Havanese Behavior Problems! Please Help!!!

I'm  sure all those weeks in the cage have caused many of the problems. Is there anything wrong with the new dog. When we got Scott from a rescue he got tired to fast on walks and just sat there and I  had to carry him.Try enticing her with treats to like the leash. Is she scared of the leash? Maybe you should put the leash on in the house for her to get used to it. though I'm not sure what  your sayings wrong with the puppy, besides things wrong neglectfully. Hope that helps. If you go into a little more detail I may be able to help you better.

Hi Turtle2898!
Thank you for your reply. Actualy, medically Maya is fine now. She did have a blood work done, and it came back ok. The vet said that she was still underweight and malnurished, but other than that she was healthy. My concern is her fear towards men and leash. When she is unleashed and my husband is not around, she is very playful and energetic. Once she sees my husband, she starts acting very scared (only indoors though).  She barks and then hides in corners of the room or under the bed. Same thing with leash, when I put it on her she looks petrified and does not move! When she is not leashed, however, she runs around with Daisy and has lots of fun.

Hmm well again I would try to get the leash on her and then leave it and ignore her and see if she walks around with it. Get her used to the leash. Im not sure about men, your husband is going to have to bond alot with her. show her men are ok. Treats,  playing anything to bond.

Congrats on the new addition. I don't think anyone will come down on you for rescuing a dog from a terribly unpleasant situation. But I would recommend contacting someone in your area about the condition that you got her in. There's no excuse for that whatsoever, and that pet store doesn't deserve to be in business. I hope you took some pictures of her initial condition.
 
About the fear of men: You're going to have to take it slow. My thoughts are that she probably had some very unpleasant experiences with a man, and those are sticking with her. You're going to have to have patience with her on this. Have your husband sit near her for a while. Have him offer her some treats after she's comfortable with his presence (which could take some time). The treats will  help her associate your husband with something good: food! Welcome to the forum!! Show us some pictures of your new little girl!!

Thank you both for your replies! 
Turtle2898: I did try to let her walk around on her own with the leash on. It gave the opposite effect. The leash is retractable, so the plastic handle was dragging behind her making her even more scared. But thank you for trying to help me with this problem.
MissMandy: I am writing from work now (psst, don't tell my boss), and I don't have any pics on this comp. When I'll get home I'll post some. Also, believe it or not, I had quite a few people (on a different forum) come down really hard on me for buying a pet from a pet store. They said that because of people like me those places exist. They said that et stores will replace my puppy with more and more puppies if people will keep buying them. They are probably right, but all I could think of at the time was that poor little creature suffering. I just could not leave her there!

Hmm I understand why she was scared about the leash beacause of the noise. Maybe you should just put the leash on and sit there with her. you said she prefers women over men, so maybe if you just dit and confort her. Give her  treats when she behaves well with it on, and just re enforce anything good she does with it on. Sorry if I caused any set backs with her progress. =)

Oh no! You did not cause any set backs. You've tried to help me with this situation and I thank you for that!

As far as the leash goes, buy a regular leash. They have them at the dollar store.

Never comfort her when she's scared.  Never.  Never.  Did I mention that it's a very bad idea to comfort her when she's scared?

We think what we are saying to the dog is, "I'm here for you, don't feel bad."  Dogs interpret soothing voice and reinforcing touches as saying "GOOD dog.  Being scared is what I want from you!  Try being MORE scared next time!"

Instead be very matter of fact.  For the leash, you may simply have to teach her OFF leash heeling first, as I do with my puppies.  Teach her "watch me" with treats and/or a clicker.  Then take her one step at a time.  Teaching her this will help her learn to trust you, give her a framework for her poor little messed up world. 

Add other "tricks" - it's not important WHAT you do with her, it's adding that structured activity to her routine and giving her more positive, gentle information about people.  "People are fair, people will tell me what I need to do to fit in around here."  That's what you want her to learn.

Once you have "watch me" down, and she is comfortable on a leash, you can work on her fear of men positively.  You can use "watch me" to redirect her fearful behavior when men are around.  Start in the next room where she can see your husband, tell her to "watch me".  Praise her for obeying you.  Ignore any scaredy stuff.  Use the leash to keep her in the area - just back her up until you see she's calming down.

You must be very tuned to your pup and let her tell you whether she's scared.  Don't be scared that she's scared, though.  Just work with it, be her leader into mental peace.  When she tells you "I can't", just go back a step to where she can succeed.

Please don't be discouraged - I know it's difficult when she's supposed to be a member of the family and she's so obviously uncomfortable around another family member.  Until she is ready, however, try to limit her exposure while your husband is around.  She is familiar with the crate, use one to give her a safe space away from the family while you are working on her fears.  It's really important that as much of her contact with men as possible, be highly structured.

Good luck!

One of the best ways I know to get a dog over being scared of the man of the house is to turn him into her white knight.  Hubby feeds her, hubby takes her out (once she can trail a leash around, he can step on the end to catch her, so he doesn't have to do the scary grab the collar thing), hubby gives her all her treats, and hubby puts the water down.  You do nothing for her.  This takes about three weeks, and it will make you nuts because you will want to do things for her, but don't.  Let her learn that the big scary guy is the provider of all things good...[]

Thank you all for your great advice!!!

Very sound advice from Brookcove!

One of the best ways I know to get a dog over being scared of the man of the house is to turn him into her white knight. Hubby feeds her, hubby takes her out (once she can trail a leash around, he can step on the end to catch her, so he doesn't have to do the scary grab the collar thing), hubby gives her all her treats, and hubby puts the water down. You do nothing for her. This takes about three weeks, and it will make you nuts because you will want to do things for her, but don't. Let her learn that the big scary guy is the provider of all things good...

 
Ann's advice is excellent and what we used on a ACD rescue we are fostering. She was terrified of my DH and even if he raised his voice in another room would submissively start peeing!  Took a while but lately with the way DH cuddles with her and loves on her I've been thinking she may be a failed foster! 
 
Good luck with your little one!

Just wanted to say Welcome to the board. Your getting excellent advice.  
 
Little off topic, but I actually live in a place that is called Sabina.