Need help training a VERY damaged little dog

[Crustaceon]

Here's the backstory: My fiancé's 16 year old dog passed away and out of heartbreak and after a few months of moping around, she decided it was time to get a "new" dog. I say "new" because it was "new" to her and being in the animal care industry, everything is a charity case and she wanted to adopt a "hard case" dog. Probably the toughest case imaginable TBH. Well that's Pebbles. She's a 4-ish year only terrier something with three legs. She was found roaming the streets as a puppy with a severely dislocated hip that had healed poorly and warranted amputating the offending rear leg as the best course of treatment. She gets around perfectly fine thankfully BUT her behavior is atrociously bad. I attribute it to her being passed around from one foster mom to another. Literally every caretaker has been a middle-aged woman who has no doubt treated Pebbles like a wounded woodland creature and spoiled her beyond all hope, complete with "OOoogggooo BoooGgOO baby doggie" baby talk... Not surprisingly, the dog is now comprised entirely of velcro and won't stray more than 6" away from my fiancé, while acting like the world is out to get her and must be constantly monitored. She's the poster child of "guard dog behavior" including waiting next to the bathroom door while my fiancé does whatever girls do in bathrooms and going totally berserk if she hears any noise out of her line of sight. She does this as well if she's hanging out with her "security blanket human" on the couch and hears me moving around upstairs. She also chases our cats whenever they get anywhere near her pet human. Also... Pebbles wasn't leash trained or housebroken, which complicates the matter of me trying to make this dog less dependent as walk time becomes an exercise of trying to convince Pebbles that my putting a leash on her after providing cat treats isn't the worst thing in the world. But that's how she is. Massive separation anxiety and constant squealing like she's summoning a pod of whales coupled with protesting to a level that includes turning down actual... REAL bacon while imploding so far into her dog bed that I'm worried she'll trigger a fusion reaction. Any advice on this aside from asking for the Dog Whisperer to come out and be "pathive aggrethive with the dog"?

Some of things I've tried:
1. Randomly dropping treats from my pocket to make the dog associate me with good things.
2. Keeping the dog in close proximity to me for extended periods while offering treats/praise.
3. Making the fiancé "invite" the dog into her space instead of letting it just claim it (which she's done a meh job of)
4. Making the fiancé ignore the dog when she comes home from work and instead me swooping in to provide attention/a much needed walk

 

[NickJackson1997]

My dog has a similar health problem; he has no hind legs. A missing paw, limb paralysis, and other health problems don't limit dogs' vitality.

 

[NickJackson1997]

My dog has a similar health problem; he has no hind legs. A missing paw, limb paralysis, and other health problems don't limit dogs' vitality.

Such pets need special care, but dogs are no different from those who run on four paws. You may want to officially register your dog at servicedogregistration.org. It is a misconception to think that an animal that is limited in movement due to health problems has no chance of a happy life. If you give your dog the ability to move around with a special wheelchair, he won't notice the difference. He will also run after toys and get to know his relatives.

 

[fish farmer]

My (wife's) dog has similar behaviors, Velcro to mom but will come to me. He's a chiweenie so can be very loud when mom comes home, but meh attitude when I come home unless I'm home first. She works from home now so it can downright impossible to get him to go outside just with me. We did have a great connection when I came home first. Out of the kennel, playtime on the couch and then if needed outside for business and many times I could get an extended walk with me.

Small food awards from me do help and I also occasionally will feed him at night.

 

[Sink_or_Swim]

I wish I had an answer for you... I have THREE insanely "velcro" dogs, lol. The worst offender is my 7 lbs miniature dachshund who thinks she rules the roost. I've tried a lot of things to no avail... she's almost 11 years old now and we've just kind of decided she's always going to be a bit of a pain with her guarding me and barking at everything. She does enjoy attention from my hubby, but if given the choice, the dogs all choose me first, lol. Honestly, it could probably be helped with some serious training - I just don't have the motivation yet to put the appropriate amount of effort into it.