[azdesertchick]

Ok so here goes nothing.. I'm posting again but this time on another dog. I have a lab/goldenretriever mixed that we acquired from a couple who raised him about a year ago the wife was going back to work full time and felt he desereved a family with kids and a big yard. He's the sweetest thing and plays well with the other dogs although he was raised with toy dogs so he sometimes forgets his own strength. But ever since he came to live with us he's sooo jumpy and nervous, I know the couple even joked saying instead of calling him Luke they'd refer to him as Luke-a-phobia! I think the couple is as sweet as can be and don't believe they harmed him but why is he so scared of everything? Examples: doors opening or closing, bugs that fly at him, sudden movements of any kind, loud noises such as vacuum cleaners and get this.. if the sprinklers are on in our back yard or the water feature on the pool he won't go outside even if he has to go! Any ideas or suggestions? I read the articles about us consoling him when he's scared and how that only enforces his fear so what do I do?

[N0help4u]

Some dogs are just high strung. He could have been treated badly by somebody before you got him, even if it was something like kids teasing him. Or he might have been use to a totally quiet environment and not use to sudden noises.
What I have done before when dogs or cats are scared of something is have them sniff it when it is not on. That might help a little along with other suggestions.

[labman]

It sounds to me like a case of poor early socialization. Yes, he was abused, but out of ignorance. What puppies aren't exposed to between 6-12 weeks, they may fear all their lives. This is tough to work around. You can see that couple didn't manage to do much in a year. What you need to do is go right up to what ever he is afraid of and pat it and talk to it in a happy voice. ''Good vacuum cleaner, what a good vacuum cleaner.'' I did not choose to do that with my one puppy that was afraid of ladies in broom stick skirts.

Work at building his confidence. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog. Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.

A dog that has not been crated since it was little, may take some work.
Start just putting its toys and treats in the crate. Praise it for going
in. Feed it in the crate. This is also an easy way to maintain order at
Feeding time for more than one dog.

[carolbcac]

Sounds like he may not have been exposed to a lot of different things as a puppy and just never learned they are not always bad. Is he leash trained? I was thinking about the water feature on the pool, since you can control when that is off and on, and it is not as noisy as the vacuum cleaner. How far away can you have him outside on leash while the water is on without getting any kind of reaction to it? Start at that distance and work on whatever obedience/tricks he knows. It doesn't matter, you just need to ask him for a behavior you can reward him for. Always happy and upbeat. Try moving a couple of feet closer. Still no reaction? Repeat the exercise. Ideally you move a little closer each session even if it is a matter of a foot or two. If you see him start to get the least bit nervous, ignore his reaction, and move back further than the last point he performed well. You are not so much rewarding the command, as rewarding the command performed calmly.
It may take weeks before you can walk him near the water, never drawing attention to it, just getting him used to being closer and having fun. (JUST MAKE SURE THE SPRINKLERS Don't GO OFF DURING A SESSION, LOL!) Hopefully you will eventually notice him sort of checking out the water to see what it is.
Once you have desensitized him to one thing, the next one should be a little easier

[carolbcac]

Sorry, somehow overlooked labman's post and repeated some of what he said--he's right about the early socialization. It's a big hurdle to get past but many dogs that missed out on it can make up for some lost time with the help of a dedicated owner

[labman]

It is nice to have somebody else that agrees with me too. Yes, working a dog in its comfort zone and moving closer does work.

[froggy7]

I'm dealing with this to a degree with Trink. And in her case, it's definitely a lack of early socialization. (Which, to be fair, isn't technically true... it's just that the experiences that she was exposed to aren't ones that are found in most people homes. There are things that she deals with better than most dogs I've seen, like noisy crowds, because those were part of her early life.) But it is sometimes hard to deal with... she doesn't handle change well. Patience is going to be very important. And being firmly in control of the situation.

Basically.. I have no advice other than what Ruby and labman have said, just wanted you to know that you are not alone out there.

[azdesertchick]

Sorry I wasn't able to say it before as I've been finishing my writing assignments for my ENG101 class lol. But... ty ty and TY! That's got to be it! Because the people we adopted him from were very loving and cared a lot so I knew it couldn't have been physical abuse but he gets so frightened.. lol I swear he's the first dog I've ever heard literally gasp! :p I'll have to work on that with him a little at a time and Lab let's hope I don't have to walk up and pat people hehehe. You guys are truly awesome and I'm so lucky I stumbled upon this site.

[froggy7]

One thing I will mention... I am finding that a lot of the advice that is out there about dogs with problems is generally aimed at the hyper, aggressive, or stubborn dog. There's not so much for people like you and me, with generally OK dogs that just don't handle new things well. You may want to see if there is a behaviorist by you. My trainer does a class for shy dogs, and if you can find something like that out by you, it may be very helpful.

[azdesertchick]

Yeah I have noticed that and went to petsmart today to talk to my old trainer. He wasn't there but I left a message so hopefully he'll know something about a class like that.