How Can I Help My Anxious/nervous Dog

[M United]

We have a small family dog who is now 4 years old and i have a couple of issues with her that i would like to address to help her. I apologize in advanced if my post is not well written i am at work typing this.

My first major issue is I believe she is anxious around dogs no matter the size. Ill give you a bit of background on her. She has always been anxious from young age even though i did socialize her as a pup. She has friends who she has been hanging around with for years who she trusts but even when they confront her face to face very close her head goes a bit back, neck and face stiffens up as shes sniffing them and her head shakes a little like its trembling. To me she looks cautious, not sure, bit scared i.e anxious. When she approaches a dog on the street and they are a high energy dog her ears go into alert mode straight up pointing forward like shes ready to fight. But she doesn't fight. I'm assuming she is telling them you have to much energy for me leave me alone but this can cause fights. I think she is a weak minded dog. While walking on the street when she meets new dogs she has gotten into a couple of fights. There not physical as she is on a leash and can stop both the dogs from getting into a physical fight but all the noise is there (from both parties) until i correct her. It doesn't happen all the time but it can. If the dog is very calm and mellow she has no issues with him/her at all. Also she doesn't let any dogs sniff her bum, soon as a dog goes to sniff her she spins around fast facing the dog front on in an alert mode. Even her friends cant sniff her bum. But she does sniff other dogs bums. Shes not hugely social towards dogs and just plays with some of her friends.

Secondly she had no issues with larger dogs (biggest dog she went up to on her own was a giant poodle) until 1 year ago when a brown kelpie gave her a warning bark right in her face (cms away) while i was walking her on the street. She cried moved back, i didn't pick her up i just stood between her and the kelpie and said it's ok calm down and my hand up in a stop action. I was calm the whole time. Anyhow now when a larger dog approaches her (that she doesn't know) she barks at them constantly. I correct her but telling her no in a firm voice eventually she stops. She has met a couple of large dogs the last month or so that she initially barked at but now is ok with them. She has issues with large brown dogs in particular but i'm slowly helping her with that to and now for example she can now tolerate a big (overweight) brown labrador. She doesn't play with him but she has no issues with him being near her anymore. I had a scenario where i met my friend on a street and he has a large brown dog and my dog barked at his dog very nervously non stop. After walking them for 20 - 30 minutes my dog was fine with his dog and could stay close to him face on with no issues. I understand that is a way to build trust between dogs but at a dog park i cant do that.

Any tips on what i can do on my own to help her especially on my first issue? It would be greatly appreciated. If a video is needed to see the way she reacts i am more then happy to do that and post it here. Thanks :)

[Salukifan]

First question: If she is anxious around other dogs, why do you take her to the dog park? She clearly isn't enjoying it anymore. For a nervous, reactive dog, all she needs is to react to the wrong dog and there WIILL be a serious fight. I suggest you stop taking her.

I think 'correcting" her for expressing in the loudest possible terms that she wants other dogs to keep away is probably making the situation worse. I suggest you stop doing this and start listening to what she is trying to tell you. Give her the space from strange dogs she so clearly wants and just let her have time with dogs she knows and is relaxed with. :)

Edited January 28, 2014 by Haredown Whippets

[mumof4girls]

I take my girl on walks when I know we won't come across dogs or if so I am able to get out of the way as she is on lead aggressive and it's just easier for both of us , also the person or dog coming the other way isn't freaked out thinking I'm a bad owner with an aggressive dog ..

I don't go to dog perks she doesn't enjoy other dogs getting in her space , I want our walk, play time to be fun and she is the most sweetest girl just not on lead around others :-)

I wouldn't be allowing other dogs to get that close to your dog even walking my male if another dog comes our way I'm already in a position that if their dog lunges mine won't get hurt .. Not sure if that's right but that's what I do .

Good luck :-)

[M United]

I believe she likes the dog park. If i'm walking past the entrance with the intention to walk past and continue on a street walk she will run up to the door wanting to go in the park. I don't force her to go in the park. Also she knows the word park is the dog park and when i say that she gets excited.

In the second point making her not face her fears is the correct way? I was not forcing her to go up to large dogs for correction i have tried to implement corrections when i met up with friends on my dog walk or when a large dog comes up to her in the dog park. I cant give her space in those situations as she is confronted by these dogs in a non aggressive way.

Edited January 28, 2014 by M United

[Loving my Oldies]

Not all dogs want to be the life of the party and love everyone and everything. Some dogs just want to do their own thing. I know I get envious when I see photos on DOL of dogs and their toys and playing up a storm, but I just have to accept that my dogs don't play with toys, are pretty quiet and a couple play with each other a few times a day.

