JoyDoughty

Thanks for the detailed response. This is something I've read a few random articles on and the only thing people tend to say is use a toy if your dog isn't food motivated. Problem is she also doesn't know how to play. My goal is to help her become a balanced and happy dog and build up trust. I know this will take time so I'm ok with not being able to make it very far in this training at first I think my issue is just I don't know how to really progress. Health wise, we are on the last leg of her heartworm treatment. She recently had her blood test that checked for babies and it came back negative. We go back in January for a final test where we hope it to be negative and she can get the all clear. Since her last appointment we got the okay from the vet to start being more active which is why I ended up finding your program as I was looking for things to help. I'm pretty positive her aversion to treats is directly tied with her anxiety especially since she wouldn't take them at all when we first got them and then has slowly been okay with them. I'm not entirely sure to how ease her anxiety. I know she's smart and can understand what I'm asking since I've taught her to jump up on me when I tap my legs and she does mostly listen to a sit command. So I think really my issue is likely helping her through her anxiety and gaining her trust more. She mostly trusts me and is totally attached to me. I read that article you mentioned but I'm not sure how to ease her anxiety like when we are trying training. It's easier to help her when it's a box moving or the broom. I'm not sure what to do when I'm wanting to do stuff with her and it's me, I guess, that's making her anxious. I'll definitely start paying more attention to if I'm looming over her. One of her big anxiety places is actually the car. She gets in and out on her own with no problem, and on command. Once we actually get going though she's panting, doesn't sit still, and whines frequently. I have her in the front seat because she moves around less than when in the back and I have a doggie buckle so she's safe. I've tried treats here, although you can guess how that went. 😛 I've also tried to play music to help make sure I'm also relaxed so she's not feeding off of my energy and I also tend to open the window because she seems like she gets more interested in looking around instead of stressing when I do that but it only works some of the time. I think I just need major help in how to reassure her that she's safe and nothing bad is going to happen in the car and at random times at home. I had to laugh a bit because as I'm writing this and describing her like she's an anxious mess all the time, she is totally happy and taking a nap. 🙂 I just wish she'd feel this peace all the time.

Hi. I just recently joined and I have a roughly 2 year old lab mix. We've only had her for almost 4 months. She's a rescue that we found. She's had a not so great past and obvious history of abuse. We've been working with her on various things to help her come out of her shell. I figured some of the trainings in this program might help us bond more and get her brain working especially since she's heartworm positive so hasn't been able to be very active. I'm positive she's bored. One of the issues we have is that she doesn't always take treats. When we first got her she wouldn't eat them at all. She has pretty big separation anxiety issues that I've been working to desensitize her on and I've gotten her to take treats to do that but it's super inconsistent when it comes to random training stuff. For example, I started trying to get her use to the verbal marker because I'm pretty sure she'd be scared of a clicker. Problem is, when working with her on "sit" and "down" she won't take a treat. I've tired different ones and I'm just not sure what to do. I ended up giving her praise and affection instead of the treat but that doesn't seem to be the best motivator either. Anyway, I feel like that was a really long explanation for a short issue but any advise would be greatly appreciated.