my staffy is scared of anywhere outside front garden plz help

hi please help i recently brought a red staffy bitch who is 6 and half months old. the people i brought her from had never let her anywhere outside of there back garden and know i own her i want to take her on daily walks as she is quite unbuilt ,,slightly less muscle., due to having no exercise she has got used to my front and bk garden but refuse to go past the front gate and when put on a lead she sits and shakes and refuses to walk apart from that she is a lovely dog that will sit an go out in garden on command and is brilliant with my kids ....

id dig in for another 6 months reversing this.

not saying will take that long, but be prepared.

its all in stages..stages may take days or weeks each.

literally, practice tying somehting light to her collar, ie, a nighty cord.
then progress to a lead in the garden

then sitting by front gate on the lead

then sitting outside the front gate on the lead

then a couple steps down the road

then to end of road

then little further and so on so on

dont do anything anywhere at a time of day it is hectic or busy or stressful

use treats each time to make the events positive

keep calm yourself, dont force her, but dont mollycoddle or reassure her either

dont be surprised if you have to go back a few steps here and there

Well i will probably get shot down for saying this but when i got my eldest girl she was terrified of outside and was ridgid to the back door, she even stayed in a tiny area of the garden only going there to pee if she absolutely had too, this was due to her never having been out of a run and she was a year old when i got her. I tried all the coaxing with treats and gentle persuasion imaginable for well over a month. One day i thought - enough, its time to confront your fears, it was imo the only thing left to do. So i placed a chair a few feet from the boundary of the garden and dragged (yes dragged) her outside on a lead. I sat on the chair while she jumped around like a thing possesed, the postie and a few other people passed and i'm sure they thought me the dog or both of us were insane. All this time outside i kept talking to her gently, reassuring her that everything was going to be ok. When she tired herself out she stopped and its then it dawned on her that nothing bad had happened so outside was maybe not such a bad place, she lay at my feet while i gave her treats and petted her all the while telling her what a good girl she was. This was the day she started to move forward and become a more balanced dog. Kiesha still does not like sudden noises or cars or busy places but oh boy she loves outside at the woods and beach. What i have said may not be the solution for your dog but it worked for mine and i would not hesitate to use the same method again given another dog with the same issues mine had.
Hopefully you will get many differing points of view and be able to read through them all bringing you to the best course of action with your own dog. I wish you the best of luck and please do keep us posted on developments.

Hi Scott You say you have only had her a short time, she is probably still learning to trust you. I agree with Kruse, take it very steadily otherwise you could risk making her more fearful (and fear can lead to aggression) and breaking what little trust she has learnt to have in you.

I would first try to get her to associate the lead with pleasant experiences, try putting it on before you feed her then put the food bowl down and walk her to the food, don't forget praise in a bright voice if she is happy to do this .

As there are a number of people to help , take a high value treat like chicken, put the lead on and get another person to crouch a short distance away in the garden and call her offering the treat, then walk her to it. Again remember the praise. If she is comfortable with this repeat and increase the distance.


If as Kruse says you can gradually get her to walk a few steps out of the gate you could try carrying her a short distance away and allowing her to walk back, again don't force her. Remember to use a bright voice and to praise her lots when she is walking.
I am sure if you take your time and allow her to gain a little confidence she will be fine in time

Flooding can work, however beside being unnecessarily traumatic, it can also make things worse. The problem with it is that you will never know if you make things worse or better until it's over. It's a gamble.

My first real dog - not the family's - was a neophobic (omniphobic?) dog that I "stole" from a girlfriend. Luckily he was very interested in food and in balls and he was highly obedient. This dog would tremble in fear during his whole walk, it would begin even before the walk as he heard the leashes being moved. Once outside he would constantly scan everywhere for the unseen enemy.

I used the two things he liked. Food and play. Sound of leashes (F&P), open door (F&P), feeding and P occured by the door, by the door open, just outside the door, a few feet away from the door. Obedience training also took this path. Eventually we were walking 20 minutes to eat by a loud busy road, Always making sure the stimulus was never sufficiently severe to suppress his interest in play/food.

Yes, this took time and effort, however it worked like (slow) magic, by making all sounds, object that he once feared as predictors of good things I changed his attitude about these things.

thanku for your advice i will keep u posted f possible im not very computer literate so if u can add friends be sure to addd me and i will keep u posted thanks again

sorry but uve lost me i dont want to cause trauma too my baby i want her too fully trust me

Hi Scott.

Well said

One person above is talking about a technique called flooding, this is where the dog is forced (usually due to the owner not understanding what to do, not having enough time or patience) and it can work, but it is a big risk as it can also make things worse, as Mini said, it is a risk.

I'd personally not do it that way for 2 reasons, one it's unfair on the dog who is fearful, and can break trust, and two because it can be done more easily and kindly, albeit a bit more slowly, by as Mini and Promethean have explained, by a process called "desensitisation" (the scientific word!! ) which basically means exposing the dog to the "stimulus" (ie the thing causing the fear) at a pace they can cope with and also associating it with something nice like food. It is a scientific and kind way of doing things and works very well unless the owner loses patience and tries to go too fast.

Hth. If you don't get very far, try www.apdt.co.uk or maybe www.abpc.org.uk for someone to help

Always act confident and happy yourself and not concerned, don't use a concerned "poor doggie" voice either, just be calm and happy yourself

Good luck and let us know if we can help more or just be supportive.

Wys
x

thanks people i got her out.....yippeee i got her about 200 meters down the road b4 she got a bit wary and scared but since then i had manage to have her out about 5 times for little strolls in different directions now i just have to deal with the being scared of the lead and refusing to walk as she dosent fully understand some commands yet and i dont want her to run in the road and not listen when i ask her to stay or come bk but im finally getting somewhere so thanks for all your help