Ask Muddy
The Dog Who Knows What's Best For Him
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Fear
FEARFUL DOGS: we are gaining valuable knowledge on this topic, working with Tarka, who appears to have been, at best, completely unsocialized with humans, if not abused, before he came to us. He was terrified of strangers, especially men and children.
Now, two years later, Tarka seems like a "normal dog" much of the time. At home he is happy, relaxed and playful when it's just us. When we have visitors he watches from a safe distance when he doesn't know them well; other visitors he is comfortable with and will approach for petting. Tarka is at his best out in the parks where he can play off leash, especially out in the big dog parks in Lake County north of Chicago - we go to these every weekend and it's wonderful to see Tarka's joy playing out there,
When he meets strangers he is still cautious, but exhibits strong curiosity and usually tries to sniff them from behind. If I stop to talk to someone in the park, he comes and sits beside me instead of circling warily like a coyote, as he used to. He will beg for treats from people he has met a few times - just like any of the dogs in the park. He becomes comfortable with new people more quickly, and he no longer hides behind the furniture when people come to our house - though he still watches from a safe distance. Children are still quite frightening, but if they're quiet he's starting to investigate them too.
On the whole, we let him take his time to gain confidence and gradually reduce his anxiety levels, allowing him to steer clear of things that frighten him and remain "below threshhold" (if your dog won't take a treat, he is too anxious and should be taken further away from whatever is causing the anxiety). But he has had several experiences that have pushed him a little further out of his comfort zone. Things like having a lot of family members in the house over Christmas week; taking several road trips and staying in motels and friends' homes; staying (with Willie) at Danny's Dogwalkers (which is a very busy household with lots of coming and going) if I have to travel without dogs. He has made progress in every one of these situations, as long as people don't pressure him too much, and let him come to them in his own time. He takes a lot of comfort from being close to Willie and/or me when he's in a strange environment.
Tarka's saving grace is probably that he loves being petted, especially belly and ear rubs, which he relaxes into with tremendous pleasure. He still has a way to go before he is comfortable in strange surroundings or with new people, but he is steadily, albeit slowly, improving.
Training. Something else we learned was that traditional obedience cues may not work. During the first few months that Tarka lived with us, he was very evasive whenever I tried to teach him to sit. He would slink away from me and become very "shut down". A friend then suggested picking a different word to get him to sit - perhaps his aversion stemmed from being trained abusively in the past. So we gently started over, this time using "potatoes" to mean "sit". Initially he was a little resistant, but he quickly realized there were high value treats (roast chicken) in store if he cooperated. The best thing was how quickly he learned that training can be great fun. Take a look at this early video of him practicing. He's very excited and pleased with himself (not to mention extremely muddy, as we were out in a big dog exercise area which has some very swampy areas).
Homeopathy. I can't recommend this highly enough for any dog (or person!) but it's especially beneficial for people with fearful dogs. We have been consulting with veterinary homeopath Dr Glen Dupree and the constitutional remedy he recommended for Tarka is really speeding up his progress, and making him a physically healthier dog as well. Overvaccination (which can mean any vaccination at all) can cause multiple health and behavior issues; shelter dogs who are given "just in case" shots are especially susceptible, and Tarka is no exception. Consider that the day before Tarka came to us, he was anesthetized for neutering (probably given IV antibiotics too for good measure), given five vaccines (DHPP and Rabies), dosed with Drontal for deworming, and Vectra for fleas and ticks; all this in a body that was about 30% underweight and highly stressed. When I think about that I say "no wonder he's a little mental". He exhibited a number of common vaccinosis symptoms - reverse sneezing, sound sensitivity, skin itchiness, fear of water - all these have resolved with homeopathic treatment. Tarka also tested severely hypothyroid in October 2010 - another common vaccinosis symptom. Thanks to some excellent supplements and homeopathic remedies, Tarka's thyroid levels are now normal, with absolutely no drugs.
One website containing a lot of good advice for owners of fearful dogs is www.fearfuldogs.com. There is also an associated Yahoo Message Board for Shy Dogs that has a lot of helpful training information and some knowledgeable trainers who will answer questions. I do have strong reservations about the fact that both the site and the message board strongly advocate medicating fearful dogs. I cannot agree with this so I recommend these sites with that caveat.
I've found a few books I'd like to recommend. These are also on our Tips and Links page. The first, and most substantial, is Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears, by Nicole Wilde. Nicole is an award-winning dog trainer who specializes in behavior issues. I'm still reading it, but it has helped me a lot with gentle, positive training ideas to help Tarka cope with his fear. Click on the link below to read more about it and/or purchase it at Amazon:
Patricia McConnell's booklet The Cautious Canine is another excellent resource in helping identify fear triggers and how to handle them.
