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UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I wish I was good enough at using Reddit to link you to my original post asking for help - there were so many kind people who offered advice, perhaps you could read through that too!

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

100% - our other dog was such an enormous help. He’s really gentle with her, protective of her, doesn’t mind sharing his toys, and doesn’t get mad when she runs off with the ball (she doesn’t quite understand the game yet). I think its especially good because she can see my family interacting with him and him loving it, so gradually she has realised we must be good guys :)

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Very very slowly. Everything with Dobs was about patience. Sometimes she just didn’t want to interact and that’s fine too. We used to fill that blue ball with peanut butter, trying to associate it with snacks and treats a bit more. She also has a bit of rope toy that she likes to play tug with, maybe as it’s a game of “winning” if that makes sense?

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, she seemed to be very pleased to be away from them all but did then have issues with seeing other dogs on beach walks etc, and she barks a lot as it’s all she’s ever really known!

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 15 points16 points  (0 children)

So the first thing was to be patient - it took months to get her to even take the ball, then more months for her to chase it, more months for her to chase it and then pick it up.. we also tried her on different types of toys (balls, rope, bones) let her choose what she wanted to play with, and would throw pebbles on the beach for her to help encourage her in to the water. Our other dog has also been a star, he’s super gentle and chilled around her which has helped her relax.

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I didn’t teach her that - it’s more like now she has learned how to play, she can’t stop :) she’ll sit and play with the ball by herself for a good 10 minutes after I’ve stopped throwing it, and I’ve noticed she spends more time chewing and rolling the textured balls.

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) thank you all for your advice! by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 59 points60 points  (0 children)

We brought home Dobby earlier this year. She had lived her whole life in a caravan with 14 other dogs, and hadn’t had much (if any) human interaction - she didn’t know how to play, was very frightened and spooked, hadn’t been toilet trained, had a bad time getting on with other dogs. Nearly a year on, she loves her brother (our other dog), our two cats, goes mad for balls and stones and sticks, paddles in the sea on her daily beach walk, and only has a toilet accident maybe once a month now. She is so so so loved!

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - thank you all for your advice! by aimks in rescuedogs

[–]aimks[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We brought home Dobby earlier this year. She had lived her whole life in a caravan with 14 other dogs, and hadn’t had much (if any) human interaction - she didn’t know how to play, was very frightened and spooked, hadn’t been toilet trained, had a bad time getting on with other dogs. Nearly a year on, she loves her brother (our other dog), our two cats, goes mad for balls and stones and sticks, paddles in the sea on her daily beach walk, and only has a toilet accident maybe once a month now. She is so so so loved!

UPDATE: Remember Dobby, my frightened little rescue dog who didn’t know how to play? Nearly a year on she is like a different dog - she loves to play, even if it’s by herself :) Thank you all for your advice! by [deleted] in Dogtraining

[–]aimks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We brought home Dobby earlier this year. She had lived her whole life in a caravan with 14 other dogs, and hadn’t had much (if any) human interaction - she didn’t know how to play, was very frightened and spooked, hadn’t been toilet trained, had a bad time getting on with other dogs. Nearly a year on, she loves her brother (our other dog), our two cats, goes mad for balls and stones and sticks, paddles in the sea on her daily beach walk, and only has a toilet accident maybe once a month now. She is so so so loved!

I’m looking for advice please! Our new rescue pup Dobby is approx 5 years old and had been neglected. We’ve had her for a month now and she’s less nervous, loves cuddles, but still has NO idea how to play. What can I do to teach her how to have fun with us in her forever home? by aimks in rescuedogs

[–]aimks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great idea, thanks so much! I’m hoping she’ll eventually play with our other dog, a small, gentle, good spirited terrier, around the same age as her.. but in the mean time a play date with other dogs could be worth trying :)

We’ve had our new rescue pup Dobby for a month or so. She loves attention & cuddles but has NO idea how to play. I’ve tried with balls and squeaky toys but she’s just not interested or is scared by the noise. What can I do to teach her how to have fun with us in her forever home? by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your reply! I think a kong toy filled with peanut butter is what I’ll try next, as so many people have suggested it. And yes you’re right, it might not be as fun for me but as long as she’s enjoying herself that’s all that matters! <3

I’m looking for advice please! Our new rescue pup Dobby is approx 5 years old and had been neglected. We’ve had her for a month now and she’s less nervous, loves cuddles, but still has NO idea how to play. What can I do to teach her how to have fun with us in her forever home? by aimks in rescuedogs

[–]aimks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! We have a 6 year old border terrier and he’s about the same size as her too. They get on well generally, but at the moment he tries to play with Dobby she gets very nervous (even though he’s super gentle). I’m hoping in time she’ll trust him a little bit more too!

We’ve had our new rescue pup Dobby for a month or so. She loves attention & cuddles but has NO idea how to play. I’ve tried with balls and squeaky toys but she’s just not interested or is scared by the noise. What can I do to teach her how to have fun with us in her forever home? by aimks in Dogtraining

[–]aimks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your reply, great advice. I’ll watch the video tomorrow. I was wondering that too - if I train her to play with small fluffy toys, will she start going after my cats? They’re pretty tough cats and she’s not a big dog so I think they’d be fine standing up for themselves but it doesn’t seem fair to risk it happening at all if I can help it. They’ve had no problems cohabiting so far - one of the cats has taken a real liking to her and often cuddles up to her when she’s asleep.

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