Fearful dog, advice please?

Hi guys,

Just looking to see people thoughts. Since I received Totts she has been a very nervous skittish dog. I’ll give you’ as much detail as I can to see what people think. We got her late April. She was living on a farm with 8 or 9 other intact males and females. Looking at her we believe she has been bred from even though shes only 2. She has a scar on her face and a chip out her ear we believe she got through a dog fight with one on the farm or through ratting. We assume she was used for ratting as she is very good at seeking out mice and rats-however that could just be instinct. She was very grubby when we got her, over-weight and was growling at us. We don’t think shes had much human interaction before us. She is tiny, couldn’t be taller than a ruller in height. First week she wouldn’t sleep lying down but would stand instead. She runs at loud noises. She either runs away or rolls onto her back if you go towards her etc. When we went to collect her a young boy rattled a chair in her face so I can understand why she is skittish and nervous. She cowers a lot for no reason. On walks she is an entirely different dog. She is confident with ears pricked. She literally runs for joy when the lead comes out.

ATM I do group walks with her, take her to events, and do obedience training with her and feed her BARF diet. I spend all the time I can with my dogs in the house. I let her come to me in her own time. I hope to do agility with her since she seems to be able to just focus and not worry when doing it. And also for fun But I think she is too nervous atm. When we walk in training class, she drops as low to the ground as she can and scarpers or does not move at all. She particularly does this in the section of the hall which has no wall. I think she must feel she is too exposed there.

Can anyone recommend anything I can do to help her overcome this or will she just be a nervous dog (which isn’t a problem, I love her as she is, just don’t want her nervousness to affect her) I know it will take time and don’t intend to rush her. She has come on leaps and bounds already. She now loves cuddles, will sleep lying down. Will eat reasonably close to you but is still on edge. Has went from no training to understanding fully around 7 commands (the basics- sit, down, stay, paw, come, away, up and pretty much there on beg) and has passed her bronze good citizens. I just want to be able to give her the best quality of life I can.

Any thoughts would be appreciated. Tah

x

Well from what you've said, you've done an amazing amount with her since April! It sounds like she had a pretty rough start in life, so to come so far in such a short time, is fantastic. Maybe you need to remind yourself of this a bit more.

Sometimes it's easier to change behaviours through training than it is to change emotional fear responses though. Learning through fear can mean very ingrained emotional responses that are not easily "unlearned". It can take time & patience for the fear to fade.

From what you've said, it could be that Totts is more confident out & about because this is what she was used to living on a farm. It's the living in a house with humans that's strange to her & if her previous experiences with humans haven't been particularly good, then it's not surprising that this is where she's still a bit nervous.

Totts is still a young dog so I'm sure that if you carry on doing the same things you've done so far, she will improve & gain in confidence. Maybe concentrate on doing more calming & relaxing training at home, or perhaps some mentally stimulating training in & around your house would help her. But from what you've said, I think you're giving her the best quality of life that she could get ~ so well done to you & Totts

There`s a good support forum for fearful dogs - pm me if you want the link because this probably won`t be allowed through.
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/shy-k9s/
She sounds great and is obviously responding well. I`d say just take your time with her.

Wilbar, with calm relaxing training, how do you mean? I give them kongs and nina ottoman games whic the gils love. Can hide treats etc as well but if I hide them near me, she wont come near.

Thanks, i think its difficult because I spend so much time with her to see exactly how far shes come. With each of my dogs they've had issues which relate to a certain situations etc. so it was much easier to train ie. male aggresion, seperation anxiety, prey drive. Whereas because Totts its with pretty much everything I struggle to find ways to teach her its ok. Its upsetting how much her previous life has affected her. She is a brilliant wee dog. Its the scarpering if you walk near her that gets me the most. My other dog is very relaxed so you practically need to step over her to get somewhere, so its wierd having such different reactions.Plus taking her to class, I know in the home and when out on walks she loves training, shes so quick and precise with her commands, always looking for the next one. Wheras in class she can appear stressed. I don't know if taking her to class is best to help her get over it since I know we enjoy obedience or if its putting her further back. I tend to now train both my dogs at the same time in Totts' class as she appears to feel safer when with Muffin. Just always questioning if Im doing right by her lol

when you r walking about your house try dropping bits of chicken/ham on the floor but dont look at her just drop it and walk away then over time try sitting on the floor with the food in your hand but dont look at her try and have your back to her maybe watch a bit of telly whilst doing it so it doesnt feel like you r sitting there for ages. hope this helps

Razzle used to run away if you looked at him. That was 9 months ago. Now he only runs away occasionally. It`s just time, and taking the pressure off.
I sit on the floor with Raz and stroke him gently for a while each night when watching TV. He has grown to like it and is a lot less hand-shy. I started with a brush for just a couple of strokes. Now he lets me touch him nearly everywhere. But not in the place where he had a nasty wound, so we leave that bit.
We always sit on the same place because he feels safe there. Dogs are very specific about locations.

Bless her! So eager to please when she can, but still with such fear issues. It does make you wonder if she was kicked,trodden on etc in the past.

For training quiet calm & relaxed behaviour, which should translate into a quiet, calm & relaxed emotional state, I would suggest doing static training exercises, anything with as little muscle movement as possible & what I call AFFF exercises (All Four Feet Flat!). The reason for this is because you won't be invoking the fight/flight internal physiology or external behaviours associated with these fear reactions. The less dopamine, adrenalin etc that's in her system because of the quiet & calm postures, the better.

You need to pick a time when Totts is relaxed & calm, & you must be at a distance where she doesn't react to you. So you may need to throw food rewards to her, rather than being too near her, or maybe you need to be sitting down, or on the floor at her level. As you know her best & are clearly experienced with dogs, you'll need to judge from her body language, when she's calm & relaxed. I don't mean doing a perfect "sit" or "down" but quivering with tensed muscles ready to spring into action; rather that Totts should be lying down, preferably with back legs to one side, so that she's not in a position to spring to her feet & looks relaxed & non-fearful.

Then if she understands sit, down, roll over or any of those positions that don't involve too much muscle movement, get her to do those exercises at a distance she's comfortable with.

Maybe get some treats that roll across the floor so you could use those for rewards?

Once she can do that at a certain distance from you, then move a bit closer, or try sitting on a chair, instead of the floor, then kneeling down, then a bit closer, then standing etc etc. The aim is to try to get Totts to remain calm
& relaxed while you gradually get closer.

Other AFFF games could be find a treat under a cup, or touch an object put in front of her with her paw, or nose, or "play dead", or high fives.

If Totts is up for training like this, you could start outside if that's where she most comfortable, then maybe in your garden, then near the door, then indoors. (It's usually the opposite in that we train in the house & garden first, then take the training outside where there are more distractions!).

With the training classes, if she's more comfortable with Muffin around, then I would continue with that. The last thing Totts needs is to feel stressed & anxious, so if having Muffin near doesn't work, then maybe give training clases a miss for a while.

How is Totts with handling? Does she have any problems with grooming, stroking, looking at feet etc? What about with attaching collar & lead? You could also use these times, with lots of pos reinforcement, to make pleasant associations between your presence/touch & the treats.