Desperate Situation with my puppy

[rain22]

Hi everyone I,m new on here this is my first post. and I,m despertly hoping
some of you can help me. Alright I have a 9 month old male Native American
Indian Dog. Who I apsolutly adore but the trouble is he,s completly terrified
of people and other dogs. He was like this from the moment we got him He
was shipped to me from out of state somthing I,ll never do again It was a huge mistake. but anyway when we first got him it took 2 months before he,d
stop hidding when somone was anywhere near. and the slightest of corrections would send him racing out of the room in terror. now he,s
fine with us and we couldn,t have a sweeter more adorable puppy when just our family is around. the problem is when somone comes over or knocks at the
door he runs and hides and is a trembling wreck until they leave He won,t take
treats from anyone he dosn,t now super well and poops if anyone who,s not in
our family pets him. I can,t take him for walks because if we see a person or
another dog he completly goes crazy bolting and biting his leash trying to get away and he,s so huge I can barley hold him. It,s a complete diaster. I,ve been talking to a dog trainer and going to puppy school for months but so far
nothing is working. The people at puppy school who were so great and encoraging at first are slowley shaking there heads and saying if it was them
They,d give him a time limit and have gotten rid of him by now. Its driving me
completly crazy to see my puppy making himself so miserable and missing out
on so much because he,s so scared. I can,t figure out how this fear he has can be so extreme he was never abused or anything like that and we got him
straight from his breeder at 12 weeks. So anyone who has any suggestions or
some magical cure that they used for there shy dog please let me now it would be greatly appreciated.anything you,ve ever heard of that might help
him I don,t care how odd it is I,d like to hear it just in case. and Thanks for reading this.

 

[BostonBanker]

You may want to hit amazon.com and look for a booklet called "The Cautious Canine" by Patricia McConnell. I've loved both of her full-length books, so I ordered it hoping it would help with Meg's fear issues. I haven't read it very thoroughly yet because it doesn't deal with her type of issues, but it appears to be very focused on the sort of problems you are seeing with your dog. I don't think a book is a good substitute for working with an actual trainer, but if you and your trainer are stumped, maybe it will give you some new ideas.

 

[bubbatd]

First , welcome !! I'm so sorry you've had this experience and glad that you recognize that it is probably the breeders fault. Bless you for working with him . I would say that he wasn't socialized as a pup and someone really gave him a rough time during the 8 week fearful time . Poor baby ! I would say to slowly try to get him into situations he enjoys and add new people . His favorite treat given to him by them might help . Now I'll let those who know more add to this !! As a past breeder ,, I can say that there's excuse for what the breeder has created !!

 

[bubbatd]

BB, you have faster fingers . Good suggestion ! I'll remember that book ...if I ever need it !

 

[Red_ACD_for_me]

Part of the problem with your pup is that he was sold to you at 12 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks of age. The sooner they get to there new owner the better and faster they will be able to be socialized. Is your dog a WILD DOG? I think I have heard of them before but not quite sure what they look like. How come you haven't done training classes with him or have at least contacted a behaviorist? What does your vet say? He must be terrible at the vets office. You may have to watch out for him as he gets older and matures for he could become a fear biter.

 

[joce]

Twelve weeks is not the problem-gave the dog a better start than ten weeks would have so that is definately not the issue. Its actually a myth you need to get a pup early for it to bond to you. With mouthy and husky breeds its reccomended they stay with the litter and mom as long as possible. I wouldn't want to bring a pup home before ten weeks-twelve isn't bad.


the thing is that these dogs seem to be bred by people that are not out for the good of the dog. they don't care if the parents are skittish and badly bred-they jsut want your money.

Work on just building up confidence and know this may never be a real people dog. I've heard them compared to wolf dogs many times.

 

[Delisay]

Oh dear... Good on you for still trying. What I would suggest depends on how many very patient friends you have...(see below). First some principles of phobias/fears:

Socialising a moderately anxious animal works because they have the experience of:
"I feel afraid of situation X...
...but I stay for a while...
...and situation X turns out to be not so bad afterall...
...so I feel a little calmer and better...
...and therefore conclude that 'situation X is safe'."

Socialising a severely anxious animal in the usual way doesn't work well because they have the experience of:
"I feel very afraid of situation X...
...and I stay for a while...
...but I still feel really awful...
...so situation X is has proven to be at least as bad as I expected...
...I'm going to try running away...
...ahh, that feels much better...
...therefore I conclude that 'I was right, situation X is dangerous/unpleasant, and escaping situation X is necessary for me to feel comfortable again'."

Severe anxiety can self-reinforce; it makes a situation 'unrewarding' regardless of what actually happens.
Hiding can self-reinforce; it makes hiding 'rewarding' because it provides immediate relief.

So, 'baby steps' cannot be overstated. Take him into situations which only stretch his confidence ever so slightly - just enough that you can keep him there for a while and engineer it to finish up as a 'positive' experience (or at least neutral initially) ... and not so much that high anxiety is triggered. Always leave on a high note - do not push it until his anxiety cuts in.

Having strangers corner him to give him treats or sooth him will probably send his anxiety through the roof - too much. However, having a friend 'hang out' quietly at floor level with you in one large room, ignoring the dog completely, may be enough to begin. Behave completely normally with him yourself, but don't have the friend interact at all (unless a calm/minimal/friendly response to signs of interest from your dog). This could be the 'neutral/no harm' experience. Wait until he eases up his body language just a little, then your friend can leave. Same again the next time, and the next... Initially you are aiming only for "humans = no danger / no stress".

Then gradually work up to teaching the concept that "humans = doggy treats for me". (etc.)

You could also consult a doggy naturopath. There are some wonderful herbs that assist humans with recovery from anxiety/stress, so maybe there are some helpful things for dogs too(?).

Del.

 

[Dreeza]

Part of the problem with your pup is that he was sold to you at 12 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks of age. The sooner they get to there new owner the better and faster they will be able to be socialized.

how can that be an issue??? we got oakley at 6 months, and he loves us!!.. I think many people have gotten dogs, much older dogs, from rescues, and have bonded with them just fine...

unless i am misunderstanding something...

 

[BostonBanker]

how can that be an issue???

I think the issue is that for some breeders, they are not in the position to properly socialize an entire litter of puppies (or they just don't care to). They would need to individually work with each puppy and get it started with positive interactions with people of all shapes and sizes. Your dog may have had plenty of socialization before you got him. The issue isn't that the dog isn't with his owner; it's that an owner with one puppy is probably more likely to socialize it well than a less than stellar breeder. Hopefully I'm not putting the wrong words into anyone's mouths.