Super-Skittish

[dwillym]

Yay, first post...

I've had a 3 yr old fawn female frenchie for about 8 months now (name is Poo, my first dog), and she seems to be getting increasingly skittish and timid. I got her from a family that breeds bostons, so she lived for a while in a house that was full of dogs and noise...lots of confusion, basically.

My apartment is pretty quiet, but whenever I do "kitchen-oriented" things - like open drawers, shuffle silverwhere around, move pots & pans, or wash dishes, she cowers in fear and gets very low to the ground, and recently has been retreating to a corner in the living room. If I manage to keep her in the kitchen for any extended period of time, she literally shakes with fear and starts to pant.

Walking her isn't easy - she's afraid of things like a trash barrel on the sidewalk or a newspaper on the ground. Most dogs seem to be driven by curiousity, but Poo is all anxiety, all the time.

On top of that, for a dog that lived with many other dogs, she never engages other dogs when we're out walking or at the park. She turns her back on them, gets physically upset, and claws at my knees to be rescued from the situation.

I strongly doubt that any abuse occurred at the home she was brought up in, but you never know. I just don't understand how these issues have gotten worse, not better, even with consistent praise and reward systems on my part.

I'd appreciate any feedback you have - I'm not the most experienced dog owner. :(

[Martina]

Judy has a great idea to begin at the beginning ... and run to your nearest bookstore to get The Dog Listener by Jan Ferrel. One of the things she comments on is how, when a dog is nervous, we tend to pet and coo and try to calm them down. In dog language, we are actually encouraging and praising them for whatever behaviour they've just been exhibiting. So, if she cowers and you start up with "It's okay sweetie, don't worry, nothing will happen" it's quite possible that Poo is understanding that to mean that she's acting appropriately and to keep getting skittish - even to the point of becoming more skittish in more situations over time.

I love the Dog Listener and recommend it all the time. I learned A LOT and helped A LOT - especially with Gigi who can bark at strange new items I bring into the house. I use Jan's techniques for introducing her to new things and, once she engages it with me, she never has another problem.

In a "let me boast" moment, out vet commented on my two today saying that they were really sweet, lovable, enjoyable dogs to be around and that I'd done a really great job with them. Most of that comes from Jan Ferrel's common-sense advice -- the kind you go "well, duuuuh" -- that just made stuff click for me.

Good luck with your Poo!

[dwillym]

Somewhat, yes. If I can, I'll try to reinforce behaviors that are "engaging" in scary situations. But it's certainly possible that she thinks some of the anxiety is ok due to my attempts to soothe the situation.

I'd always assumed that, over time, she might realize on her own that the things that scare her occur almost daily and her reaction to them might wear off, but that definitely isn't happening.

[franp]

Roosje, I was thinking the same thing.

Is this dog a retiree?And do you live in the City?Did she come from a suburban/rural area?

Perhaps, if she came from a rural area to an urban area the change is overwhelming to her.I have seen retired breeder/show dogs become scared of thier shadow the first time they are on the streets of NY.

The change of envirnment can be devastating.Just learning to go to the bathroom on the street instead of grass is traumatic.

As for the kitchen noise; perhaps the former owner used that kind of noise to "teach " her not to do things???

Could she have been not treated as well as she should have been?

[Borgan]

We have a massage chair, and when we first brought it home, the dog WOULD NOT come in the living room and would hide under the bed. So I sat on the ground beside the chair, patted and talked to it ("good chair!") like a crazy woman. Immediately, Luna came over to inspect it...and even gave it a kiss. No more fear! Next task: sweet talking the vacuum cleaner.

[dwillym]

No retiree or anything, but she was living in rural CT with a lot of open yard space. I live in a neighborhood in a city, but not a major hub or anything. I live on a normal street, but she's definitely anxious about the area. I walk her just fine, but she jumps when loud cars go buy or hesitates if there's someone coming down the sidewalk. That said, her "outside" behavior doesn't surprise me, and I've done pretty well with rewarding her efforts.

It's the inside stuff that's absolutely baffling. I'll look into the 'Dog Listener' book, and I'll try to do more focused praise, i.e., being careful not to reinforce fear, but to reinforce engagement with the things that stir up the fear.

**One more thing - given that a lot of the anxiety stems from the kitchen, and given that she won't exactly come into that area for me to even give her some praise, is it wrong of me to keep her in the kitchen w/ me while i'm cooking, and try to make it as rewarding and fun an experience as possible? (i can see how this experiment could go either way)

[Martina]

You know what? I would say that, for now, keeping her in the kitchen is probably not a good idea. I can't imagine how traumatizing that would be for her to be forced to be in the place she's most afraid of. I would also worry that it could send her over the top to expressing her fear in negative ways toward you - nipping and excessive barking - over time.

You might want to consider getting a trainer in to watch her behaviour who might have more ideas. And, as crazy as I feel even suggesting this, I know that some dogs simply suffer from high-anxiety and take doggie prozac. Who knows?

Like Brooke did with Luna and the chair, you might even consider taking one pot into the living room with you and "engaging" it so that Poo sees you and realizes that you're not afraid of it. Then let her watch you put in away in a cabinet - and even poke around in the cabinet if she wants. I don't really think she'll do that if she's so afraid of the kitchen - I'm just brainstorming!!

Good Luck - I don't envy you :rolleyes: