Hiya Emzy, congratulations with your new family member! Do you know anything about her life until now? All the things you mention kind of sound like she had a rough time of it. Perhaps she did not live inside a house before, or if she did, that wasn't such a great experience? Perhaps she was punished or scolded and didn't understand what for, so now she's on edge because she's afraid to do something wrong?
That will probably settle over time, if you're calm and positive in the house and just give her some time to find her role in your household. I would think about enrolling in a fun, positive training class (clickertraining or something else based on positive reinforcement based) to help build a bond and to learn to communicate with her.

It certainly sounds like nobody ever really played with her before - she may simply not know what toys are for, or she was heavily discouraged from touching anything that wasn't explicitly hers so now she's worried about that. Could you occasionally in the middle of a game of fetch toss another toy instead of the ball and see if she'll go for it?

 

Giving affection is good, but don't overdo it, make sure you give her lots of extra special affection when she is happy and relaxed, and not so much when she is tense.

I'm sure she'll get round to realising the toys are hers, she may've just never had any before.

 

first of all well done and congratulations on the new addition to your family.

as for the toy issue...i had the same problem with Lucy my rescue labrador. she didnt know what proper dog food was, let alone toys. i got her every toy imaginable to try and stimulate her but she just used to sniff at them and look at me as if to say...ok ..what do i do with that then? and walk away. it took a good six months of gradually getting her to accept one toy...her kong which she absolutely adores now filled with yummy treats. then the kong was replaced with a ball - then we moved on to a tuggy toy....and now, two years on, she will play with almost anything i give her.

it takes time and patience with dogs that have had no experience of being allowed to play. collies like to heard so moving toys may excite her more than any others. try tossing several balls on the floor at the same time....she may want them to be in the same place and start to interact with them that way. the other thing you could do is take her into PAH and let her investigate the toys on the shelf.... she may pick one out that particularly interests her!

 

thank you for ur reply's. well had a bit of a break through with her eating. she ate a whole bowl last night and also this morning. think she's getting used to the fact shes only getting dogs food now. i'm releived though coz she's quite skinny as it is. the vet said she's underweight so i was worried that she'd get worse with not eating.

i dont really know much about her past home, all i know is they fed her scraps and she didnt get on with the other dog. she is nervous at first with other dogs but we've taken her out with our friends dogs and they're 2 staffies and she was playing with them within 20 minutes so i dont think it's that she doesnt get on with other dogs at all. but i think they rejected her and neglected her. she seems to be more wary of my husband than she is of me so think it's men she might be a bit scared of, but she does play with him and enjoy cuddles, it's just when he stands up her tail goes between her legs as if she's gonna get told off bless her. she seems a lot happier over the past couple of days though.

also, when we picked her up from her previous owners, she was cover in poo, and stank. the white in her was almost brown, it was disgusting. she has come out of her shell a lot in the past week or so. i suppose it just takes time to settle, she will find her role in the household.

we are going to take her to agility classes as she needs some proper training and i think it'll also help to stimulate her. in regards to toys, i will keep trying and hope eventually she learns how to play. she does play with her kong, i fill it with ham coz she loves it and its not too difficult for her to get out.

thank you all so much for your advice, makes me feel a lot more reassurred. i just want to give her the best home i can and hops she'll be happy

 

i would advise basic obedience classes to start with.....your dog will get a lot of benefit from the social aspect and also the training will help you build a strong bond with her. dont forget she is still a puppy and allow her confidence to build at a rate that she determines. kind, positive, reward based training will help her develope strong skills which you can transfer to agility later. collies always do really well at agility BUT no dog should do agility before their bones and muscles have matured to prevent injury. some trainers will allow young dogs to attend but it is generally not advisable until they reach at least 18 months of age.
:thumbup:

 

My rescue BC Dan was the same with toys - he just wasn't interested in them. He still won't chase a ball and is scared if you throw anything for him to chase (part no prey instinct and part frightened of being hit I think).

But now (after 3 months) he plays with his kong, squeaky toys and especially loves any treat dispensing toys. Would recommend you maybe try some of these to get her started.

He also was really scared if we stood up beside him. He's getting better a bit at a time.

Sounds like your pup is settling in well and I hope continues to do so. Good luck!