About a year ago, a few days shy of St. Patricks day, I was given a red/white beagle puppy that I had seen in the paper and was fawning over. I love Beagles because they are fantastic dogs. When Lucy (she was Scrappy then) came to me, I was overjoyed.

However, I noticed some behaviors in her that made me question the home she came from. She's skittish. Really skittish. Loud noise? Barking and freaking out. Sudden movements? Jumps, jerks, runs, barks. Suspicious of everything. You pick up something like a hairbrush and she slinks away, and if you walk towards her with it, she runs out her dogdoor and refuses to come back in until the brush is put down. If you walk towards her too quickly, she dashes out the dog door. She has horrible seperation anxiety. She is NOT friendly with other dogs, and beat up on the other dog she lived with.

When I got her, I meticulously picked over her, making sure there was no signs of physical abuse, and I found none, but her behaviors scream something was definately wrong.

I met the boy who had her before me. He was about sixteen and very friendly. He loved that dog, and wanted nothing more in the world than to keep his beloved Beagle. His step-Dad loved that dog too, and was heartbroken to see it go. The boy's mom, however, seems cold, and didn't touch the dog until coerced to by her husband. They told me she was allergic to dogs, yet she had a pocketbook dog sitting in the car. When I mentioned all this to an animal loving coworker of mine, they highly suspected abuse of some form.

Lucy has bloomed into a wonderful guard dog (by her choice, not ours), a fantastic hunting dog, a kid-friendly dog, and a nice lump of warm fuzz that's very appreciated in Pennsylvania winters. I just cannot shake the thought, however, that my poor Lucy might have been abused.

Thoughts?

I'm no expert, but I recently adopted a new cat who had been rescued from a group of kids abusing her.
She reacts in many of the ways you describe. She flinches very easily and gets snappy when touched in certain places (although the vet has given her the all-clear). Any sudden movements, even when she's watching you, upset her etc. And as for brushes.. forget it.

So, I would say it is a distinct possibility.
I reckon Kpickell would know a lot more though.

Being skittish and frightened of movemnts and noise isa most often just them being naturaly skittish, Both the dogs I have were abused one horribly and the other just beaten but despite being in a good home now the one that was beaten will still pee herself if anyone yells, this is a compleate submisive action, it is what pack dogs do to show they are letting another compleatly dominate them , they pee to show that they are no threat unrine has a strong signature for animals.

Now my other dog if you raise your hand above his head he will instantly cower and if you come near him and draw your foot back like you will swing it he will yelp and run hide in a corner.

Abuse leaves mental scars that are far more obvious than being skittish and easy to frighten so I would say your dog is likley just skittish.

Lucy has bloomed into a wonderful guard dog (by her choice, not ours), a fantastic hunting dog, a kid-friendly dog, and a nice lump of warm fuzz that's very appreciated in Pennsylvania winters.

You say here hunting dog. Do you take her hunting or what?

I think over time she'll get used to you and learn that you don't want to hurt her.

I co-ordinate animals from labs to go to sympathetic vets, and so I see animals like that a lot.I think that the key thing is to be very patient. One liltte bunny I got was so bad that none of the vets were willing to take him, he was very agressive and he was absolutely terrified of anyone coming near him. It took ages for him to trust me and to let me pick him up, but now hes gone the opposite way and got a liitle bit *too* confident.

If theres no signs of physical abuse then you need to take things in small steps and to try and make things familiar by having routines so that he starts too feel safe.

It's possible that she might have been abused, but it doesn't sound like it to me. I'd agree with Ayrlin that it sounds like you just have a naturally skittish dog that was never taught the ropes of human society.

It's usually pretty easy to fix though. I'm heading out the door, so I'll write more later.

I personally do not take her hunting. That's my Dad's area, only because I'm not coordinated enough, and I'm never home to do it. Lucy seems to think that the best time to go sniff out rabbits is five minutes ago. Thanks for your responses!

She may have been abused or just not been well socialized. My dog was similar when I first got him. The best way to train them that something like a brush is ok, is to do the "jolly routine". My dog would skitter away from a broom, so I did a "HA HA HA" type laugh (kind of panting like the way dogs laugh) and tapped him with it. He quickly learned that I would not hurt him with it. I had to do the same thing with a leash (if it swung down , he got scared) and paper towel tubes. It sounds like your dog already trusts you, so she should respond quickly to this training. If she still has problems, talk to your vet about specific training for her.

Keep in mind, abuse doesn't have to be "physical" to be abuse. The same can be said for child abuse. Abuse can be emotional or pshchological as well. Not saying that is the case here, as I don't know, but I would think that it is certainly possible.

I'd say she was poorly socialized as a puppy. that'd be my guess. you can work on remedial socialization.

Check out the book, Click to Calm.

I'd say she was poorly socialized as a puppy. that'd be my guess. you can work on remedial socialization.

Check out the book, Click to Calm.
Is that a clicker training book?
Clicker training does wonders for dogs who have been abused and those with just self esteam problems.
I used the training for my two Aussies