Maybe belongs in Can You Help Me with This, but this is the thread for dog lovers. I've posted a few pictures of Sadie in this thread. She's a 2 year old Great Pyrenees/Shepherd mix. We got her from a rescue a little over a month ago. She's very patient, doesn't jump on people, potty trained, and the sweetest dog I've ever had. In short, this dog has worked her way into our hearts in a very short time.
What I have started to see though, is that she has been mistreated in the past, and by the male in her house. There are little signs of it. About a week ago, I was working at home (bad weather day). When I work from home, she comes downstairs to the basement and spends much of the day with me. When she wants something, she gets up and comes over to me. Usually it's just some petting that she wants. That particular day, I reached down to pet her and when I touched her, I got shocked. I pulled my had back and that poor dog cowered in fear. There have been a few other instances where she cowers and it breaks my heart. I soothe her and everything is good, but I hate that she still has a fear of what appears to be me.
My question to the other dog lovers is this: Will she ever lose that fear? I do not want this dog to think that I'm going to beat her, ever. I want her to respect me, but I'm almost afraid to even speak to her in a stern voice because she'll get scared.
Edited to add a story from yesterday. Sadie loves to go with me everywhere. Yesterday I was about to go out for a bit and she could tell. She was at the door ready to go. I put her on the leash and we went out. The wife was already out there and I needed to put some wiper fluid in the vehicle. As soon as I opened the hood, this big girl jumped in the engine compartment and landed on the engine. Thank God it wasn't running. I lifted her out and she was unhurt. She just figured that was another way into my truck.