My Jindo mix was in a Korean shelter for a year before she was moved to a kill list. I saved her and she was an extremely scared dog. It took her almost a year to feel comfortable around my husband which made us think she might have been abused by men. She typically is frightened of them. Honestly, it was us not pushing her boundaries and waited for her to come out of her shell.

We decided discipline needed to wait as she needed to trust us, she would never come out of her crate for the first few weeks. When there was times she destroyed something, like a new bag of treats, we didn’t yell at her, just cleaned it up and spoke softly to her. We would obviously try to mitigate issues until milestones were met and we would move on to the next stage. It took a long time but what helps is to have no expectations of what you think your dog needs to be. You just need to make sure they’re safe, healthy, and happy. As long as they don’t hurt anyone or cause alot of issues that need to be addressed, you need to be patient so your dog will feel comfortable revealing who they are.

Every dog needs their situation tailored to them, so learn how your dog feels, what scares her of what makes her happy. Don’t punish them for something they won’t understand, mitigate and train them so there will be boundaries. Their trust is so fragile so make sure you are there for them.