I agree with Haredown on both the points in her post.

If you have a large yard, your dog would probably getting the exercise she needs, but she does need to go for walks for the interest. But I wouldn't be putting her in situations where she is anxious and unhappy. Sometimes phobias are here to stay and trying the eliminate them by placing the dog in phobic situations is just not the way to go. Sometimes acceptance and then avoidance is the best policy.

Try to find times and places where you won't meet up with other dogs. I have a tiny dog who is hugely reactive so if I see other dogs being walked and approaching, I try to position my dogs out of sight (lots of cars parked in my streets) and I fee the dog tiny pieces of liver treats to keep their minds off the other dog/s until they have passed. The reactive dog sets the others off.

Good luck.

ETA: We were posting at the same time :) . Regarding your dog wanting to go to the park.... Dogs are very much creatures of habit. For instance, I am sure that the owners of older dogs will relate to this. The dogs get all excited because the leads come out, happy barking and racing to the gate, however, that's about it. Once the lead goes on and the gate is opened, the brakes are applied :laugh: :laugh: . That's enough mum, I'll have a little rest now. (That's just one of my dogs, the others are still up for their walks :laugh: :laugh: .)

Edited January 28, 2014 by Danny's Darling

[wuffles]

Lie down on the ground at her height when you next meet a large dog and tell me whether you feel completely comfortable or a bit cautious ;)

One of my dogs is a very cautious greeter, and I don't blame her, as dogs can be unpredictable. She enjoys interacting with other dogs but only when they are stable and predictable. I do go to dog parks but am very selective about who she interacts with.

Do you have the option of taking her to obedience classes? These could be a good way of introducing her to dogs in a safe environment, as well as getting advice about her behaviour and whether it is something you can work on with time, rewards and patience.

[Salukifan]

M United:

In the second point making her not face her fears is the correct way?

Only if you're applying human psychology to what is, for a smaller dog, a natural and sensible caution, now heightened by a bad experience and you discplining her for doing it. What you've taught her with corrections for her fears is that meeting strange dogs makes you, her owner, cranky with her.

Your dog, your choice. A dog that goes into serious reaction mode in a dog park is a dog that may well drawn the attention of a dog or dogs that will take issue with her. You have been warned.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Haredown Whippets

[Loving my Oldies]

M United is looking for help, Haredown, not condemnation and warnings . You were sensible in your first post and then you had to ruin it.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Danny's Darling

[Salukifan]

M United is looking for help, Haredown, not comdemnation and warnings

As I said, her dog, her choice. My advice was genuine, not condemnatory. I have a dog just like this and I've had to pull dogs off him.

But having "ruined" things, I'll withdraw.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Haredown Whippets

[persephone]

It's always tricky- I suggest you let us know your area , and ask on here fo recommendations of a REPUTABLE trainer who can observe your walks first-hand , and help you with management :) beware, there are lots of not-so-trustworthy/experienced trainers out there !

[M United]

Lie down on the ground at her height when you next meet a large dog and tell me whether you feel completely comfortable or a bit cautious ;)

One of my dogs is a very cautious greeter, and I don't blame her, as dogs can be unpredictable. She enjoys interacting with other dogs but only when they are stable and predictable. I do go to dog parks but am very selective about who she interacts with.

Do you have the option of taking her to obedience classes? These could be a good way of introducing her to dogs in a safe environment, as well as getting advice about her behaviour and whether it is something you can work on with time, rewards and patience.

She is also uncomfortable with dogs her size. She is even cautious with her friends that she trusts. They rumble with each other etc no worries but if there is sniffing of the bum or up close in her face saying hello she is very cautious/nervous.

[M United]

It's always tricky- I suggest you let us know your area , and ask on here fo recommendations of a REPUTABLE trainer who can observe your walks first-hand , and help you with management :) beware, there are lots of not-so-trustworthy/experienced trainers out there !

Sydney Eastern suburbs.

[M United]

M United:

In the second point making her not face her fears is the correct way?

Only if you're applying human psychology to what is, for a smaller dog, a natural and sensible caution, now heightened by a bad experience and you discplining her for doing it. What you've taught her with corrections for her fears is that meeting strange dogs makes you, her owner, cranky with her.

Your dog, your choice. A dog that goes into serious reaction mode in a dog park is a dog that may well drawn the attention of a dog or dogs that will take issue with her. You have been warned.

She would also be barking at large dogs (who she doesn't know) who are close to her not even saying hello. I am trying to teach her there is no need to bark as the dog near her is calm and passive. Would it be better just to move her away instead rather then telling her to stop barking because the other dog is ok?

