Aussie puppy fearful outside our home

[charmedbyvintage]

We adopted a four month old female Aussie pup and she is fearful of “life” if we take her away from our home. (Except other dogs...she seems ok with them!) Just getting her to get in (and them subsequently OUT) of the car is a chore. And she just hides and shuts down (compete with drooling sometimes) when we make her go anywhere. We took her to a puppy class at PetSmart and couldn’t get her to even take steak for treats. (She will NEVER eat a treat when we aren’t at home.) She will walk on the road near our house, but if we take her anywhere else, she shuts down and refuses to walk (after we have to drag her out of the car of course). It’s exhausting for us, and I’m sure it’s worse for her. Can we change this? I don’t know what happened to her before four months of age, but am assuming she had no socialization. Are we too late for her to be a confident and happy dog when not in the house? (She knows basic commands, and is bright, as long as we are home.). Help??? (She is six months old now. We’ve been trying to fix this for two months.)

Edited September 15, 2019 by charmedbyvintage
Add on

[charmedbyvintage]

Add on... we’ve had her for two months. She’s now six weeks old.

[charmedbyvintage]

Six MONTHS!!!! Not weeks. :-/.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hello and welcome to the forums,

Without knowing what happened to her before she was welcomed to your home, we can only make some assumptions. Most likely, as you already pointed out, she wasn't socialized much during the critical socialization period which closes around 12 to 16 weeks. Perhaps she was socialized somewhat but was raised in a totally different environment (like in the country) and therefore, all the stimuli in the current environment are particularly scary so her instincts tell her that the outdoor world is a scary place to be.

 

On top of this, we should also factor in the possible role of genetics. If a puppy is born to parents who were emotionally unstable, this instability may be inherited to the puppy. Interestingly, it has also been found that if a mother dog experiences significant stress during pregnancy, the circulation of stress hormones in the bloodstream can affect her puppies who consequently "learn" that, the world they will be born into, is a scary place.

 

Regardless of what happened, there are several things we can try to make life better for these pups. While training is one of them, dogs cannot be trained if they are in a too fearful state.

 

So sorry to hear that the Petsmart classes weren't helpful. I have personally worked for a big box store in the past and must confess I didn't like much how things are carried out. One of my biggest pet peeves are the small overly crowded areas for training which cause reactive or fearful dogs to feel overwhelmed. Not surprisingly, fearful dogs aren't able to cognitively function because they are too stressed by all the other people there, other dogs, crammed area and noises. I watched my training tutor hold classes in the several weeks I was there being mentored, and a fearful dog shook and refused treats the same way after all those weeks as in the first day of class (if not more!). I felt sorry for the dog and owner, but the dog and owner were allowed to graduate as they deserved some form of reinforcement for all their effort. I think these dogs do far better in private classes, and possibly, carried out in the owner's home as a starting point.

 

So how do we tackle this fear? This is not an easy task, but it can be a rewarding journey if we have the patience and determination to help these fellows out and go through very small baby steps.

 

First of all, I would suggest reading as much as possible about what happens in a fearful dog's mind and how we can work on fearful dogs using some powerful behavior modification methods. In order to access these articles, you will need to be logged into the member area.

 

So here is an important read about threshold levels (when your dog refuses food that's often a sign she is over threshold):

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/

 

Here are signs of stress in dogs:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/signs-fear-stress-dogs/

 

Fearful dogs need baby steps, so it's important to learn about the process of desensitization/ exposure therapy:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exposure-therapy/

 

Very important is to accompany desensitization with counterconditioning:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/

 

At 6 months, large dogs enter (or are close to entering) the adolescent stage, but there is often a fear stage occurring around this time as well:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-periods-8-10-weeks-6-14-months/

 

Here are some tips for dogs fearful of going on walks and going outside in general:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-going-walks/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-going-outside/

 

Have you individualized any noises that seem to startle her on walks? If so, you may find this method helpful:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/fear-noises/

 

The Jolly Routine can be applied on walks too:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/using-jolly-routine-fearful-dogs/

 

Remember that exposing her to situations that she might not be ready for can cause setbacks and reinforce in her mind that the world outside is indeed a scary place. It's therefore important to work at your dog's pace paying close attention to her comfort level.

 

Since your dog enjoys the company of other dogs, it may be worthy trying finding a walking "buddy." Basically another dog that she plays well with and who is rather happy go lucky and confident. Scheduling walks with this other dog can sometimes help fearful dogs to feel a little better to encourage them to walk a little more in areas they are normally not too confident walking in alone.

 

Sometimes, bringing the other dog along for the car ride can help too, especially if the ride ends up somewhere where both dogs can have fun and play/run/explore. Please note: some dogs who act scared of the car are also nauseous (if your dog drools in the car, it can be nausea) so tackling the nausea can help. Your vet can prescribe car sickness meds if that's the case.

 

Please consider that creating a more confident dogs takes a multi-faceted approach. Brain games and training can help to a great extent over the long run! Clicker training in particular can be helpful especially with shaping as we are reinforcing inquisitive behaviors. For example, you can place a flattened box in the center of the room and click and treat her for any investigative behaviors (like walking towards the box, then sniffing the box, then placing a paw on the box, and then end the session with a jackpot of treats once she walks on the box). You can find how to clicker train your dog in the clicker training section. If your dog is scared of the clickers sound I dropped a link about how to tackle that as well.

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?246-Dog-is-terrified-of-the-clicker&highlight=clicker

 

There are several tips you may find helpful in this recent post.. Although your dog goes out on walks nearby the home, it doesn't hurt to further reinforce her that the outside is a good place by taking the baby steps outlined in this post (feeding high-value treats by the door, then the door open etc until you can progress to her taking treats while looking outside)

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?250-Rescue-dog-affraid-of-everything/page2

 

Let me know if you need any elucidations as I know this is a whole lot of reading material!

Best,

Adrienne

Edited September 15, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[charmedbyvintage]

Thanks so very much. We will try to read and apply your advice. We will let you know how it goes. :-)

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You are very welcome, yes, please keep us posted!