Turid Rugaas's short book On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals is also very helpful in understanding dog body language, and how to use it yourself in training.
Now, two years later, Tarka seems like a "normal dog" much of the time. At home he is happy, relaxed and playful when it's just us. When we have visitors he watches from a safe distance when he doesn't know them well; other visitors he is comfortable with and will approach for petting. Tarka is at his best out in the parks where he can play off leash, especially out in the big dog parks in Lake County north of Chicago - we go to these every weekend and it's wonderful to see Tarka's joy playing out there,
When he meets strangers he is still cautious, but exhibits strong curiosity and usually tries to sniff them from behind. If I stop to talk to someone in the park, he comes and sits beside me instead of circling warily like a coyote, as he used to. He will beg for treats from people he has met a few times - just like any of the dogs in the park. He becomes comfortable with new people more quickly, and he no longer hides behind the furniture when people come to our house - though he still watches from a safe distance. Children are still quite frightening, but if they're quiet he's starting to investigate them too.
On the whole, we let him take his time to gain confidence and gradually reduce his anxiety levels, allowing him to steer clear of things that frighten him and remain "below threshhold" (if your dog won't take a treat, he is too anxious and should be taken further away from whatever is causing the anxiety). But he has had several experiences that have pushed him a little further out of his comfort zone. Things like having a lot of family members in the house over Christmas week; taking several road trips and staying in motels and friends' homes; staying (with Willie) at Danny's Dogwalkers (which is a very busy household with lots of coming and going) if I have to travel without dogs. He has made progress in every one of these situations, as long as people don't pressure him too much, and let him come to them in his own time. He takes a lot of comfort from being close to Willie and/or me when he's in a strange environment.
Tarka's saving grace is probably that he loves being petted, especially belly and ear rubs, which he relaxes into with tremendous pleasure. He still has a way to go before he is comfortable in strange surroundings or with new people, but he is steadily, albeit slowly, improving.
Training. Something else we learned was that traditional obedience cues may not work. During the first few months that Tarka lived with us, he was very evasive whenever I tried to teach him to sit. He would slink away from me and become very "shut down". A friend then suggested picking a different word to get him to sit - perhaps his aversion stemmed from being trained abusively in the past. So we gently started over, this time using "potatoes" to mean "sit". Initially he was a little resistant, but he quickly realized there were high value treats (roast chicken) in store if he cooperated. The best thing was how quickly he learned that training can be great fun. Take a look at this early video of him practicing. He's very excited and pleased with himself (not to mention extremely muddy, as we were out in a big dog exercise area which has some very swampy areas).
Homeopathy. I can't recommend this highly enough for any dog (or person!) but it's especially beneficial for people with fearful dogs. We have been consulting with veterinary homeopath Dr Glen Dupree and the constitutional remedy he recommended for Tarka is really speeding up his progress, and making him a physically healthier dog as well. Overvaccination (which can mean any vaccination at all) can cause multiple health and behavior issues; shelter dogs who are given "just in case" shots are especially susceptible, and Tarka is no exception. Consider that the day before Tarka came to us, he was anesthetized for neutering (probably given IV antibiotics too for good measure), given five vaccines (DHPP and Rabies), dosed with Drontal for deworming, and Vectra for fleas and ticks; all this in a body that was about 30% underweight and highly stressed. When I think about that I say "no wonder he's a little mental". He exhibited a number of common vaccinosis symptoms - reverse sneezing, sound sensitivity, skin itchiness, fear of water - all these have resolved with homeopathic treatment. Tarka also tested severely hypothyroid in October 2010 - another common vaccinosis symptom. Thanks to some excellent supplements and homeopathic remedies, Tarka's thyroid levels are now normal, with absolutely no drugs.
One website containing a lot of good advice for owners of fearful dogs is www.fearfuldogs.com. There is also an associated Yahoo Message Board for Shy Dogs that has a lot of helpful training information and some knowledgeable trainers who will answer questions. I do have strong reservations about the fact that both the site and the message board strongly advocate medicating fearful dogs. I cannot agree with this so I recommend these sites with that caveat.
I've found a few books I'd like to recommend. These are also on our Tips and Links page. The first, and most substantial, is Help for Your Fearful Dog: A Step-by-Step Guide to Helping Your Dog Conquer His Fears, by Nicole Wilde. Nicole is an award-winning dog trainer who specializes in behavior issues. I'm still reading it, but it has helped me a lot with gentle, positive training ideas to help Tarka cope with his fear. Click on the link below to read more about it and/or purchase it at Amazon:
Patricia McConnell's booklet The Cautious Canine is another excellent resource in helping identify fear triggers and how to handle them.
Turid Rugaas's short book On Talking Terms with Dogs: Calming Signals is also very helpful in understanding dog body language, and how to use it yourself in training.
