Anxious rescue chihuahua

[AngieTorres]

Hi everyone! I’ve realized the root of my dogs behavior issues is her anxiety. She’s a rescue from what we can guess is a puppy mill and abandonment situation, so she’s very jumpy and scared of dogs. This manifests in barking at a solid 40% of people and 90% of dogs. She’s gotten better with apartment complex noise since I moved in about 10 months ago. She also no longer barks or cries when I leave the apartment which is a relief. But she’s very much a watchdog at my parents home and barks when people or dogs pass by and she sees them. When she’s not on a walk or around tons of stimuli she’s a very sweet, independent, yet loving dog. I want her to be less anxious for her own sake and everyone else. I feel like tackling behavior without addressing her anxiety is just putting on a band aid. I will have roommates next semester and want her to have improved her people and animal skills by then. I don’t have many opportunities for controlled socialization for her (like tons of friends or friends with dogs), so most of her interaction with people is impromptu for both of us, which can be stressful if she’s having a harder day. I want to get her a trainer but we just can’t quite afford it right now, especially an R+ one. All advice is appreciated!!

[Adrienne]

Hi Angie Torres,

Your dog's behavior does sound anxiety-driven. You are certainly right that any underlying anxiety must be tackled prior to thinking about training dogs. When dogs are overly anxious, they aren't in the thinking mode required for them to cognitively function and absorb our instructions. They are in flight or fight mode. This is why it's so important working on the dog being under threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ and aiming to change the dog's emotional state. 

I looked back at your initial posts, and the exercises suggested did involve training, but there were also behavior modification elements included. Like "look at that" and the 'hear that" methods aim to change the dog's emotional responses to triggers through desensitization and counterconditioning and should tackle the underlying anxiety as well. 

I am glad that she has gotten better with the noises in your apartment and that she's coping better on your absences. 

At your parent's home she may be more on edge because there are different sounds and noises. If you are there only for a brief time, management may work fine (prevent access to areas that evoke barking like windows, fence-lines, decks). If you stay longer, then it may be worthy working on he issue.  Have you tried transferring the training you did at your home to you parent's home?

I use the smacking sound for that when I have time to train: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

When I cannot train, I prevent access to the windows/fence-line etc. to prevent rehearsal of the barking behavior. I provided guidelines on this in your first post:

Preparing prior to having room mates sounds like a great plan, but to be honest it will be on the challenging side if you cannot prepare some set-ups with people prior to that. Behavior modification for anxiety requires lots of low-level exposures and creating positive associations. You can start though with people who come over by default each day like when the mail man leaves the mail or the deliver guy delivers a pizza leaving in front of the door. Family can also be a good starting place. Do you have any family members you can enlist for help that your dog doesn't see too often? 

I would suggest reading as much as you can on how behavior modification works, how to keep her under threshold and several strategies for her tackling her specific triggers. Here are some starters:

Threshold is the line we don't want to go over. When we go over threshold the dog is no longer in a thinking state:

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

Desensitization consists of structured low-level exposures, taking baby steps and working at the dog's level of comfort. We organize set-ups for these so that we have control over the situation.

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

Counterconditioning is creating positive associations with the triggers, so that we can change the dog's emotional response:

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

A positive conditioned emotional response is what we obtain after creating many positive associations and the dog starts to look forward to seeing the trigger because it has come to predict great things:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Prior to having people enter the home, it would help to work on "look at that" from the window:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Here is an example on the work I did with a dog who was reactive towards people entering a room/home:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

At some point, when she's comfortable around people coming into the home (tell them not to knock or sound the doorbell), you can try having them help out giving treats using he treat-retreat game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

Does she mostly bark at other dogs from inside the home or even on walks?

 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

[NyahParekh]

Honestly I had the exact same issue with my chihuahua and i’d tried so much to get her anxiety under control but the only thing that worked wonders was CBD treats. I know people see it as “medicating” and not fixing but sometimes anxiety because of their past trauma isn’t something that can go away easily and CBD is all natural and will help your dog a lot to stay calmer and less anxious. 

[AngieTorres]

5 hours ago, Adrienne said:

Hi Angie Torres,

Your dog's behavior does sound anxiety-driven. You are certainly right that any underlying anxiety must be tackled prior to thinking about training dogs. When dogs are overly anxious, they aren't in the thinking mode required for them to cognitively function and absorb our instructions. They are in flight or fight mode. This is why it's so important working on the dog being under threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ and aiming to change the dog's emotional state. 

I looked back at your initial posts, and the exercises suggested did involve training, but there were also behavior modification elements included. Like "look at that" and the 'hear that" methods aim to change the dog's emotional responses to triggers through desensitization and counterconditioning and should tackle the underlying anxiety as well. 

I am glad that she has gotten better with the noises in your apartment and that she's coping better on your absences. 

