Looking for others who’ve rehabbed a fearful rescue – progress is happening but slow

I adopted a rescue from Ukraine — her name is Polly, she’s about 9–10 months old, and she’s one of the sweetest, gentlest dogs I’ve ever met… but also extremely fearful. I don’t think she was abused — more like she lived around lots of dogs and never had to navigate the world solo. When she arrived, she mostly stayed in her crate or on the couch. Didn’t follow us. Didn’t explore. Wouldn’t go outside voluntarily at all.

We’ve been working slowly and gently: consent-based handling, no forcing, no leash pressure, lots of agency. She loves affection in bed or on the couch, is starting to follow us from room to room, and has definitely bonded to us. The biggest breakthrough recently was taking her to Scotland for 3 weeks with a calm, confident dog. She started venturing outside, running laps in the yard, choosing to explore, even coming back inside on her own. We’re being careful not to push her too fast: long line, predictable routines, micro-sessions, etc.

Our goal now is to get her comfortable walking on leash when we’re back in London. Indoor leash desensitization is going slowly since the sound of dragging spooks her. We bought her a crate has detachable wheels so you can push it like a stroller. She’ll do 1–2 steps outside the stroller then retreat, but it’s improving. We’re also speaking to behaviourists and looking for a calm dog to walk with her regularly for modelling and confidence.

I guess what I’d love to hear is:

• If you had a dog like this, how long did it take until walks became normal?
• What actually moved the needle, something surprisingly minor, or a pattern you repeated?
• Did confidence come gradually or in sudden leaps?
• What worked specifically for threshold fear + leash tolerance?
• Any wins that kept you going when progress felt microscopic?

Not looking for magic fixes, just the perspective of people who’ve walked this path and come out the other side, even if it took months.

Polly is slowly finding her feet in the world and I want to support that the right way, without rushing her or accidentally creating setbacks. Any stories, timelines, or things that worked for your nervous rescue would mean a lot.