Anyone want to put their two cents in on my dog? (long)

mkoelker

My sweet little girl Sadie (German Shepherd) has baggage, lots of baggage.  We rescued her about two years ago from a local agency in the area.  Before she came to us, her old owners left her outside and gave her no attention.  We also think that she was abused (mentally and physically) She has no confidence and is pretty skiddish.... except when it comes to other animals or cars.  As far as the animals go, she hates when anything is in or near our yard... or just around us or her to be exact.  When we take her for walks she go CRAZY when she see another animal (Dog, cat, bird, bunny...bugs; you name it) It gets so bad, there were times my husband would have to practically lay on top of her to keep her from lunging out of her collar and getting the other animal.  We actually took her to the dog park once with our other dog, Shelby, and our friends dogs.  She bit their little dog and luckily only got his hair.  She continued to go crazy until we left. As for the cars, we live on an easement, so there aren't too many cars that go down our lane.  However, when cars do go down, she will bark and bark and bark until they're past our house.  Its becoming quite annoying.  I know that we need to socialize her more, but its scary. I would hate for anything to happen to her or another innocent animal, but all we're doing is making it worse by keeping her at home.  I love her to death, but I'm at my wits end.I should also point out that when we're inside, she's pretty anti-social.  She stays in our room for most of the day, and she also gets along great with our other dog.  Do you guys have any suggestions?Thanks so much for at least reading this! 

mkoelker

I should also say that we've tried training....it hasn't helped

Mia07

I don't have any advice for you, but I wanted to say that we have a shelter pup with baggage as well.

She's VERY skiddish around other dogs, but loves our 2 cats and is very loving/ not afraid of any ppl.

We've tried taking her to the dog park to socialize, and she just jumps in the nearest person's arms.

 

mkoelker

Mia07:

I don't have any advice for you, but I wanted to say that we have a shelter pup with baggage as well.

She's VERY skiddish around other dogs, but loves our 2 cats and is very loving/ not afraid of any ppl.

We've tried taking her to the dog park to socialize, and she just jumps in the nearest person's arms.

 

I wish it was as simple as jumping in someones arms. She is just so terrified that she attacks (or tries to) other dogs.  Its insane 

Camicat

I have no ideas, I'm sorry. This sounds like a tough case. We rescued our dog too. Someone dropped her off in a box at the shelter when she was a puppy. 7 years later she's gotten so much better. She doesn't run to another room and hide from strangers, she barks and stays in the same room. Once comfortable enough she does a run by so she can sniff from behind-she's so sneaky! or at least she thinks she is! She still barks at people who walk by outside but not so much cars.

She is a big scaredy cat and never was aggressive with others so our dogs are different in that case. I wish I could help. I can just say that with time and more and more socializing she's come out of her shell a bit.

Camicat

Ooh, I want to add call the Dog Whisperer!!

pepomntpat

Contact a behaviorist (not a trainer).  There is a link in the Pets Board FAQs about how to contact one.

pepomntpat

Camicat:

Ooh, I want to add call the Dog Whisperer!!

He sucks! I love Victoria Stillwell (It's Me or the Dog)

sinisterkat01

First off, the general training may not have helped a whole lot, but if you have a behaviorist in your area (ideally a vet certified in behavioral medicine), then I would highly recommend a consultation.  Honestly, some dogs have these problems because of poor socialization in the beginning of their lives, but it does not always mean that they have been abused, or that you can always change their tendencies.  You can use behavior modification techniques to improve her behaviors, but she will probably always have the same triggers.

She does need to be desensitized to the things that set her off, but only if she can be exposed in a way that keeps her and everyone else around her safe.  The dog park may be a little much to start off with.  I have a dog that has a problem walking around other dogs, and we are working on keeping him calm when another dog is across the street.  I don't think I would be so brave as to take him with another friends dog yet, and I don't know if I will ever get there, honestly. 

Have you tried different collars or harnesses?  I have had some good successes with head halters, provided thay are put on correctly.  Gentle Leader is one of the main brands, and available at Petsmart. 

