How Can I Stop My Dog Being Scared?
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a wee Rottie cross, she’s about 7 or 8, she’s a rescue and we got her when she was about 3 or 4, we don’t know her history but we’re fairly sure she was abused when she was wee as she’s uncomfortable with arguing and she’s scared of brushes and plastic bags. This isn’t a problem though. The problem is that only recently, within the past few months or so, she has developed a fear of certain noises, especially steam engines, and unfortunately i live near a steam train museum so everytime she comes to stay with me (she lives with my Parent’s) i can’t walk her during the train’s running times or she absolutely freaks out and the Rottie strength in her drags me all the way back home. She’s also worried by whistling noises now too, and brass bands. My Mum had mentioned click therapy, do you think this would work?
I also have a retired racing Greyhound with some odd issues, but she isn’t bothered by the train or whistling or even fireworks, so i don’t know where this fear came from? It’s so strange because they behave so differently. My Greyhound is an angel when she’s out of the house – on a lead, but a pain in the house, where as the Rottie is an angel in the house but can be difficult when out.
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i know this sounds mildly daft but bare with me ok?
right, in humans, if something is really scary or traumatic our memory will just block it out (for example, do you honestly remember the very first time you ever saw your own blood? no….). maybe your dog had something very very scary happen to her when she was younger and now that she’s in a much more loving home environment the memories or associations with sounds are coming out. the possible reason she’s a nightmare when she’s out and about could also have something to do with her previous life experiences. do you know if she was dumped? that could be why she doesn’t like going out because she’s scared she’ll be dumped again. only thing i can suggest is that you get a extendable lead that has a chest coller rather than a neck one. if she pulls on a nect coller she’ll strangle herself. but if she starts to get scared and just stops, on the extendable lead you can walk ahead to show her theres nothing to be scared of. if and when she comes to you fuss her and hopefully she’ll become ok with it.
my dog also wees on the floor, and destroys the house if he’s left alone, can’t even stand being out of my sight! soppy thing. because its just one of those things, from time to time a dog will have to be on its own, i started leaving the TV or radio on for him whihc stopped him weeing everywhere but not destroying everything! now i have to cover the sofa. my partner took the bed sheets down ready to be washed oneday and then dashed out, apparently when he came back the dog was just curled up on the sheets asleep instead of destroying the house. just a case of the dog missing you i guess
its something you have to get used to, i found a dog on the side of the road about a year ago, and she still wnt walk without me or my mum by her side, she had a huge injuryso its clear she was abused, but all you can do is maybe take her out, but carry her, when a noise like that appears, cuddle her or hold her tightly, then when it passes she will see that it wont hurt her… good luck
Rescue dogs haven’t had the best of lives. sounds like it’s just gonna take time for her to realize that every noise she hears isn’t out to get her and won’t hurt her. Lots of TLC will help that.
put it in a room with a black man
The rottie’s problems, since you said they’re only recent, could be because she’s getting a bit of cognitive dysfunction syndrome (like alzheimer’s in people). I know she’s a bit young for it, but rottie’s tend to have a shorter life span, so perhaps that’s what she’s getting. It makes dogs act in lots of different ways and since this is a new behaviour for the rottie, it’s a possibility.
What is the greyhound doing in the house? If you give details, perhaps I could help.
For calming the rottie, I don’t know what you mean by click therapy – is your mum talking about clicker training?
You could try Rescue Remedy (Bach’s Flower Essences) to calm the rottie. I use it for my oldest greyhound who’s afraid of thunder. He gets 4 drops, it takes about 20 minutes to take affect and is just enough to take the edge off. However, if her fear’s too great, that won’t work.
Your mum may want to talk to her vet about Prozac for dogs. Or you could try counterconditioning, but that would be too hard when she’s afraid of so many noises. Talk to the vet about the possibility of her CDS – there’s meds to help.
I suspect that your rottie is taking on to much responsibility.
When they feel like top dog, they have to do a lot to hold that position with other dogs. You can relieve some of that responsibility by becoming top dog. This involves simple stuff like being the first out the door when going for a walk. Do not allow them to pull you down the road. Get your collar up under the ears. A light tap on the flanks with your foot will surprise them and get their attention. You can just use body language to get your furnishings back from your pets- give them their own bed and keep them off the furniture.
Dogs don’t speak English. They respond to the manner noises come to them , not many words.
When the submissive dog of your 2 see you being in controll they will change too.
Love rotties, but you absolutely must be able to controll such a dog.
I have a pit/boxer cross who has had this system applied over the last year and it was like a brain transplant.
The poodles are safe now!