Lab showing aggression when you go towards him

He is doing really well on everything else, he is my daughter's best friend and follows her everywhere, they have an amazing bond already he is gaining weight nicely now which I'm really happy about... I just hope he can get passed the start he has had and learn to trust us so he can be happy here with us.

 

Hi and welcome to you and Oscar. He's a lucky boy to have you now, after his bad start in life. Just take things very, very slowly - especially with your husband and other men. Give him time to learn he can trust you. And come on here any time you have questions.

 

You're doing great with him. He's had a poor start, but you're putting that behind you. It takes patience, love and time. Lots of time.

 

He sounds like a lovely dog and is making amazing progress considering what he's been through!

Sometimes rescue dogs can be very stressed and confused in the first couple of months as they adjust to their new environment, so behaviour like this can just subside over time as he learns about his new life and start to feel safe.

 

He does seem so much happier than he was when he first came.. he does have a crate but the door is left open for him to come and go if/ when he pleases.. I'll do whatever it takes for him to overcome his fears.

 

Poor Oscar being locked up in a crate for 20 hours a day! So no walks or interactions of any kind. No wonder he is afraid of the world.....he had never seen it or heard it! Plus a nasty man to start his life out with scary stuff! Certainly it will take time for him to trust you and then everyone else, including cars, noises and so on. You are a wonderful rescuer and, with patience and love, he and you will have a great life together. Don't you wonder sometimes how such awful people actually live in this world? Why did he even have a dog to just leave him in a crate 20 hours a day? Plus, the 4 hours he was out of it who knows what was done to him.....Oscar is a very lucky dog with you rescuing him.

 

The excuse they gave was apparently they were on the waiting list for a sensory dog but didn't want to wait for the 4 years... so they went ahead and bought Oscar expecting him to be just like 1 ( not trained so pretty bloody stupid) The child was terrified of him so they locked him in the cage out of the way

 

Hi and welcome . I currently have a dog I rehomed , she doesn't have these issues but the rescue girl I had before this one , called Millie who died last year, was very afraid of my husband to start with . She would cower and showed fear of his feet, which told us a lot . It is really important to take things very slowly , no sudden movements , no shouting , building up the trust nice and slowly . It will come , with time and patience , in fact it wasn't too long before our Millie showed total adoration to my husband , which was so rewarding , thank you for rescuing a dog in need x

 

I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your furbaby. It's never easy is it?. He is getting better with it slowly. Right now he is in the kitchen with my husband while he is cooking... a handful of treats is helping a lot although naturally it has to be on Oscars terms and when he feels comfortable,but it's the first time he has even sat at the side of him and taken anything from him x

 

That's wonderful for Oscar and your husband. So happy to read this xx

 

You've had some great advice. My husband and I went to visit someone yesterday who has a small dog who is very scared of men. We went on a short walk with our puppy and her two dogs (the other is a boxer x ridgeback, who is completely bonkers) and J (my husband) simply stayed away from the little one, completely ignoring her. By the end of the walk, she was approaching him and having a sniff. She even took a sea biscuit from him.

I'm not saying it's going to be this easy with your boy, but sometimes trying to fix the issue by making it a "thing", trying to make men a positive experience etc, can actually be quite stressful for the dog. Sometimes simply ignoring them lets the dog work it out in their own time.

 

I hadn't thought about it like that @snowbunny and it reminded me of a friend that rescued a Husky x GSD years ago. She brought her round to my house and told me she doesn't like people at all, we sat in the garden for a cuppa, I totally ignored the dog and after a while she approached and sat next to me and licked my hand to my friends amazement.

The other thing is name change which we have discussed on the forum before. If a dog has been abused sometimes just hearing it's name can be scary I know lots of people who have rescued dogs and changed their name straight away, we did with Charlie, we are his fourth home so he has had a lot of names but he got used to it very quickly as a puppy. xx

 

This was why we changed names, for Millie and for Nell , new beginning, new name x

 

One of our neighbors just got a year old Labradoodle, Lucy. The previous owner could not cope with her energy level and wanted to re-home her. Her previous situation was not so bad, but she was not very well socialized. She was initially very skittish, especially around men, but did enjoy playing with other friendly dogs, especially Cooper. Just being in the yard with our dogs and people who let her approach on her terms seemed to help a lot. It only took a few weeks to reach the point that she would come over to me when I called her. She is really bonded with my neighbors daughter, but is pretty comfortable with most everyone else now. After only about a month Lucy is much more confident, and not very skittish.