anxious dog help

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campervan

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Hi,

Just feeling a bit despondent at the moment with a dog I took on.

I have had him since march. He was 16 months old when I got him. I had him neutered the next month. He had never been walked. He was kept with one other dog in a small house. When I went to see him he was being teased by the children. Anyway old owner lied a lot about dog before I went to see him. I felt sorry for him and took him.

We have got the weight on him now, he looks healthy. He now trusts us in the house and gets on fab with my other dog and cats.

The problem is his anxiety about leaving the house. He gets so stressed and anxious when walked. If he sees others dogs it revs him off the chart.
I tried him at dog training but he didn't cope.
I have a trainer come out to me, she has me clicker training him and shoving treats down his face when we see another dog. Problem is he is sometimes that upset he won't take the treats.

I have taken him out with friends dogs and he has been OK. When off for a run. (I muzzle him just in case)

Has anyone else had a similar problem or any advice?

I've tried melatonin and valarian and they don't make a difference
 
Try a thunder shirt they are designed to make a dog feel secure. The genuine thunder shirts come with a money back guarantee if it doesn't work
 
If he is not taking treats, then he is too stressed to eat. Start further away from the trigger and click/treat for calm behaviour and gradually ( over several sessions) work on getting closer. It is never a quick fix and it sounds like he missed a massive amount of socialisation as a pup, so the outside world is a scary place. Possibly the neutering ( and I am very pro neutering) was not ideal at that time, but it is done and there are lots of ways to help him.

Look up BAT training, that method may be helpful. Thundershirt/ Tellington Touch/rescue remedy etc. If he is really stressed out then possibly talk to your vet about other medication to help him in the interim.
 
Poor dog! He sounds like he's had a rough time. I have 3 rescues all were very nervous and anxious when I first got them. He will improve, it takes kindness, patience, training and time. Clicker training is a fab start - I second looking up BAT training too. Its baby steps and no quick fix - try working with him before he gets so stressed he wont take treats.
 
Thank you for the tips.

Can zyklene be used longer term?

Will have a look into Vet Spec Calm and Focused.

Can dogs be walked in a thunder shirt? Only problem there is I have had a ttouch practitioner out this morning and she suggested putting him in a harness. Would that be possible with a thunder shirt?

I know there is no quick fix. I just want him to be happy. It's hard to move him further way from things as when we are walking around the village its other people and dogs and noises that worry him. I can't guess where they will be.

I will have a look into the BAT training. I've given it a quick look over and it looks interesting thank you :-)
 
I think zyklene can be used longer term, but it might be best to give it a try to see how it works for you. Don't think there are any side effects and it is made from milk protein I believe.
It might be worth a try.
 
it sounds like he needs to be training in a controlled environment until he is a bit better able to cope, can you rent/hire/use a private field and have a dog and person as stooges so you can move nearer and farther as your dogs needs you to?

yes zylkene can be used long term as can adaptil collars/spray and diffusers and the adaptil products mentioned above and zylkene can be used alongside each other, but the adaptil tablets are for short term use only and cannot be used with zylkene
 
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Absolutely you can put a Thundershirt on under a harness. The Thundershirt is great for a lot of dogs, but does not work for every dog ( it comes with a money back guarantee I think). Using TTouch with the Thundershirt is exactly how it should be used.
 
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