Rescue Dog will not relax

[DanaDillon]

I am a foster mom for rescue dogs. I have a dog that will not relax. He constantly is on alert. I know he has been severely abused. He has total meltdowns at the groomer. He acts like he is in trouble if I put him on the couch with me. I pet him, play with him, and he still acts like I am going to be mad at him in a split second. I have tried getting down on his level, speaking softly to him, treats, and the list goes on. He looks like a Coton de Tulear mix and presents as if he has had some show dog training. He hates the groomer, but will let me brush him. He only eats in his kennel. I just don't know what to do to make him feel safe and confident.

[JMFS]

Momo is one of those who can't relax. I move and he's up, "what, what, where are we going, what are we doing, omg, omg, omg." Recently I've started moving and then doing nothing until he settles. For example, in the morning I usually bend my knees before I get out of bed. Mo sees that and starts his frantic pacing and general chaos. I stay in that position until he stops moving. I'll put my knees down, wait until he calms. Knees up, rinse and repeat until his panicked behavior lessens and I can finally get out of bed. That's not Precisely what you're looking for, but it's one example of how to get them to start chilling out.

 

With Momo I found it's best to focus on One issue at a time because his little head is like a hive of busy bees. I used to try Everything with his resource guarding, switching it up monthly when stuff didn't work. The issue was I was rushing it, going too fast for his comfort. With the help of a Behaviorist we were able to break it down into baby steps and go at Mo's pace, not mine. I'm not qualified to give advice on behavior modification so I'll offer words of encouragement from someone who's been there. Thankfully this pup has you to help him get comfortable with the world. :)

[Adrienne Farricelli]

I am a foster mom for rescue dogs. I have a dog that will not relax. He constantly is on alert. I know he has been severely abused. He has total meltdowns at the groomer. He acts like he is in trouble if I put him on the couch with me. I pet him, play with him, and he still acts like I am going to be mad at him in a split second. I have tried getting down on his level, speaking softly to him, treats, and the list goes on. He looks like a Coton de Tulear mix and presents as if he has had some show dog training. He hates the groomer, but will let me brush him. He only eats in his kennel. I just don't know what to do to make him feel safe and confident.

 

Dana Dillon,

Welcome to the forums, and thank your for fostering! It's a wonderful act of love to help out these dogs in deep need of help.

I don't know how long you have had him, but it takes quite some time for these fellows to adjust to their new environments. The famous saying "slow and steady wins the race" applies well to these dogs who need to get out of their shells, but need to learn trust first.

 

Often, newly rescued dogs go through what's known as the "honeymoon period" which is a time during which they may act pretty suppressed and many of their behaviors are inhibited. It's called that way because foster moms and new owners may be surprised about how well behaved their new dogs are initially (honeymoon), only to see their true colors come out once these dogs feel more confident. It could be, that with time, your foster dog may start opening up and act with a little more self-assurance.

 

I wouldn't put him on the couch if that makes him act as if he's in trouble. I would wait for him to feel comfortable enough to eventually hop on there on his own. When he does, I would be careful not too move much and if he's not the startling type that reacts to hand movements, I would slowly place a couple of treats in front of him in hopes that he learns that great things happen when he hops on the couch. I would do the same with approaching your lap, if he approaches, have some treats ready to offer. With these fearful fellows, I hold treats on me all the time (treat pouch attached to belt) because you never know when they will do something confident. You don't want to miss any opportunities to reinforce confident/explorative behaviors!

 

I have started to see a trend of small dogs who are fearful of being groomed/handled. Most likely something they perceived as traumatic may happen when they are groomed (not necessarily mistreatment, but just plain fear of being restrained, noises, other dogs barking, hair dryers, skin sensitivity etc.) I think it's important for them to find a groomer that takes the time to help these dogs feel more comfortable or skipping the groomer altogether and having the owner/fosterer groom the dog if the groomer can be avoided (not always depending on breed).

 

You can find some tips/ideas to helping your foster dog adjust a bit in this article:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/helping-fearful-rescue-dog/

 

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/exercises-build-confidence-insecure-dogs/

 

*A note about clickers; fearful dogs may find the sound aversive, so you may want to use a verbal marker such as yes or some other light sound such as that produced by a ballpoint retractable pen.

 

However, one thing to consider is that not always what is done to help these fellows adjust more will "stick." In other words, once gone to their new homes they may go back to acting fearful. It would therefore be important letting the new owners know what routines you were using and sharing with them what helped the dog adjust. Hopefully, they can do the same and the dog will have a less challenging time adjusting, hopefully this time for good, in their permanent home!

 

I hope this helps. Once again, thank your for fostering! I have fostered several dogs and it's hard work, but so rewarding!

Best,

Adrienne

[DanaDillon]

Thank you so much for the information. Eddie and I will take it slow and easy. He's a very sweet boy. He does allow me to groom him, but I am no hair stylist. But I think with the information you have provided, I can help him out a little more. Thanks again.

[Adrienne Farricelli]

You're very welcome!

With grooming, it also helps to give some kibble/goodies as well to create positive associations. One dog I had over for board and training didn't like to be brushed much but she needed it to prevent matting (she was a shihtzu mix) so we went slowly, first giving a treat for seeing the brush, then for sniffing the brush, then in the midst of petting her, I would pass the brush very lightly/treat, brush more/treat, brush several times in a row/treat, when I stopped brushing no more treats. Good things happened only when brushed. After some time, you could see a positive conditioned emotional response upon seeing the brush. She no longer dreaded it but looked forward to it because it meant good things! Gradually, I replaced the treats with giving praise and even singing silly songs while she was brushed but treats were given occasionally so to maintain the positive associations.

 

With rescue dogs who are fearful, I use a lot of behavior modification using desensitization and counterconditioning making sure the dog doesn't go over threshold. You can read more about this here:

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

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

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

[cjgmail]

Thanks for the info :)