Dog Community

dog acts like everyone is planning bloody murder..

Posted : 11/12/2010 4:13:16 AM

okay so my friend and his parents have this tiny black dog named bitty, i'm not sure what breed she is but i'm pretty sure she's thoroughly mixed.. sort of a chihuahua-body with longish black hair.. anyway, she's an extremely nervous and fearful little dog with anyone besides my friend's parents, i've been told its because of taking a beating from her first masters, anyways she likes to sleep on a chair next to one of its masters but if anyone besides them are around, she usually barks a lot and runs into their bedroom, where she will peak her little scrawny head out and growl/bark some more. she always makes intense eye contact with people, constantly watching nervously, as if she's anticipating an attack... if i ever walk down the hallway towards the kitchen, if she's in there she'll dart past me and stand at the other end of the hallway, near her bedroom sanctuary, and bark. its quite a problem considering they always sleep with the door cracked and they are constantly being woke up because of this dog's shrill barking. they don't know how to discipline her; yelling doesn't seem to do anything but make her stop barking a few seconds sooner, and she always runs and hides under their bed. i've even managed to catch this elusive dog a few times and i petted her and gave her a piece of meat which she devoured but the whole time she just stared at me nervously and laid there limp while i tried to baby her. she seemed to learn absolutely nothing from this, she runs away instantly, one time she almost peed on me! okay okay, i'm sorry for all this venting! i just don't get it. i've met dogs that have been traumatized before and were the most loving appreciative creatures ever but this one has a cold heart. any advice?? please and thank you!

glenmar

Posted : 11/12/2010 6:27:50 AM

Small dogs tend to be more nervous anyway. And, I'm afraid that the bottom line is that this is not your dog to train. Catching an elusive dog is probably the worst thing you can do to prove you are her friend. Consistently ignore her and let her figure out on her own that you aren't a threat. But leave her be.

Jewlieee

Posted : 11/12/2010 9:26:49 AM

glenmar
Small dogs tend to be more nervous anyway. And, I'm afraid that the bottom line is that this is not your dog to train. Catching an elusive dog is probably the worst thing you can do to prove you are her friend. Consistently ignore her and let her figure out on her own that you aren't a threat. But leave her be.

What she said.

The other thing you can do is just drop tiny morsels of food while ignoring the dog. Over time the dog will learn that good things come from you. In general, this is how you work with a fearful dog: no eye contact, don't face the dog directly, drop food or a fav. toy and give the dog a safe spot in the house. Never force a fearful dog in to anything or you will eventually get bit. Also, don't yell at a fearful dog, that just makes it worse. The dog isn't learning anything when it is in such a fearful state of mind so yelling does nothing but get the dog more anxious and fearful.

espencer

Posted : 11/12/2010 10:14:02 AM

coryjonathan
i've even managed to catch this elusive dog a few times and i petted her and gave her a piece of meat which she devoured but the whole time she just stared at me nervously and laid there limp while i tried to baby her.

I can tell you this is something you should not be doing, giving affection to a dog in this state of mind is nurturing the behavior, you are actually telling her is ok to be afraid of you and whatever else she is afraid of. You should ignore her 100% and just let her approach you on her own terms (and that might take months). You should not chase her, catch her, etc, etc. You are forcing her to do something she is not ready to do yet and that only makes things worse.

spiritdogs

Posted : 11/12/2010 10:44:43 AM

Jewlieee
glenmar
Small dogs tend to be more nervous anyway. And, I'm afraid that the bottom line is that this is not your dog to train. Catching an elusive dog is probably the worst thing you can do to prove you are her friend. Consistently ignore her and let her figure out on her own that you aren't a threat. But leave her be.

What she said.
The other thing you can do is just drop tiny morsels of food while ignoring the dog. Over time the dog will learn that good things come from you. In general, this is how you work with a fearful dog: no eye contact, don't face the dog directly, drop food or a fav. toy and give the dog a safe spot in the house. Never force a fearful dog in to anything or you will eventually get bit. Also, don't yell at a fearful dog, that just makes it worse. The dog isn't learning anything when it is in such a fearful state of mind so yelling does nothing but get the dog more anxious and fearful.

Excellent advice. Granted, this isn't your dog to train, but it doesn't hurt to understand the dog, and understand how to respond to it in the context in which you must interact within the household. These are two very good articles on the subject which I hope you will read.

http://www.fearfuldogs.com/fearstudy.html

http://trainyourbestfriend.com/blog/2010/04/09/how-to-care-for-an-adopted-foster-or-generally-fearful-dog-first-draft/

coryjonathan

Posted : 11/14/2010 2:21:04 AM

i've tried that! thats all i ever do now, ignore her. she never learns that people aren't tryin to kill her, i've been over quite a bit over the years and it has never changed.

DougB

Posted : 11/22/2010 5:39:11 PM

She might not ever change. She has been hurt by people. She knows people can hurt her. When you grab her, she is terrified. You can not make her better by pushing her. You may even set her back by trying to cure her. She and her people seem to have worked out a relationship that works for them. Let it be what it is. She's not your dog to work with.