# Rescued 4 yr old Golden



## Abbydabbydo (Jan 31, 2007)

Oh goodness, thank you for rescuing this sweet girl! I imagine she was a bit shell shocked and quiet when you first got her and now is in another stage of fear. And they have to stay so quiet in heartworm treatment, another thing she doesn't understand.

Does she sit in your lap and like hugs and petting? I would concentrate on that to win her trust, poor baby. This may be the most important journey you take with a dog, bringing her back to health, but I know you will be glad you made the effort.

Good luck and keep us posted!


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## british (Jan 7, 2009)

Abbydabbydo said:


> Oh goodness, thank you for rescuing this sweet girl! I imagine she was a bit shell shocked and quiet when you first got her and now is in another stage of fear. And they have to stay so quiet in heartworm treatment, another thing she doesn't understand.
> 
> Does she sit in your lap and like hugs and petting? I would concentrate on that to win her trust, poor baby. This may be the most important journey you take with a dog, bringing her back to health, but I know you will be glad you made the effort.
> 
> Good luck and keep us posted!


She likes to be petted, but when we got her she was not afraid of anything and adjusted really well, totally house trained and loved being with us and going for walks. Now she is so frightened of every little thing. The vet told us that we could still take her on quiet walks...but with her so scared and trying to get away from everything it is such a worry. Thank you for your kind words...Macey is just so sweet and all we want to do is give her a forever home and get her better...thanks again!


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## Jackson'sMom (Oct 13, 2007)

Thank you so much for rescuing Macey. I, too, have a little girl from a puppy mill. I'm sure others will have additional suggestions for you, but for now, I would just let her take things at her own speed. Do things that she enjoys, even if it's just sitting on the floor with her. No sudden moves, raised voices or loud noises. Everything is new to her; my girl was scared by a piece of paper towel that fell on the floor this morning. Maybe reward her good behavior (no shaking or trying to escape) with a tasty treat -- something she gets only as a reward. 

Please post some pictures of Macey and do let us know how she progresses.


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## GoldenJoyx'stwo (Feb 25, 2007)

Ah, my niece's Golden is very skiddish. He spends time with us when they go on vacation and we adore him. He's very used to us and the routine we have. When we first met him we would let him come to us. If something scared him we would pretend it was nothing and he would come back into the room when he felt comfortable. He's even afraid of the wind blowing through the trees, so we would leave the deck door open for him so he could go in and out as he pleased. He is afraid of the vacuum cleaner. I vacuum a lot. When he's here he would just run upstairs into my bedroom and come back down when I was done. At home, he pees! 

It's hard to see them so afraid of everything, but they do come around and when they do, it's pure joy to see them so darn happy!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Macey*

I agree with everyone. For now, I would take it easy with Macey and she will calm down in her own time and when she feels secure and safe.

My Rescued Golden Ret. is terrified of storms and even rain and though we've had her since she's 16 mos. and she will be 10 years in Feb., she still SHAKES and will refuse to go out during even rainy weather.

Don't take it personally. It seems Macey never had a home or was ever loved or ever lived in a home, except for the month you've had her..


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

Of course, your new girl has to go outside to relieve herself if nothing else. So do take her out, but here's how I solved the same type of problem. I have a rescue who was kept in a small crate and exposed to nothing, so we had to start from scratch with a fearful dog (who's back was broken and we didn't know, so he had pain and fear). We took it in baby steps but nonetheless went on walks. When he was frightened, we just acted like everything was great, no coddling, but we kept the exposure to short excursions at first. For things that made him shake with fear (like the garbage truck), I'd desensitize by sitting on the front lawn with the garbage truck way down the street, giving treats when he'd stop shaking and speaking in a soft but upbeat manner. When the monster got in front of our house (the hydraulics scared the poop out of him), he'd get the mother lode of treats. It took a month, but he couldn't care less about those kinds of vehicles or noises now. Slow steps, but don't stop all activity because she's frightened. She'll never get over it if she's not exposed to the things that scare her.


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## Sharkle13 (Jan 2, 2009)

I have a goldie now but before I had border collies and one in particular had been through a lot before I got him, I had lots of advice on what I should do and took him to training but in the end it was love, time and trust he needed and maybe it's the same for Macey. Goldies are notoriously trusting but after 4 years of what sounds like hell she must find trusting hard. I wouldn't force her to go out if she doesn't want to, allow her the ability to go out on her terms and when she's ready and the surroundings are too her liking. With my collie he took several months to calm down and a few years to overcome some of his more difficult issues but he lived to 14 so I have a lot of good memories and he a good life for a good many years so stay calm with her and hopefully you will be able to work through this together and at her pace.

I would like to know how you get on, would you keep me informed?


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

It sounds like you're taking great care of her. A crate for her to go into and have a safe haven is a good idea. I wonder if she might be in pain? My Sam shivered when he was in pain. Maybe the Heartworm treatments are making her feel sick? I'm sure as time passes and she realizes she has a loving safe environment, she'll open up to you. Thanks for rescuing her.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Right now the best thing you can do for her is just be calm and let her adjust. You had a honeymoon, now she is destressing. Just be patient with her, if you see her calm and not frightened, reward her. Whatever you do, don't coddle her or tell her things like "everythig is ok", to a dog that means there was something to be afraid of.

I'm very surprised your vet told you, you can walk her during heartworm treatment. It's very important to not allow the dog to do anything that will raise her heart rate during the recovery period. If she is having panic attacks out on walks I would not walk her until heartworm treatment is over.


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## british (Jan 7, 2009)

*Macey*

First of all I want to thank all of you who responded to my cry for help.
I am going to follow all of the advice, because every one of the answers had a common thread. I will be keeping her very calm for the next few months, she has her next treatment for heart worms on the 16th January. We will be giving her lots of love to build up trust again. She has been through so much and yet she still wags her tail a little when she sees one of us in the house. I now know after reading the replies that I have to give her time to trust us, after 4 years of abuse. Every time I look into her big brown eyes I wish she could tell me who did this to her....I get so angry when I think about humans who treat innocent animals like that!!!
Thanks again one and all for all of your words of wisdom and kindness. I will be putting a picture of Macey up in a few days.


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