Difficult Situation - Any Way Out?

[cleptogrey]

the americanization of your lovely garden-

i just wish we had the great growing weather you Brits have- then I too will have a garden not a yard!

 

they all have their quirks, go with it and maybe beat her to the snuggle spot and call her over for some TLC? treat her and then eventually find another spot in her secret garden and sit there and call and snuggle if you be so lucky. make all of this training a loving experience- that's what training is all about. you will find your voice for communication.

[greysmom]

So glad to read your updates. Time and patience!

[LaFlaca]

This dog is so very blessed to have found you! Thank you for loving her enough to go the extra mile. Congratulations on your successes. Please keep us updated.

[chocolatehunny]

What an amazing update! Well done you.

She will get there eventually.

 

It is constantly raining here in the UK at the moment, Ergh! We need some sunshine over here fast!

 

Lisa x

[cmc333]

How's your girly been lately? Any updates?

[LaFlaca]

No news is good news?

 

But we want news, anyway.

[BatterseaBrindl]

[WabiSabi]

Haha. Thanks guys.

 

OK. Nothing new really.

 

She's still scared of me indoors but seems to like being petted outdoors. She's less wary of Mrs WabiSabi but only in the sense that she doesn't cower from her.

 

Neither of us can get near her indoors and she will not venture from her bed except to bolt through the living room/kitchen to go outside. If we approach her in her bed, she doesn't necessarily move away but there's invariably a little bit of lip-licking and avoidance of eye contact so we back off.

 

She occasionally accepts treats from the hand but we mostly have to drop them for her. She is eating very well though, in general.

 

I've increased the "I'm ignoring you" stuff (except to feed and let out) in the hope that it'll accelerate her acceptance.

 

This is going to be a long haul but we're sticking with it. Hopefully she'll see that we're here for her.

 

I suspect that as well as her anxiety, she's perhaps never really been a "people dog"

[philospher77]

One thing that may help your girl indoors is to set up a comfy bed in your living room, in an out of the way area, bring your dog into that room, close off the exits, and then just ignore her while you do whatever you normally do in that room (watch TV?). As my trainer told me when I first got my spook, just being looked at can be a lot of pressure on the dog. If the dog does something that seems to be soliciting your attention, you can respond in a low-key way... say her name, good girl, give a small treat, that sort of thing. The idea is to gently force the dog to observe you in the new room and realize that nothing dramatic is going to happen to her while she is there. I did this for probably two weeks before she got comfortable to start coming out of her safe space on her own.

 

Keep in mind, the ONLY thing that the dog has to do is be in the room. It's frustrating to have a new dog and limit your interactions with them, so you will want to do SOMETHING (most likely, to pet and cuddle with the dog). Resist that urge unless the dog is actually coming up to you and soliciting it.

 

Also, you may want to think about teaching your dog an "initiator signal". This is generally a really simple trick, such as a nose touch, that can be used by the dog to let you know if they are feeling too much stress to do what you are asking, or not. Here's a video of me and my girl, so you get an idea of how it is used.

 

 

I know that you are in the UK, and they don't seem to do as much medicating of dogs over there, but I second the suggestion of anti-anxiety drugs, at least for this initial stage. It will make learning new things easier for her if she can feel less anxious.

Edited April 17, 2018 by philospher77

[XTRAWLD]

Katie

[cmc333]

Good to hear the update.

[Patsy]

Wondering how things are going?

[WabiSabi]

She's been very poorly the last few days. We suspected an allergy - under her fur she was bright red and had been biting and scratching herself raw, especially on her flanks.

 

We took her to the vet yesterday - poor thing has a raging temperature too (but no obvious source of infection) and the vet confirmed an allergy, most likely to the only treat that remotely tempted her - cheese Fortunately, her skin wasn't infected - just inflamed.

 

So we've stopped the cheese, and we're giving her Piriton and co-amoxyclav and she had a meloxicam (NSAID) injection at the vets yesterday. We're taking her back this morning so they can check her temp has come down. She hasn't got fleas but we'll be putting on some Advocate later in case it's a mite thing that's affecting her skin. Belt and braces.

 

I think her temp has come down though - she's much better today. Up at 5:15am for a pee and a poo. Lots of playbows and mad hooning around the garden, followed by sidling up for some scratching and rubs.

 

We've swopped the cheese for chicken (which she perfers - yay!) and we found some dog-specific franks that she also likes and which make a good hideyhole for the tablets. The trouble is that she now won't eat her kibble - just gimme the chicken and franks, WabiSabi.

 

She's less wary in the house now but still won't come too near us anywhere but outside. The trip in the car to the vet is a bit of a trauma too and getting her to the car on a lead is still a problem (our only alternative yesterday was to resort to a bit of carrying when she dug her heels in).

