Dog nervous in house

I have a 5 and a half year old pug who is sweet as can be, however she is nervous of sounds in the house. She also seems to have an aversion to food, except for her biscuits. We have had her for 10 months and she has come a long way in other ways. She is not nervous outside and is sweet and welcoming toward people in or out of the house. Can anyone suggest anything?

Where did she come from?

There is a possibility that she has never been in a house to live properly until you had her, also that she has never been given anything except her food.

It means she needs a lot of helping over the scary bits of life.

You could try feeding her at a distance from a sound she is fearful of, choose the distance she is comfy eating at and then gradually bring it closer. It is a slow process.

rune

I find the best thing to do is to live normally (assuming that `normal` isn`t slammy-doors rows and hordes of howling kids ) and ignore the dog`s timidity. She`ll need time to learn that nothing bad happens when, for example, the postman knocks, or the hoover comes out. The main thing to avoid is sympathy. If you try to comfort the dog when they look worried, you are reinforcing the idea that there is something to be scared of. And ask visitors to ignore her - difficult though it is. Generally it`s being obliged to interact that worries a timid dogs most.
Re. the feeding - I would bin the biscuits and work on finding a food she likes TBH. Only not Bakers!

She is in Canada, I think that she meant an all in one biscuit food?

rune

Certain dogs will be scared of certain noises.

For example, Woody is scared of the noise from the gas hob and as soon as it is on he runs upstairs and hides under the bed. He is the same with the sound of anything frying.

We have tried feeding him in there with these sounds and ignoring him but have decided that as long as he has a safe place to go to it's not worth worrying about anymore.

Your pug however, clearly has a bigger, more general issue which in my opinion wil be resolved by generally ignoring, carry on as usual and when showing signs of looking calmer and relaxed, the occasional, casual reward.

Thank you all for your quick responses. We have tried feeding her in quiet rooms, dark rooms, etc., but the only time she will eat is if one of the other dogs, who are not allowed to "vulcher" each other when eating, go near her food. She came from a house who had 5 small dogs - constantly crated. She had never been outside her crate a night, or when anyone was away. My pack of very laid back (one being her brother) dogs have brought her a long way. I have had dogs for 55+ years and I do ignore her spookiness. I tried to make light of it, but any response what so ever she gets worse (like an attention thing.) This little girl never would sit in a lap, nor relax being picked up and now she lays on her back in my arms. I agree to get rid of her biscuits and more walking for her would be good, however at -25 C it is hard to do, even with booties and coats. Over the last years our other 3 were on their much loved treadmill during the cold weather, but we have a dog on bed rest (torn ligament) this year and the noise from the treadmill puts my female pug into shut-down mode. When my other dog gets off bed rest I can slowly start the treadmill again. My lab and male pug are jonesing for it.
I hope that more exercise will help her.

You could try rescue remedy or skullcap and valerian----maybe a DAP collar or spray would help her?

-25-----now that IS cold!

rune

Rune:

I haven't heard the words "rescue remedy" for many years - since my days on the sunshine coast in B.C. I didn't know you could still buy it. I used it once on a cat that had been hit by a car and was in total shock - dying - by the time we got to the vets her shock was gone and we had her leg set and brought her home that evening. Those bach flower remedies are the best. Thank you for your suggestion - never thought of that.

It isn't quite the same as it was all those years ago but still worth a go.

My friend used arnica on her badly burned son (fireworks) and the hospital staff were amazed at how unphased he appeared to be.

Sometimes the 'different' stuff works well.

rune