new dog - quirks?

[Terminallysleepdeprived]

We adopted an adult dog in December having been looking for a significant time. She is beautiful, really calm etc. She is a cross breed with a really quirky personality and she has stolen our hearts already.

She was settling fine and then over the weekend whilst having her bedtime walk she became very scared by my torch. I live in a small village with sod all street lighting so need a torch to see where she goes so in can pick up after her. I suspect she has at some point been beaten because ever since she been very nervy around me, not cowering as such but withdrawing a bit, ears back etc. No issues at all prior to this.

Any tips on how I help her overcome this and rebuild the trust she seems to have lost?

I have stopped using the torch and have gone back to using my phone. But just wondering if anyone has any tips for helping her

Might a head torch be useful here? She might not associate it with an actual torch.

Ohh good plan...Will see what I am find on amazon.

Any ideas on how to get her to stop being scared of me in the meantime (even without the torch?). She is currently curled up under the duvet because I feel so guilty that she was frightened by it!

missmouse has beat me to it. We will be getting out puppy today and using a headtorch for taking her out in the back garden as we have no external lighting yet.

Try a head torch OP.

£5 headtorch B&Ms. Just bought two of them at weekend

Can you put the torch on the floor and let her approach it so she can get used to it?

I feel its just because its new but it may be the brightest, try it on a lower setting if you can?

With regards to being scared of you, I'd suggest trying to do some really basic training with lots of treats involved. The idea isn't that she learns new stuff, but that she interacts with you, has fun, experiences lots of success and gets lots of treats.

I'd start off by doing the things DDog already knows (sit, paw?) and tossing the treat to the dog if she's reluctant to take them from your fingers. "touch" is also a really good but simple one to teach, and most dogs don't know it.

Fetch and tug of war are also really good interactive games

But also - time! These things don't happen overnight.

FWIW my nervy rescue dog really doesn't bond easily to new people. I've had a series of lodgers in over the years and he never really bonded with one who was here for 18 months because there wasn't much fun interaction. A lodger who was here for a month, but spent lots of time playing with him, became fast friends with him.

Thanks folks.

I have left the torch near her bed and she seemed less nervous of it today and I have also taken the poop bag thing off the lead which has helped too. She seems a lot calmer today and has stopped backing away when I try and put her harness on so she's obviously feeling a bit more secure today.

I do think I've upset her because I have taken the throw off the sofa and washed it as it stank of dog after a soggy snowy weekend. Apparently she thinks it is hers (she has her own blanket in her bed that she nests in) and I'm a twunt for stealing it

She's such a sweet little thing, and she is so good with dd which is good. She occasionally chases the cat, but the cat is twice the size of her and has always lived with dogs so she doesn't really care and just gets up on the radiator and snears.

Thanks for the tips about the head torch, we don't have a big b&m locally enough to get one there but I will have a look on amazon.

Great to hear, OP. Head torch is so useful in general for all sorts. I wouldn't be without mine. Petzl ones are really good. Remember to buy batteries as well!