What's wrong, Hugo?

Hugo has been here for almost 6 weeks now and he just doesn't act like we typically expect. For one thing, he seems indifferent to us. Not fearful at all, just not interested. He seems to prefer to be alone. And not just alone, but not even inside the house. We have to go and physically pick him up to bring him inside for meals or bedtime or for a rest inside. And we do it because we think he should want to come inside-- it is hot outside! But he does not like being held at all-- and certainly not cuddled. And he is now officially the very most reluctant dog we've ever had at housebreaking. He even randomly poops and pees in his crate, even if he has been in there as little as 30 minutes.

He does enjoy his food-- even does a little doggy dinner dance when we get it out. And he seems to tolerate everything. But we had hoped that once some time had gone by and (especially!) we had all of the little puppies out of the yard he would warm up and seem happier to be here.

We took him to see one of our wonderful rescue vets last Monday (July 7th) to see if pain could be a contributing factor. He seems uncomfortable most of the time when he is not reclining in the grass. She met with us for a long time and spent quite a while with Hugo, and we came aways with these thoughts and plans:

• Hugo is possibly/probably having some knee and back pain-- we will treat that with some pain meds and glucosamine & see if it helps anything. The back pain is from maintaining a posture that relieves the knees from some pressure. We have begun the pain medication (Previcox) and are watching for improvement. He will not take a treat from us under any conditions--even just setting it next to him and walking away. But if we put the pill in in a Pill Pocket and then just have it in with the other kibble in his dish, he will eat it. The doctor said that arthritis is inevitable in both of those knees whether he has additional surgery or not, and also in his mid-back (from hunkering over to favor the knees). She does not recommend more surgery at this time.
  

• The potential pain issues notwithstanding, Hugo possibly/probably will retain this personality. We should not expect that he is going to "warm up" or become affectionate or prefer to be with us. He is unlikely to housebreak-- he does not have buy-in about not soiling his area and he is not used to managing his potty needs. He likes to be outside, that is where he is comfortable, even if it makes me uncomfortable to have him there. The vet believes that we need to find someone who is willing to accept Hugo on his terms (allow him to spend a lot of time/most of his time outside because that is his preference, allow him to enjoy the things he likes without trying to force him to be what we think he should be, etc.). He is unlikely to ever be a dog who wants to be held or really given direct attention. He also probably will remain mostly indifferent to other dogs. However she thinks he has some potential and may slowly come around more. He is not fearful and not aggressive. She said we should NOT give up on him. In fact, she said we should call her before we do and she will squeeze him in with her own 9 dogs!
  

• Antidepressants or other treatments might also help if we wanted to explore those down the line.
  

So, all of that is a lot to process and I am still having trouble accepting this new information and perspective. I keep thinking that somehow I can "fix" him, and I am trying to switch over to accepting Hugo as he is. We are now trying to look at Hugo in a different way so that we can be more respectful of what actually seems to make him more comfortable. We moved a little doorless kennel outside in case he want some shelter out there. (So far he has not gone near it.) I keep inviting him in but let him stay out when he won't come most of the time (breakfast and dinner being the exceptions, we carry him in for those so he can get his medicine). I have tried propping the door open so he could come in if he wanted. I wish we had a dog door. We do not make him sleep inside anymore, he doesn't have accidents in the house because he really only comes in to eat. He is zero trouble... he is just there, sitting peacefully in the back yard.