Help! New rescue dog is very anxious..what can i do?

[Halcyon]

I need book recs, ideas, websites...anything. Our new dog who we recscued two weeks ago is really anxious and overly attached to ME (not anyone else).

 

Some issues that we need todeal with:

 

1. Pooping and marking in house. This isnt an every day occurence. He poops outside, sems to understand that's the "right" place to go, but has a sensitive stomach and poops in the house sometimes. Re the marking, i think this is due to anxiety but i have not experienced it with prior dogs.

 

2. The biggie: he howls and whines when i leave. Even if dh is still in the house, even if dh keeps him close, treats him when he quiets down, etc. If NOBODY is in the house, he is crated and howls for about 10 minutes and then quiets down. He is very anxious, excited etc when i get home, imo abnormally so, even when he is accidentally locked in the garage for 5 minutes, he's a mess when we get him.

 

3. He growls at dh when he sees him, especially when he is sitting near me. He is getting better with this, and actually likes DH to come up and pet him, and does not snap or anything, but i absolutely do nt like it and want it to stop. Dh obviously does not like it. Dh is not naturally a pet person, but he is trying. I dont know whether to discipline the dog, or what?

 

Do people recommend Cesar Millan?

[OrganicAnn]

I would have your DH feed the dog daily. If the dog knows any commands like 'sit' have your DH make him sit and then give him food.

 

Also have your DH do something the dog loves. For us it is a long walk through the neighborhood is what our dog loves.

 

Do desentitization. Go out the door and wait a minute and come back in. Keep doing it daily and increase the time you are away.

 

For us, the marking go better in time. A regular routine helps.

 

Dogs don't use the bathroom where they sleep so we would try to arrange it for the dog to sleep where he was using.

 

It does get better.

[Wheres Toto]

We had a rescue dog that was seriously neurotic. At the recommendation of our vet and a trainer we bought her a crate and started using it whenever we weren't home. It helped a lot. She liked her crate, would go in there to hang out even when we were home (we wouldn't shut the door then). It evidently provides the security of a den.

[Halcyon]

We had a rescue dog that was seriously neurotic. At the recommendation of our vet and a trainer we bought her a crate and started using it whenever we weren't home. It helped a lot. She liked her crate, would go in there to hang out even when we were home (we wouldn't shut the door then). It evidently provides the security of a den.

 

Wehave a crate, he hates it. I need to work with him more in terms of "likimg" it.

[nono]

OK, this is going to sound crazy, but hey, what do you expect? :tongue_smilie:

 

Our rescue dog had a lot of issues too. Sit the dog in front of a full length mirror. Have your dh gaze at your dog through the mirror (so, they are making eye contact, but using the mirror). Have your dh gently stroke and pet the dog. It's good to have your dog see your dh being kind and loving to him/her, without the confrontation of direct gaze (without the mirror). Plus, it's good to have the dog be able to observe him/herself. A few dogs really don't "get" the mirror thing, so if yours doesn't, move on!

 

Also, play the shell game with the dog. You know like 3 small buckets with a favorite toy under 1 of them? Don't try to have the dog lose. Make it super easy in the beginning, and celebrate each time the dog gets it right!

 

You'll get lots of other good traditional advice in this thread...don't ignore that. This is just additional little things we did to help get our dog a bit more bonded with all of us.

 

Oh, and may I just say SPOT BOT once again. ;)

[Chris in VA]

Some things I've seen--

 

Crating--gives security when it is a safe, pleasant, comfortable place. Get him used to going into it by things like having him go in when you are right there, putting him in down/stay for a moment, then treating him. Extend the time in it by little increments with you right there. Put it in an out-of-way space but not far from the family. Keep the door open most of the time.

 

Thundershirts have helped some of the dogs I walk.

 

Two of my doggies (one has since died) were/are on clonamine (I think that's what it's called) for anxiety. Poor things.

 

Let your hubby do all the feeding and treating (except the crate thing, maybe), and have him take ddog for a walk every day to bond.

 

A lot of people love Cesaer, but my boss doesn't--I know there are very knowledgeable folks here, so I'll yield the floor...

[mom4him]

I need book recs, ideas, websites...anything. Our new dog who we recscued two weeks ago is really anxious and overly attached to ME (not anyone else).

 

Some issues that we need todeal with:

 

1. Pooping and marking in house. This isnt an every day occurence. He poops outside, sems to understand that's the "right" place to go, but has a sensitive stomach and poops in the house sometimes. Re the marking, i think this is due to anxiety but i have not experienced it with prior dogs.

 

2. The biggie: he howls and whines when i leave. Even if dh is still in the house, even if dh keeps him close, treats him when he quiets down, etc. If NOBODY is in the house, he is crated and howls for about 10 minutes and then quiets down. He is very anxious, excited etc when i get home, imo abnormally so, even when he is accidentally locked in the garage for 5 minutes, he's a mess when we get him.