[Loving my Oldies]

M United:

In the second point making her not face her fears is the correct way?

Only if you're applying human psychology to what is, for a smaller dog, a natural and sensible caution, now heightened by a bad experience and you discplining her for doing it. What you've taught her with corrections for her fears is that meeting strange dogs makes you, her owner, cranky with her.

Your dog, your choice. A dog that goes into serious reaction mode in a dog park is a dog that may well drawn the attention of a dog or dogs that will take issue with her. You have been warned.

She would also be barking at large dogs (who she doesn't know) who are close to her not even saying hello. I am trying to teach her there is no need to bark as the dog near her is calm and passive. Would it be better just to move her away instead rather then telling her to stop barking because the other dog is ok?

Yes :)

[Kavik]

Until you get some help I would suggest you stop taking her to dog parks and avoid meeting other dogs. Meeting other dogs makes her uncomfortable. She may never really like it. If you continue, she may become aggressive.

You may want to search for:

Look at That

Click to Calm: Healing the Aggressive Dog

These are both methods which use clicker training to help with reactive behaviour, and I have had improvements with my dog aggressive dog using them.

Crossing the road and going into driveways are good strategies for giving her the space she needs to remain under threshold while working on this.

[Simply Grand]

Agree that a good behaviourist who can see what's actually going on and give you a plan of action is your best bet.

It sounds to me like, as has been said, she doesn't want to be around or interact with these other dogs and she is telling them and you this as loudly as she can, she then gets a correction from you, which confirms in her mind that bad things happen when other dogs are around.

I would work on building positive associations with other dogs - keep her at a distance where she doesn't react to them and give her lots of yummy food when she looks at them. You can very gradually move closer but if you get to the point where she starts reacting you've gone too far so move back again. Work on getting her to look at the dog then look to you for her yummy treat.

The aim is not to reward her for not reacting so much as to create a positive association in her mind, other dog = something good. You could do this with friends who have calm dogs that will basically ignore her while she is learning, or outside a fenced dog park where the other dogs can't get to her, although you want lots of distance so they aren't standing at the fence staring or barking at her.

I would be avoiding having her meet other dogs until she starts to have a better association with them as every time she meets one and has to stay there while she's reacting it's reinforcing her negative association. If you do come across other dogs outside of training sessions I would be catching her before she starts to react and quickly turning and heading off in the other direction.

Edited January 28, 2014 by Simply Grand

[silentchild]

My dog also doesn't like other dogs sniffing her face, she is more than happy and polite with bum sniffings and calm greetings, but as soon as a dog sniffes her face she tenses up and will often warn the other dog that she is uncomfortable. I don't correct her for warning, I simply move her away or get the other dog to move away. I also do a lot of counter conditioning with her. I try to avoid putting my dog in positions where she will be uncomfortable - so I am very careful with greetings, we tend to follow the 3 second rule for greetings with strange dogs. If I as a human would be quite disgusted at a random stranger coming up and sniffing my face, I can't blame her for feeling the same!

Obedience training is a great idea to get her to be used around dogs in a controlled setting and learn to focus on you instead of other dogs.

You can also try the Look At That game, that might help with the barking - it is basically counter-conditioning, so rewarding your dog to look at another dog calmly - the book Kavik recommended is very good with explaining LAT. It helped me a lot with my previous dog who was reactive.

[M United]

Thanks for the advice. One thing to note is when she sees a dog on the street she wants to go up to the dog (medium or a smaller in size) and say hello. I.e she starts pulling me towards the dog. This is what confuses me. On sunday she wanted to cross the road to say hello to a beagle, and all was well (he was 12 and a calm dog).

[Simply Grand]

It sounds like she's conflicted. I think it would be helpful for her in general to to learn that she doesn't get to make those decisions, it's up to you who she does and doesn't get to meet and under what circumstances. If she learns that she should be looking to you for a decision on basically everything in her life it will take pressure off her and also allow you to make sure she only has positive experiences.

It doesn't mean she'll never get to talk to another dog again but if you can control her experiences and get her looking to you all the time you can eliminate those negative interactions which are stressful and risky for her, and also a bit unfair on the other dogs.

[M United]

Ill have to be cautious when meeting new dogs. I do associate the words kiss kiss when meeting new dogs who i judge from a distance to be safe and that does calm her down (not as nervous) as those words have always been associated with positive situations which makes the meets generally go ok. I wont let her go up to a dog who's 10 miles in front of his/her owner etc.

I will implement some changes to my ways in the next few weeks especially having some distance from big dogs and letting her be more comfortable in that situation and see what progress i get.