I've recently adopted a rescue and am in need to help with skittish behavior.

I've recently adopted a rescue and am in need to help with skittish behavior.

This is my first dog( but I grew up with dogs as a kid). I had mutts, a German Shepard/husky, a lap dog/poodle (with hair instead of fur), two retrievers, and a lab. But this is the first that's mine. :D

Anyway, Gadget is a 7 months old dalmation/lab/American pitbull mix. I adopted her last weekend. She's been house trained and responds to commands well, if not immediately. But she's extremely skittish and especially if I do any sudden movements (I'm male). I want to further trainer her to follow more commands, but I'm worried she has dog PTSD from whatever conditions/abuse she might of been through before her rescue. I don't want to rush her and I don't want to make it worse for her. But I need to be able to also discipline my girlfriend's dog (when it's being shitty) and not have Gadget become very scared.

I'm looking for any advice for helping heal skittish dogs as well as how to train them to follow commands without making things worse for them emotionally. Thank you.

Submitted February 05, 2017 at 08:05AM by masterofallvillainy
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