 

3. He growls at dh when he sees him, especially when he is sitting near me. He is getting better with this, and actually likes DH to come up and pet him, and does not snap or anything, but i absolutely do nt like it and want it to stop. Dh obviously does not like it. Dh is not naturally a pet person, but he is trying. I dont know whether to discipline the dog, or what?

 

Do people recommend Cesar Millan?

 

Our Australian shepherd is a rescue dog. When we first got her she was a bit of a mess emotionally. Like yours, she attached to me. She still thinks I am her mother. LOL I have never fed her(my kids job) but she follows me around and becomes very anxious if I leave a room and close the door.

 

She doesn't growl at people but it took her a LONG time before she wasn't afraid of my two kids and when our grand kids would come she would literally go hide as deep as she could. It was about a year before she decided she could trust our children and just the last year she comes out when the grand kids are here(we have had her 5 1/2 yrs.) The people that live down stair have a 1 1/2 yr old son and she has taken right to him.

 

We never had the pooping and marking but the rest has gotten better for the most part with time and her seeming to realize that we love her and will always treat her good. My youngest son LOVES her.

[Jennifer in MI]

We had an anxious dog from a shelter. Every time we were away from the house, he would drool and scratch the floor of wherever he was (usually his crate, but we tried him out of it a few times to see what would happen). EVERY time we came home, he'd be a drooly, bloody mess and would need a bath. Neighbors told us he barked and howled the entire time we were gone. He also peed and pooped all over the house. And, we were a dog family. We knew what we were doing (mostly).

 

We hired a trainer a number of times to come help us. She worked with us to help us establish us as better "masters." We would feed him and then have him sit for a few seconds in front of the food. He could eat when we told him to. Then, he had 10 minutes to eat. What didn't get eaten, got put up until dinner. No food left out all day. She worked with our kids and establishing a pecking order.

 

For us, nothing worked. After about a year of this (and, believe me, we worked SOOOO hard with him), we ended up re-homing him with dh's sister. She worked from home and they had another dog (another recommendation by the trainer). He is still anxious, but he's not as bad at her house. Thank God!!!

 

I hope you find something that works!

[Ottakee]

This might take a LOT of time. Our dog took months to even feel comfortable to come in the house and sit on the rug by the door. Even more months before she would venture further in the house.

 

Now, 2 years later she sleeps in our room, has the run of the house, is friendly to other people and is even better with other dogs.

[Katy]

The short version is to get a dog book called Smarter Than You Think.

 

The somewhat longer version is to keep the dog on a leash by your side or in his crate at all times when not outside for the next 3 weeks. When your husband is home, have him hold the leash. It's called tether training.

[celticmom]

Sometimes it just takes time in the enviornment the dog needs. We have had two anxious dogs at different times. The first was afraid of dh and it took about 6 months of living in the house with him to get used to him. The second dog needed a very low stimulation enviornment. We don't have guests very often and you cannot see the street from our house. That was exactly what this dog needed.

[astrid]

Calming Signals by Turid Rugaas is a book that I think is an excellent addition to any rescuer's shelf. You've gotten a lot of good advice here, but I'd like to recommend I'll Be Home Soon by Dr. Patricia McConnell.

 

For anyone looking for great dog books on any topic, I love Dogwise.

 

Hope that helps.

astrid

[Momof3littles]

I have a dog with a fear aggression diagnosis. His behavior tends toward the anxious. We've been living with him for 10 years now (he was a rescue). He was much more secure when we had a 2nd dog; when she passed I think it exacerbated his issues. She was his alpha buddy.

 

We took him to a behavior clinic at a veterinary school and he was seen by an entire team of vets and students. If things progress, that may be something to look into. I'd keep an eye on things, as our dog didn't start out with the actual aggression, but looking back, he was definitely anxious from the get-go. At the time we didn't really recognize it.

 

He takes the generic form of Prozac, filled through Costco (vet clinic indicated it was the least expensive place at the time we started him on it). It is very affordable...something like 12 bucks for a 3 month RX.

 

We were also taught not to inadvertently reenforce the anxiety-if he's stressed out, petting him and coddling him are apparently not the best choices. I'll admit we do it anyway sometimes. He has a tough time with thunderstorms, and we've debated a thundershirt.

 

He responded well to clicker training, as any negative training stuff just makes him more fearful and anxious.

 

Our dog adores playing frisbee, so that's a big key in working with him-exercise, connecting with people, etc. For a while he was having issues with strangers, and that really helped. He still has issues with barriers...does not like to be on the other side of a fence, gate, etc. and if someone would reach through, he'd freak out. We pretty much just avoid setting him in any situation where that might happen.

 

My dog's first big show of fear aggression happened when we were out of town visiting my brother. Every time one of my brothers would turn his back, the dog's hair would stand up and he would growl and snarl a bit. It took me by surprise. Classic fear aggression apparently, and he was feeling particularly anxious as DH wasn't with me, we were in a new place, etc. Just keep an eye on it, because like I said, our dog didn't show the "aggression" part for a while. The anxiety issues were more obvious from the beginning.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Momof3littles