emmaz

Thanks everyone. Aidan has PM'd me and I will show all of this to my Hubby and we will get in touch with him. I'm encouraged by the fact that we arent alone and that there is hope :-D

More to it than this, but I find it helpful to take on the "you're a silly billy" attitude with dogs that have these behaviour issues. Sometimes WE want things for our dogs SO much that it actually makes things worse. Relax. What is, is. I'm not saying don't try to seek help from a trainer/behaviourist, but I'm saying stop stressing so intensely for how much YOU want for her. Once you've seen a good trainer/behaviourist, you'll be able to adopt the attitude of "oh well, I KNOW I'm doing the best I can ..... the rest is up to you, dog". This will help you begin to relax about how much you WANT for your dog, and just concentrate on showing her another way . Thanks Erny, what you're saying makes sense :-) I'm taking that on board!

I know you don't feel this way on purpose, but this won't be helping her. A behaviourist/trainer helps not only the dog, but the owner as well. I often find that people's perspectives change once they've had things explained as to how the dog views the world and your actions. With that change in perspective often comes a natural increase in tolerance and a reduction in tension. Dog picks up on that and combined with WHAT the owner is now doing (strategy wise) and the fact that the owner can apply strategies with more confidence (dog senses that too), things become easier and have the increased potential for improvement. Yeah I know. I try really hard. Its just such a terrible situation to be in. I want her to enjoy being a dog and I want her to find things exciting not terrifying.

Thanks persephone, Hadnt thought of it like that. Jed - Lets just say we are no longer in contact with the breeder. I wont go into it but although I have no doubts that they are good breeders, we had a few issues and I guess we really just dont see eye to eye. And I'm really positive that if I did contact them all I would get are reasons as to why its not their fault...(which of course is not what I would be implying but you know....lol) I dont think they did anything to her or anything like that, I just think perhaps she was a bit isolated from the real world as such. I have been struggling with wanting to believe this was the reason yet also not convinced that it could be...Can those first few months really be so important that they make the rest of the dogs life so hard? I just dont know. All I know is that its no good for both of us as I find myself getting so frustrated and sometimes angry with her lack of 'dogness'!!! And I know she senses it from me and she would honestly do anything to please us if she could...

Thanks Erny, I will look into all that. I had kind of ruled out anything medical/physical as it is such a wide range of things that she is afraid of and yet there are things that you would think she would also be afraid of but she is not, she is very definite in what scares her but also just as definite in what doesnt.....but I guess It still could be...as for the desensitising, This is what I have always thought it was but I have tried so many different ways with no success...I think you have all confirmed what i was already thinking about needing to seek help for her...I had just hoped for an easier fix lol Thank you.

Tasmania....I have thought the same recently. I might talk to the people at Dog Obedience and see if they can recommend anyone.

Hi there. I have a beautiful 15 month old British Bulldog. She is simply a wonderful dog most of the time but both My Husband and I are at the end of our tether when it comes to this issue. Our dog is afraid of so much. She just isnt normal! Buckets, Plastic bags, Soda bottles, Loud noises, Wheelie Bins, Prams...you name it....she is terrified of it... I need advice. We have tried everything. From ignoring, to carrying on as though normal....I'm so very desperate and frustrated with her. As far as I'm aware there is no reason for this irrational fear, no incidents in her past....BUT I am concious of the fact that we got her at five months (against my better judgement) and thus missed out on that important puppy period. From the minute she got off the plane she has demonstrated these fears. I truly believe the issues come from her first few months, where she was on a large property with her breeders and family but I just dont think she was exposed to enough. But the problem is we've had her nearly a year now and nothings gotten better....We are TTC currently and I am so worried about our ability to function as a family with this. I know she is afraid of prams, therefore walking her with pram is out of the question....let alone any other type of baby apparatus... More important than all of this is my fear for her safety. When she gets afraid of something...NOTHING will snap her out of it...and I mean nothing. She is so focussed on her fear that she is oblivious to her surroundings. She has fled on to the road before after getting a fright....run into windows and all sorts...she is so obssessed with getting away from whatever it is that she just doesnt understand she is endangering herself and others. We have tried everything to get her used to things but nothing works.... I just dont know what to do. She has me stumped...