up to them after awhile. I would feed her her meals one kibble at a time from your hand. This will get her used to taking food from you. Once she gets that down she will probably get more adventurous about trying new treats. If she refuses to take the food, put it up and try again in a few hours. When she gets hungry enough, she will take it. Chances are she'll take a couple of bites and then run off and a few hours later you can give her another couple of bites.

Pay close attention to what the dog likes. You can give affection and reward without treats. Go slow with the toys and let her sniff and check them out at her own pace. If she likes other dogs, the best way to teach her is to have another dog teach her.

Deaf dogs tend to adapt well and most dogs do well with hand signal training so I don't think her handicap should be a handicap at all.