[matese]

I have a question, why do you put her in a crate, downstairs away from you?
If she came from a puppy mill, her primary existence was for breeding. No human contact other then feeding and cage cleaning. No playing or interacting with other animals other then the babies her had. Her world was a CAGE, with wire floor, no freedom. I agree with yorkietalkjilly, being FREE of the cage can be overwhelming to her, her life was a 3x3 (so to say) world, now it is wide open spaces, can be scary. So much space she chooses the confinement of the sofa. I think a month of the sofa it’s time for her to know the safety of the rest of the house, one room at a time. If you are going to spend time in the kitchen bring her in there with you. Block off the doorway so she cannot get to the couch. Praise, praise happy dance, reward treats at all little achievements, if she looks edgy in the kitchen bring in a doggie bed, show her that is a safe space for her, keep bringing her in the kitchen until you see that she is roaming around and feeling comfortable, it may take days or a few weeks for her to gain conference. Then start the same thing in another room. All baby steps. This is a new world for her. Playing with a little toy is a good sign. Yorkietalkjilly’s suggestion of the chicken is an excellent way to get her to play. She doesn’t know how to play, she was used to breed. Being confused by toys is because she had none, her toys were the babies she was forced to have. By a small selection of toys, soft plush to soft squeaky ones. Do as you did with the plush ones, lay them around the floor, she will select what she likes, it all takes time. Nice walks, another thing she is not use to, the outside world. Walk and sniff. Pick a time that is good for you for walk, make it the same time everyday. Dogs like routines, take short walks the first week then longer the next week, get her use to the world outside of a cage. Always praise, pet, hold, cuddle her when she does all these new things. Time and a lot of patience is what it will take, but the reward of seeing you reshaping the life of a confined dog to a dog that can enjoy the world of freedom is priceless. A little bit about my rescue and my reward. My boy was gotten 3 years ago for an 8 y/o child whose parents were getting divorced, to help the child over come that daddy will not be there, the grandparents thought getting the child a puppy to love and care for would take some of the pain of loosing her daddy. The puppy was to be the Child's toy and a diversion for her daddy not being in her life 24/7, so the puppy had no toys, the child was his toy. He was kept crated all day while the mom worked and the child was at school. When both came home the puppy was let out of the crate and the child took charge. This child trained him, taught him the basic commands, sit, stay etc, the puppy was the child’s world and visa versa. Due to the pup at age 2 y/o having serious medical issues, mom remarried had a infant her finances were limited, she could not afford the medical care the dog needed. She was going to have the dog euthanized. The rescue team my vet works with saw this dog on the kill list, they contacted the owner and volunteered to take him as a rescue and re-home him. The owner agreed but did not tell them of his medical issues, they loved the dog, did not want to put him down, as first time dog owner the mom was not aware of rescue shelters. The mom told the rescue team she had to give him up because she had this infant and was afraid the dog would harm the baby. The dog was taken to my vet, when my vet saw him he reminded her of my lil girl that I had to put down 6 weeks earlier. She called me to come see the dog, in a nut shell I took him. I had gotten rid of all dog related things when my baby girl at age 17 y/o had to be put down, I had no intention of getting another dog, so I had nothing here. So off I went to buy toys, not knowing what he liked I got soft plush squeaky ones, soft rubber ones, balls of diff. Sizes. I was soooo excited with my 2 bags of toys. When I got home and gave him just one of each he walked way from them, not interested lol, big disappointment to me, but I got on the floor and I played with them lol, still no interest. So I left them in a basket on the floor. I also have a big back yard, he was leash walked only, was never off his leash. When I took him home the first thing I did was take him to the yard. He was like a greyhound, he ran and ran and ran. I could hear him singing the singing the song “born free” lol. It took him about 2 weeks before he went to the toy basket on his own, he would dray out a toy and play with it, then a diff toy, until he discovered which type he liked best. Soft squeaky rubber ones. Now he is a toy freak, tosses them all over the house. That was my reward, introducing him to toys, minor to what you have to work with, just giving you an example of giving them time and being consistent, not giving up on the training, praise, reward. I am still being rewarded by things he was not allowed to do with prev. owner, but I encourage him to do with me. You will see what your time spent in reshaping this sweet lil girl will affect you. You will have a great sense of pride and accomplishment, and an over whelming amount of love for this lil baby. Please keep us up-dated on her progress.