I had a dog given to me by an acquaintance several years ago. I’m not proud of the fact that within a few weeks I also gave him away to strangers. They answered an ad, I put on a bulletin board. The worse part of this story is that the dog ended up being vicious and eventually put down.
I cannot comprehend giving a pet dog away ever again, but it got me to thinking. Does my dog trust me? Not only with his life, but in everyday circumstances such as my coming home after work, feeding him at the right time, not hurting him or coming to me even when he does something bad?
5 signs my dog lost trust in me.
1. My dog would come when called, but hesitantly. He would at times walk very slowly to me with his head down, or maybe not come as close as before. To some owners this may appear to be a sign of guilt. But it appeared to me more probable he lost trust in me.
2. My dog would move out of my way when I’d walk towards him. At one time I would have to step over him, when he was in the way, because he was so confident in me. He started acting like I was going to walk in to him
3. He stayed out of my way. He not only moved out of my way when I would walk towards him. He knew where I was going before-hand and stayed way off to the side. He was always in the hallway when I got up in the morning, and then he started to stay in a room and only come out when he knew I was no longer a threat of walking in his direction.
4. My dog no longer looked for treats or he would take the treat from me and disappear into another room. Most dogs love treats and will do almost anything for them. My dog could have been sick or depressed but most of the times there are other signs for that. He was eating his regular meal. Was not lethargic. And at that time, I would have thought he had health issues.
5. My dog quit rolling over on his back for belly rubs. He used to love belly rubs but then he started laying on his belly. Even worse, when I tried to get him to roll on his back he would snap at me.
I regained the trust in my dog by remaining calm and waiting for him to come to me, I would reward him with a treat when he sat, and did his favorite trick of playing dead. I did not try to calm him with a sympathetic voice, I read somewhere, he would think, he was being rewarded for acting the way he was.
I hope this is of some help if you are having problems with your dog.
Source by Greg W Day
