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About 2 months ago, we brought a dog home from the nearby "no-kill" shelter. When we got her she still had all her puppy teeth, so I imagine she was about 3-4 months old. We brought her home to our male champion Boston Terrier, and they made friends very quickly. The boston is very well behaved and I had hoped he would be helpful in sharing his good habbits; but this

We pet her, nurture her, and love her very much. Let's just say that she is one of the least ignored aspects of our home.

We have one issue with her though. Any time a voice is raised (for disciplinary purposes), she runs and hides, and then will refuse to come when her name is called for quite a while. We never hit her, but we may give her a very light swat with our hands once in a while. When strangers are near, she hides and eventually warms up to them.

Recently, she learned how to jump over our fence and get out. We live in a rural area with all kinds of dangers to her, so until we can afford to fix the fencing issue, we have to tie her up.

Today was the first time I tied her up. I tied her up with enough lead to let her go to all ends of the yard without getting over the fence, and she has been standing in the same position, only moving once in a while to thrash and try to escape the lead.

I feel like there is nothing I can do to help her ovecome her inability to adapt. I want her to stay in the yard even if the gate is opened (my boston does this and we never had to train him to), I want to help her be more outgoing, and most importantly, I want her to be less afraid.

>>About 2 months ago, we brought a dog home from the nearby "no-kill" shelter. When we got her she still had all her puppy teeth, so I imagine she was about 3-4 months old. We brought her home to our male champion Boston Terrier, and they made friends very quickly. The boston is very well behaved and I had hoped he would be helpful in sharing his good habbits; but this
>>
>>We pet her, nurture her, and love her very much. Let's just say that she is one of the least ignored aspects of our home.
>>
>>We have one issue with her though. Any time a voice is raised (for disciplinary purposes), she runs and hides, and then will refuse to come when her name is called for quite a while. We never hit her, but we may give her a very light swat with our hands once in a while. When strangers are near, she hides and eventually warms up to them.
>>
>>Recently, she learned how to jump over our fence and get out. We live in a rural area with all kinds of dangers to her, so until we can afford to fix the fencing issue, we have to tie her up.
>>
>>Today was the first time I tied her up. I tied her up with enough lead to let her go to all ends of the yard without getting over the fence, and she has been standing in the same position, only moving once in a while to thrash and try to escape the lead.
>>
>>I feel like there is nothing I can do to help her ovecome her inability to adapt. I want her to stay in the yard even if the gate is opened (my boston does this and we never had to train him to), I want to help her be more outgoing, and most importantly, I want her to be less afraid.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

There are many training techniques that don't require raising your voice or swatting the dog. I'd avoid tying her, too.

A veterinary behavior specialist could help you find reliable training help in your community to learn the right methods for this dog. Ask your veterinarian to help you find the nearest veterinarian who is board-certified in the specialty of behavior. It's important to do that before her defense drives emerge, because at that point the fears may come out as aggression. And of course another option would be to place her in a non-rural home where keeping a dog more closely confined is routine and they have access to more choices of training help.

A lot of dogs in shelters do have special needs. The shelter experience is traumatic for dogs, especially puppies.
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Kathy Diamond Davis, author, "Therapy Dogs: Training Your Dog to Reach Others," 2nd edition, and the free Canine Behavior Series articles at http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=SRC&S=1&SourceID=47