[jenn1381]

Congrats on your new addition!

My Oliver is a puppy mill dog, and he is very skittish and scared as well. I've had him since March 28th and I can say that the best things you can give him are patience and time. It takes them a while to realize that the bad things that happened in the past aren't going to happen again. Oliver took to me immediately, but no one else in my family. He still really dislikes my dad, but is making small strides - taking treats out of his hand, playing ball, etc.

Just keep doing what you're doing. As much time with people and other dogs as possible. A month is still not a lot of time, it often can take 6 months or even over a year for a dog to let the bad go and truly realize that she's safe now and that you'll always protect her from the bad stuff. I honestly did not start seeing much progress in Oliver until around week 5. We just started with a personal trainer, and my hope is that that will help too - just him realizing I am the pack leader and seeing that I am not scared, I hope, will help him to see that he doesn't need to be scared either.

Just keep loving her! Give her time to trust and realize that she's safe, happy, and loved.

Congrats again! Charley is lucky to have you guys.