Candy & I adopted "Chunk" from CHUG Rescue, he is the brother of Muffin a "CHUG" female we adopted 7 months ago.
He is very terrified of men. He will sometimes approach me if I throw him a treat. He loves my wife and daughter but gets very loud and scared if i get close unless they hold him. He will let me pet him if they are holding him. He doesn't snarl or bare his teeth.
any suggestions?

And the road goes on forever....
BobbaLee

Marye and all

It's a Chihauaha and Pug mix pretty common in Miami
Since I posted that in the early afternoon alot og good has happened I would call Chunk in a high pitched voice (Hahaha ) and toss him a biscuit. He would not come in the house from our backyard so I left the sliding glass door open. I got back on my phone and computer to work . Once he got in the house I would every half hour or so toss pieces of biscuits to all of the dogs and some over to Chunk who kept his distance.
Candy got home from work about 8 pm. Of course the zoo came out to adore and worship her.
We sat on the couch eating dinner and Chunk very gingerly came over and let me pet him.
He would back off and kind of crawl over to me. He is more relaxed however if I make a sudden movement say to get up off the couch he really backs off and barks. I can only imagine what past cruelty has caused this reaction.
What an improvement.

And the road goes on forever....
BobbaLee

I've always been a believer in the high-pitched voice, treats, and no sudden moves when dealing with dogs who are afraid of men. I had a dog who was always leery of my brother-in-law (who is a dog-guy, so it's not like he gave off dog-hating vibes), IMO because he has a gruff-sounding voice and just can't bring himself to let out the girly-voice we all know he has bottled up inside him.

In our household anyway, high-pitched voice always seems to be used when we praise our dogs, and the gruff stuff is what we use to signal displeasure.

But I think that I can live without EVER hearing what my high-pitched voice sounds like to the rest of the world....every once in a while I'll realize I'm using it and I start feeling more than a little bit foolish.

As a man with allergies to cat and canine dander I can only say it was my lot in life to fall in love with a pet person. We have always had at least two dogs and 2 cats.Thanks to the internet we now talk with a few rescue societies every day. So of course my wife and 18 year old daughter are constantly cooing and talking about all the pets for adoption. When I am listening to the Dead or engrossed in a football game and my daughter sits next to me and says "Dad we need to talk" I may as while hoist the white flag. Sooner or later I will be pulled to the monitor to look at the cutest most adorable cat/dog to ever live and it needs a home. Of course I like and even love some of them. Sometimes I wish I was my pet but then I don't have opposable thumbs so I couldn't turn on my stereo.

Starting with the oldest- Pumpkin is an almost ferile orange and white male cat who is quite the tough guy-he may boss the other pets around and howl a lot but if you are a stranger or a possum or other dog he will go after you and right for your eyes. At least twice a day he very stealthily approaches me to be petted. He loves Ivory our blind white female cat and whatever Scottie male we have. Both cats are rescues. When our 2 year old Scottie, Barney died suddenly in April; Pumpkin moaned mournfully for at least 10 minutes and periodically for days after that.
Muffin and Chunk are a brother and sister Chug Mix rescued. They are one years old. Muffin is skittish but very sweet. Chunk is afraid of men but twice today he climbed on the couch,put his head on my leg and slept while I watched the Beatles Anthology on VHI.
Boomer or Boo is a pure bred champion Scottish Terrier who is quite small and very well behaved. He is the only pet I have ever allowed to sleep in my bed.
I never thought I would have this many pets but they are very loving and it is rewarding to have them

And the road goes on forever....
BobbaLee

And the road goes on forever....
BobbaLee