Loba

Thank you all so much for your help and advice. Looks like we should try medication again )for maybe 6 months) and see if we can find one that helps. Sadly I too feel that re-homing is not really an option so heres hoping the medications work.

Maybe so - I just feel so torn. Yes I have been in touch with the breeder frequently - she is not in a position to take him back unfortunately. She feels he will outgrow it.

Yes he has had very thorough medical exams including a range of bloodtests. I would be more likely I guess to consider the drugs if he wasnt such a young dog - is it fair to have him medicated for the rest of his life?

Thank you both for your replies. Yes we did try the medication but it has many other undesirable side effects physically and yes, he will get in the car happily and settle down but if another car is behind us or beside us he begins to tremble and cry and dig through the upholstery.

It is great that so many of you dont need to tie your dogs up. However for many many people it is simply not possible to avoid that situation. On a hot day you cant leave dogs in the car, you cant tie them up outside and nor should they be left alone for too long at home. An OAP who takes her equally old dog for a gentle walk to the local shop each day is supposed to ...what?? Leave her dog at home so it doesn't get exercise or do two walks - one to get milk then home then another one to walk the dog? Maybe we should be more concerned with the people who are breaking the law by stealing dogs!!! This forum offers a huge amount of wisdom, experience and support but it can also be very quick to victim-bash!

I own a beautiful dog from a DOL breeder. He has an extraordinarily loving temperament (unusual in my thirty years experience of dogs) is very bright, trainable and also a gorgeous looking dog. He is approx 18 months old desexed up to date with vacinations etc. He was a very cheerful out going puppy when he came to us at ten weeks, attended puppy class and was well-socialised. He was always happy and friendly but perhaps a little slow to warm up to new people (a breed characteristic) However literally the week he turned 10 months old he became fearful. I understand fear periods in dogs but this was on a level I have never encountered. His list of fears includes (but is not limited to) parked cars, moving cars, men, women, children, people walking a=way ahead of us on a public street, people walking behind us unless they are more than 300 yards away, any noises at all ie noises he has previously encountered such as cars starting next door or school bells down the road, any new place - beach, park etc. I made sure to not reward his flattening himself out and lunging to hide under anything at all (ie parked cars or benches) and rewarded his moving forward. However he is too terrified to take any treats at all (yes I have tried food, toys, tug toys etc) when he is in that state and patting him or talking to him has no effect. He only wants to climb up into my lap (he weighs approx 30 kgs) and as soon as we turn to go home or back to the car uie safety he is almost uncontrollable in his frenzy to get there. It has now been almost nine months and nothing s helping. I am beginning now to dread taking him for a walk as even our usual walks spook him and the idea of taking him to a new surrounding (which we have tried) borders on being cruel as he is so frightened the entire time. At home he is cheerful, bright, very very loving, gentle with our children and a perfect dog (although yes he is terrified of visitors and hides till they are gone if he is able) The behaviourist we consulted tried and failed to make any progress at all with him and suggested he needed anti-anxiety drugs which we are loathe to do. He is well-trained and yes if i command him to *Heel!* when he is scared he will do it but his tail is down, he trembles and drools and it seems terribly cruel to force him to obey when he is distressed. WE have discussed rehoming him but he is extremely attached to us - when I was away for six weeks and left him at home with my adult daughter he lost over 12 kgs. My question is - is there a chance that his quality of life will improve? Some others of his breeding also display some high anxiety behaviour. In one case, one of the owners of a littermate simply no longer takes her dog anywhere. She says he is happy at home so why take him out? I don't know.

Thank you for all your suggestions but sadly many of them we had already considered and discarded. Looks like a long term boarding kennel may be our only option which I cat see working for him given how much company he needs Yes I have sent an email to his breeder but I doubt that she will be able to have him back - however fingers crossed!

I hadn't considered a legal agreement - thank you for the advice. Sadly no it is not possible for my mother to come over to Australia to recuperate although we did spend a great deal of time investigating that option,

Whoops = so sorry - I am in Melbourne but will absolutely consider sending him interstate to the right home for that time!

My elderly mother lives in Auckland and is having two major surgeries at the end of the year.I am her only relative and will need to go back to be with her from perhaps the end of November or middle of December until the middle or end of March. My gorgeous Swiss Shepherd cannot come with me and I really really don't want to put him into a boarding kennel as he is extremely sensitive, affectionate and *soft* Please can anyone suggest a home-like environment that wold be able to care for him while I am away, He is 15 months old, neutered, vaccinated, house trained, great with kids cats etc but absolutely must have attention and company. Obviously I will cover all expenses etc.

Thanks for this advice. You make a good point I should have mentioned - when we do go out of the house he is far too afraid to take even suer high value treats so yes, your suggestions may well work better!

My beautiful Shepherd boy has been very well-socialised as a puppy and has a very affectionate, playful, outgoing temperament or should I say...had! About four weeks ago and almost literally overnight he became frightened of everything including things that he has encountered every single day since he was 8 weeks old ie parked cars, vacuum cleaners (off or going makes no difference) people walking behind or beside him that he doesn't know, helicopters flying overhead, the rubbish bin (swear to God every day now it is like he has never seen it before)someone knocking at our front door, the neighbour's elderly cat etc etc. It is probably easier to list the things he isnt afraid of! He will still come willingly to have his lead put on but once we leave our driveway walking with him is a nightmare - he constantly pulls to duck under bushes or park benches etc so he can hide, he swerves at lamp posts to avoid them, he swerves at the sight of a parked car, he constantly looks back to see if anyone is walking behind us... I have spoken to two different trainers about this and the first one suggested that he needed to not be molly-coddled and so long as he was healthy (yes we had him vet checked) and nothing was unfamiliar to him that we should just carry on with a rather jolly tone and just make him do all the things he had been happily doing before. The second trainer suggested that he was in a second fear period and to go back to basics ie very short walks, stopping as soon as he got scared of anything and giving him plenty of time to investigate it before rewarding him and turning back for home with the long term goal of slowly increasing how far he is comfortable going from home. I have to say it is becoming frustrating that this gorgeous dog who has been so happy and confident four weeks ago is now so hard to walk with or do anything outside our house and yard with. Help please??

Thank you all so much for the suggestions - my daughter will be phoning them today and tomorrow!

Please help The dog in question is five years old a mixed breed - pig dog She has always lived with my 26 year old daugher with other flatmates or other dogs. Recently however due to a change in careers my daughter has moved into a new home where she lives alone except for Poppy (the dog) P{oppy is screaming, crying and howling when left alone during the day now. What can you all suggest please? Poppy is very well-trained but not what I would call well-behaved.