scared iggy

Question
i recently adopted a 3-year old italian greyhound. though the rescue where i
adopted him had been doing well with training, he had previously been with a
hoarder so he's lacking socialization skills in addition to being a naturally
nervous breed.

the quandry is that he wants to stay in his crate ALL the time. i can coax him
out for potty breaks, but it really scares him, at least initially. he does okay
on walks though he is often scared on the walk, too. sometimes he pees on
his walk. sometimes not. when he gets home, he runs for the crate.

i'm wondering if i should continue to coax him out for potty walks or if that is
reinforcing the fear. should i let him tell me when he needs to go? he's not
eating much yet so i could be unnecessarily scaring him.

if it's good for him to get out, should i try to get him out and calm him down
other than potty breaks so he knows it's safe here?

it's only been 5 days and i know it will take a while for him to calm down, but
i want to know if i'm on the right track.

thanks for any help.

tricia

Answer
Hi Tricia,
First of all, pat on the back to you for taking on a special needs dog like this!  Don't expect too much from him for the first few months - it often takes that long for a scared dog to feel confident with his new owner.  Do continue to coax him out, rather than get him started having any accidents in the house or the crate.  Your demeanor should be one of quiet confidence, and when he acts frightened, just continue to be calm and don't coddle him either verbally or by patting.  Do reward bravery of any kind.  Even a couple of steps out of the crate on his own can be met with a very quiet "good boy".  
If you think he won't be too scared of the noise, think about trying to clicker train him (the i-click is quieter than a box clicker, and you can muffle the sound by placing it in a handkerchief at first).  Use something delectable, like homemade liver or salmon brownies (if you need a recipe, I have one).  What clicker training will do is to give him a way to understand that you are pleased with certain behavior (like bravery).  If he really is too nervous about the click, just use a quiet "yes" as your click.
Be sure to start out in a very non-distracting area with no other dogs or humans present.  Dogs that won't take treats are still too close to the object of their fear.  But, many dogs that won't take anything else will lap a tiny bit of squeeze cheese or peanut butter off your finger.  We often begin with a really scared dog by hand feeding him his dinner each night.  If he doesn't eat, the food goes away till next day.  Soon, hunger overcomes fear:-))  Of course, I would not do this more than a day or two and always make sure he has water free choice.
www.clickerlessons.com has some free lessons, and you can start with "Attention".  If he is trained to look at you, it's much easier to help him deal with scary things later.  Good books on under-socialized and shy dogs:
The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell
Help for Your Shy Dog by Deborah Wood
Both should be available at Amazon or at dogwise.com
Good luck!

Tricia -
1 to 1.5 lbs of chicken livers (or a 16 oz can of pink salmon)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. yellow corn meal
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 large egg
Liquefy chicken livers in a blender.  Mix with all other ingredients and spread out and bake on a lightly greased cookie sheet at 215 degrees for fifteen minutes.  Cut while warm into tiny treats (I use a pizza cutter, then cut even smaller with a knife).  These freeze well and the recipe makes enough for five baggies of treats for class:-))
Cheaper than going to the pet store!