 

We're getting there, though. We've also got a dog behaviourist coming in a week or so to see if we're missing anything obvious to get her anxiety down.

Edited April 29, 2018 by WabiSabi

[DocsDoctor]

That sounds like progress, Wabisabi! Once you get the allergy thing sorted out, she will feel much more comfortable, and that can only help. Good idea to get the behaviourist in too-coming to it fresh s/he may well spot some easy tweaks to her environment that you've missed. I suspect one of the most important things you can do is keep every day to a pretty regular routine. Knowing when to expect walks, meals, etc (as in her previous life in kennels) can only reassure. Do you groom her? Again, this (rather than petting) is probably the positive human contact she most regularly experienced in the past and it may well help now. Just lightly, at least to start. Both my guys have always loved being groomed-Ken's just had his Sunday morning session-a going over with an old rubber glove, followed by a hound glove-a nubbly rubber thing-followed by an old silk scarf. He goes all squidgy and silly about the silk scarf in particular!

[WabiSabi]

That sounds like progress, Wabisabi! Once you get the allergy thing sorted out, she will feel much more comfortable, and that can only help. Good idea to get the behaviourist in too-coming to it fresh s/he may well spot some easy tweaks to her environment that you've missed. I suspect one of the most important things you can do is keep every day to a pretty regular routine. Knowing when to expect walks, meals, etc (as in her previous life in kennels) can only reassure. Do you groom her? Again, this (rather than petting) is probably the positive human contact she most regularly experienced in the past and it may well help now. Just lightly, at least to start. Both my guys have always loved being groomed-Ken's just had his Sunday morning session-a going over with an old rubber glove, followed by a hound glove-a nubbly rubber thing-followed by an old silk scarf. He goes all squidgy and silly about the silk scarf in particular!

 

Thanks - we've already got one of those gloves but have been reluctant to use it because it means we have to approach her with it. Maybe we'll try it in the garden later. I might just leave the glove in her den so she can sniff it first.

 

Anyway, we got her to the vet and her temp is less than yesterday though she's still pyrexial. Another shot of meloxicam by the vet and we've brought some meloxicam syrup home. Skin a lot less red though. We'll add another Piriton in the afternoon too.

 

But I am once again persona non grata for lifting her in to the car and lifting her out again. I parked up half a mile from home to walk her from the car to try and get her to associate the car with something nice (she was refusing treats). But when we got back, she was cowering when I was trying to take the collar off. Two steps forward, eight steps back.

 

*sigh*

[BatterseaBrindl]

Baby steps....

This is just a minor blip. You're heading in the right direction.

Hope she feels better soon.

[WabiSabi]

Thanks.

[Batmom]

Hugs. Sounds like you're doing a wonderful job and she is sloooooooooooooooowly coming around.

[greysmom]

Everything just takes longer with anxious dogs. She's doing OK! Especially since she's got a medical thing going on too. Patience!

Edited April 29, 2018 by greysmom

[cleptogrey]

if she can handle it wipe her down with a clean wet (cool- not cold) washcloth. remember to rinse it well. this way you can pick up the pollen and the gentle wiping- head, neck shoulders, back, hind quarters and chest and inner thigh may be soothing. start lightly but remember to get the pollen off when she returns after going out. also, the contact will be most reassuring after a while. good job, your being most patient.

[WabiSabi]

After an awful week since we took her to the vet, we had some improvement over the last few days!

 

She hates being in a car and as you know, doesn't like being lifted - both of which we had to do to get her to the vet.

 

Anyway, she's recovered from the UTI and although she still scratches a bit, her skin is much improved on Piriton and removal of cheese as the possible allergen.

 

She avoided me after the vet trip and bonded a bit more with Mrs WabiSabi (fair enough). But over the last few days, she's started trusting me a bit more again although she still freaks out if I somehow end up behind her and I'm on my feet.

 

I probably broke a few rules yesterday - when she was in her bed in her den, I lay down nearby (not in her den, just outside) and just reached up and scritched her back and flanks for half an hour, all the while making calming gestures. She was making calming gestures too and then gradually closed her eyes and got all contented. I did this a couple of times through the day and today she's following me and Mrs WabiSabi and walking up to us *face on* for petting.

 

OK she's had a *lot* of high value treats too but it's lovely to see her not being afraid all the time. Mrs WabiSabi is about to leave for work for the day so we'll see how she goes with just me in the house but we're moving in the right direction, I think.

[Banjoman]

Obviously doing it right somewhere along the line, keep up the good work!

[LaFlaca]

Keep up the good work!

[WabiSabi]

So it's not so good with Mrs WabiSabi at work but my impression is that she's a bit more inclinced to trust me.

[XTRAWLD]

Treats that just happen to fall out of your pockets while she is nearby is a wonderful thing.