Suggestions for dealing with a schizo puppy?

OK, so Batgirl rescued a 1 1/2 year old rat terrier from the pound and brought her home Tuesday. Cute dog. Only problem is, the thing runs under the nearest piece of furniture every time we leave it on its own. If we pull her out and keep her in our laps or on the couch or something, she seems fine. Last night we let her sleep in the bed and she was even playful for a while. But today she's been under the bed for the last six hours (after another two behind the dresser). Batgirl is getting frustrated and is about ready to take her back to the shelter. At this point, it's getting harder and harder to blame her. Any suggestions on how to solve our puppy's issues before we get to that point?

 

Put cold cuts all over the floor.

 

Yes, it should be totally adjusted in just 5 days.

Have you ever owned a pet before? Have you given thought to never owning one again?

 

You and she have to be patient. The key word in your post was "rescued." This dog might have been abused. At the very least, it was abandoned and spent who knows how long at a shelter.

Give it time. Be nice to it. It'll come out of its shell eventually. You wouldn't expect an adopted child to immediately love and trust you, can't expect the same from a dog.

 

My cat stayed under beds and couches for about a month. I'd have to lure it out with a trail of food to be able to take it to the vet.

Since then? Her trust has grown, and she now jumps on me and purrs.

Just freaking give it time. It's been five days.

 

Sounds to me like this puppy was mistreated. Just give it some time and LOTS of love. Don't take it back to the shelter, that'll only make it worse. Keep it and love it as if it were your child. It needs it.

Usually, a pup that acts like that was abused by a previous owner, or saw a form of abuse as a very young pup.

Keep the little rat.

 

1. Burlap sack.
2. 2-3 bricks.
3. A bridge over deep water.

 

The dog, does it have its own spot in the house ... a box, whatever?

 

Batgirl is also disabled (in a wheelchair), so it's nearly impossible for her to dig out the little mutt to feed her, take her to the yard to poop, things like that.
We figured she was abused and it might take a while before she's "normal", but it'd be nice to see some signs of...I dunno, something. Exploring the house, wandering around, eating her own food without being hand-fed...something. We don't want to take her back, but we also don't want to come home and find a dog skeleton under the bed because we either couldn't find her or couldn't get to her.

 

I think it likes to hide underneath furniture, which is a reason for execution if I ever heard one.

 

We bought a little pet carrier for her and put a blanket in it to make up a bed. She went in there the second night, but seems to like the spot behind the dresser much better.

 

Give it some time. THe dog just needs time to gain trust. THe wheel chair might be a little scary too. Just give it time. I was told by a vet that a dog won't starve itself. IT will come out and eat.

Work with it.