The Fear Aggressive Dog

Alright guys,
Here's the story.

Last night I received a dog for Training and Fostering. She's a small Wheaten terrier from a puppy mill. She has some terrible breeding, no doubt about that. She could easily win the 'Smallest Wheaten Terrier in existence" prize.

Anyway, I have very often worked with scared and under socialized dogs. However, most of them have been more of the run-and-hide sort of dog as opposed to going directly into a fear bite.

This Terrier shows her teeth and growls when another dog walks by her kennel, however - much to my surprise, she had no reaction when a cat rubbed up against it. She's terrified of people.

I spent most of last night attempting some easy clicker work. Every time she took a step towards me and the food, clicker and treat.

Here are her problems, It'd like to hear others experiences on this subject.

1. Fearful (Or Possessive) of other dogs approaching her crate - however, transported for 18 hours in a crate with a dog she'd never met without issue.
2. Totally fearful and untrusting of humans. - Allowed me to clean her crate with paper towels while she was still in it. No aggression.
3. No leash/voice command/clicker experience. - Dug her feet in and had to be carried into the house.
4. Literally scared to move. Both in the crate and out.

I'm not so into 'training' her right now as I am wanting to gain some trust so I CAN train her.
Anyone work with highly suspicious dogs in the past?

My last puppymill dog had coped with her experience in a totally different way - shutting down to everything permanently. She spent all of her time leaning against something. That's it. No tail wagging. No excitement over toys or food. But she wasn't 'scared' in the sense where she was at all aggressive.
Anyway, this is a new situation for me. Shared experiences are very much appreciated.

When is she displaying aggressive behavior towards you?

Aggression towards people and aggression towards other dogs are two totally unrelated issues. It doesn't sound like she's showing aggression directed at you, just that she's fearful. And really all you can do there is try your hardest not to frighten her with any sudden movements or sounds and toss treats to her and let her come to you. Just basically try to teach her that you and other people = good things. It will take time but eventually she'll come around.

You're right to not want to "train" her right now, you do need to gain her trust first.

How long have you had her?
Will she take food from you or let you touch her (willingly)?

Most puppy mill dogs don't get excited over toys because they don't know what they are or how to play. Some do learn, after a while, and some never do.

In a few days her attitude could change considerably. In the meantime, I would give her a place where no other dogs could bother her. This could mean a back hallway, a bedroom, even the basement.

I would not try to get her to warm up to people. Don't pick her up, don't treat her like a normal lap dog. Don't encourage her to get on furniture, don't sleep with her, don't talk baby talk. She needs her own space and any type of normal affection will scare her. However, you can feed her dinner by dropping bits on the floor and letting her follow you around. Walk slowly and each time she picks up a kibble, count to two, drop another, take a few steps away. See how far away you have to get before she grabs the kibble, and how long it takes for her to get closer to you.

The best thing I found with Boone was to ignore him. With me he's always been fine, however with strange people/strange places he gets very nervous. I always tell people to ignore him, if he comes up to you don't acknowledge him. After so many meetings with the strange person like this he becomes less tense, less skittish and eventually I'll let them give him attention should he approach them, be it a few kind words, or a treat and go from there. In a strange place I generally ignore him and tell anyone in that place to do so as well. Let him check things out himself and get comfortable on his own. However each dog is different and fear aggression is not just caused by treatment, it has a wide range of causes including genetics each case needs to be dealt with differently.

I find this page gives a few ideas and is helpful. Explains a few things far better then I could.
Fear Aggression

I found this:

If you have a more mature dog who is shy, help the dog gradually gain confidence. It's especially important to control any situation you introduce him to. Enlist the help of people you can trust to follow your instructions. Here's one approach:

Have your helper avoid eye contact with the dog, stay quiet and still, stand sideways to the dog, and keep at an ample distance from the dog. Do not force the dog to approach the person. Instead, let the dog initiate contact and approach when he feels ready.

The helper can crouch down or sit on the floor, maintaining the nonthreatening sideways stance, with eyes still averted. Give the helper some small tasty high-value treats, which may mean something really strong like liver cookies available at pet supply stores or bits of hot dog. Have the helper extend a hand in the direction of the dog and drop a treat. Eventually the dog will sniff around and slowly approach. Most likely, the dog will take the treat and retreat a bit to eat it. The helper should leave the hand extended, but not reach at the dog. Next, have the helper keep the treat in his extended hand.

Dog Tip: Help for the Shy and Fearful Dog

Also, I found this website w/c is exclusively for fearful dogs:
Working with a fearful, scared or shy dog

And here is another article that might help you out:
How to Calm a Fearful Dog | eHow.com

It is wonderful what you are doing Kudos!

fearfuldogs.com is a great resource.

Ignoring is a good start, I'd also add to make sure that her routine is very predictable, let her know with routine and keen observation of her body language, that you WILL make sure her needs are met. That's the first "biggie" of building trust - predicability and knowing your needs will be met. As she improves you can also start adding in some GENTLE NILIF type rules.

Personally I'd strive for eye contact as the first criteria, even if its just a glance towards you before you put her food down, its a start. Build from there. Let the dog determine the pace of training, this is an issue where rushing things will really slow you down