You can PM later if you have more questions!  I better be getting back to work!

mkoelker

pepomntpat:

Contact a behaviorist (not a trainer).  There is a link in the Pets Board FAQs about how to contact one.

Thanks! I found one in our area, and just e-mailed her! 

pepomntpat

mkoelker:

pepomntpat:

Contact a behaviorist (not a trainer).  There is a link in the Pets Board FAQs about how to contact one.

Thanks! I found one in our area, and just e-mailed her! 

Good!  I hope she can help. They are trained to identify those triggers that set your dog off and can help you to avoid them and/or limit the impact they have.  Good luck!

mkoelker

sinisterkat01:

First off, the general training may not have helped a whole lot, but if you have a behaviorist in your area (ideally a vet certified in behavioral medicine), then I would highly recommend a consultation.  Honestly, some dogs have these problems because of poor socialization in the beginning of their lives, but it does not always mean that they have been abused, or that you can always change their tendencies.  You can use behavior modification techniques to improve her behaviors, but she will probably always have the same triggers.

She does need to be desensitized to the things that set her off, but only if she can be exposed in a way that keeps her and everyone else around her safe.  The dog park may be a little much to start off with.  I have a dog that has a problem walking around other dogs, and we are working on keeping him calm when another dog is across the street.  I don't think I would be so brave as to take him with another friends dog yet, and I don't know if I will ever get there, honestly. 

Have you tried different collars or harnesses?  I have had some good successes with head halters, provided thay are put on correctly.  Gentle Leader is one of the main brands, and available at Petsmart. 

You can PM later if you have more questions!  I better be getting back to work!

We have the Gentle Leader, and she hates it.  However, we don't let that stop us from putting it on her.  Every time we go to the vet or for a walk etc (when we're brave enough to take her for a walk).  However, we've never actually been "around other dogs when she has it on. 

Thanks! I'm sure I'll be PMing you!!! (I'm so happy again for your great test results!!!) 

Camicat

pepomntpat:

Camicat:

Ooh, I want to add call the Dog Whisperer!!

He sucks! I love Victoria Stillwell (It's Me or the Dog)

Okay, call her then. I was just trying to be funny! 

JenPVH

This will take constant repeats.... try to distract your dog with a toy or treat each time another animal comes by when going for a walk until it gets to the point it is manageble to walk without barking.  If you don't provide distraction, you are almost giving a reason for your dog to feel threatened or defensive.

smtaylor1

Definitely work with the behavioralist...they do wonders!  And as far as harnesses go, the Gentle Leader is good if you give it time for some dogs.  I have a lab who puts herself into a panic attack as soon as you put any type of harness (head or body and we have tried them all...I have a closet full of harnesses...probably $300 worth) on her but she is fine with a collar.  We finally had to resort to a prong collar and it is the only thing that has worked for walking her.  She tries to get to other animals too...though she just wants to play with them.

Erin RN

You just described the exact situation we went through with our youngest dog. He was a rescue as well and had been abused by his previous owners and neglected at the first shelter he was at. Then when we got him home, we found out he had giardia. It took a long time for him to get over it and we couldn't socialize him with other dogs during that time. He also started getting very protective of me around strangers. We also tied training classes, but they didn't help. I'll tell you what worked for us. We had problems with the Gentle Leader too, so we got this one: https://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751027 It worked great. If he pulled to get by another dog, he would be turned around. Then we started off slowly intoducing him to people and dogs. We would take him to the pet store. If he barked or growled at another dog, then we walked out. When he found a dog he didn't bark at and seemed interested in, we would introduce them and give lots of treats and praise. When we go on walks, we use treats as a distraction. When he would walk by a dog, I would hold a treat in my hand and give it to him slowly as we walked by. I also worked very hard to not acknowledge the other dog and to continue walking straight on our path. If the treats didn't work, I would stop and stand in between him and the other dog to block him. It took us about a year of sticking to this before we got to the point we are at now. He is so much better now. We can go on a walk without any problems. Occationally a dog will bark at him and he will react, but then we just go back to what we did before. He will be going to the dog beach for the first time this summer and I am confident it will go well.  

I know how stressful it can be. Hopefully the behavioralist will be able to help you.