At your parent's home she may be more on edge because there are different sounds and noises. If you are there only for a brief time, management may work fine (prevent access to areas that evoke barking like windows, fence-lines, decks). If you stay longer, then it may be worthy working on he issue.  Have you tried transferring the training you did at your home to you parent's home?

I use the smacking sound for that when I have time to train: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

When I cannot train, I prevent access to the windows/fence-line etc. to prevent rehearsal of the barking behavior. I provided guidelines on this in your first post:

Preparing prior to having room mates sounds like a great plan, but to be honest it will be on the challenging side if you cannot prepare some set-ups with people prior to that. Behavior modification for anxiety requires lots of low-level exposures and creating positive associations. You can start though with people who come over by default each day like when the mail man leaves the mail or the deliver guy delivers a pizza leaving in front of the door. Family can also be a good starting place. Do you have any family members you can enlist for help that your dog doesn't see too often? 

I would suggest reading as much as you can on how behavior modification works, how to keep her under threshold and several strategies for her tackling her specific triggers. Here are some starters:

Threshold is the line we don't want to go over. When we go over threshold the dog is no longer in a thinking state:

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

Desensitization consists of structured low-level exposures, taking baby steps and working at the dog's level of comfort. We organize set-ups for these so that we have control over the situation.

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

Counterconditioning is creating positive associations with the triggers, so that we can change the dog's emotional response:

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

A positive conditioned emotional response is what we obtain after creating many positive associations and the dog starts to look forward to seeing the trigger because it has come to predict great things:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Prior to having people enter the home, it would help to work on "look at that" from the window:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Here is an example on the work I did with a dog who was reactive towards people entering a room/home:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

At some point, when she's comfortable around people coming into the home (tell them not to knock or sound the doorbell), you can try having them help out giving treats using he treat-retreat game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

Does she mostly bark at other dogs from inside the home or even on walks?

 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Thank you for all the help! She barks at dogs inside and outside the house but when approached gets very nervous and hides behind me. I’m thinking of just sitting on a bench outside my apartment and working on desensitization. I’ve mentioned it before but her threshold is pretty low, not for humans but for dogs. Most of the time it’s on sight barking, no matter how far, though sometimes she’s able to hold herself back a little and just grumble or whine. She isn’t very food motivated which is my problem. When it comes to positive association work with humans she’ll usually take treats but once she sees a dog she no longer cares about treats. Even things like Hot Dogs or cheese aren’t more important to her than focusing on the dog. 

[AngieTorres]

5 hours ago, Adrienne said:

Hi Angie Torres,

Your dog's behavior does sound anxiety-driven. You are certainly right that any underlying anxiety must be tackled prior to thinking about training dogs. When dogs are overly anxious, they aren't in the thinking mode required for them to cognitively function and absorb our instructions. They are in flight or fight mode. This is why it's so important working on the dog being under threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ and aiming to change the dog's emotional state. 

I looked back at your initial posts, and the exercises suggested did involve training, but there were also behavior modification elements included. Like "look at that" and the 'hear that" methods aim to change the dog's emotional responses to triggers through desensitization and counterconditioning and should tackle the underlying anxiety as well. 

I am glad that she has gotten better with the noises in your apartment and that she's coping better on your absences. 

At your parent's home she may be more on edge because there are different sounds and noises. If you are there only for a brief time, management may work fine (prevent access to areas that evoke barking like windows, fence-lines, decks). If you stay longer, then it may be worthy working on he issue.  Have you tried transferring the training you did at your home to you parent's home?

I use the smacking sound for that when I have time to train: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/the-airplane-game/the-smacking-sound/

When I cannot train, I prevent access to the windows/fence-line etc. to prevent rehearsal of the barking behavior. I provided guidelines on this in your first post:

Preparing prior to having room mates sounds like a great plan, but to be honest it will be on the challenging side if you cannot prepare some set-ups with people prior to that. Behavior modification for anxiety requires lots of low-level exposures and creating positive associations. You can start though with people who come over by default each day like when the mail man leaves the mail or the deliver guy delivers a pizza leaving in front of the door. Family can also be a good starting place. Do you have any family members you can enlist for help that your dog doesn't see too often? 

I would suggest reading as much as you can on how behavior modification works, how to keep her under threshold and several strategies for her tackling her specific triggers. Here are some starters:

Threshold is the line we don't want to go over. When we go over threshold the dog is no longer in a thinking state:

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

Desensitization consists of structured low-level exposures, taking baby steps and working at the dog's level of comfort. We organize set-ups for these so that we have control over the situation.

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

Counterconditioning is creating positive associations with the triggers, so that we can change the dog's emotional response:

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

A positive conditioned emotional response is what we obtain after creating many positive associations and the dog starts to look forward to seeing the trigger because it has come to predict great things:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/conditioned-emotional-response-cer/

Prior to having people enter the home, it would help to work on "look at that" from the window:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/

Here is an example on the work I did with a dog who was reactive towards people entering a room/home:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-barking-someone-enters-room/

At some point, when she's comfortable around people coming into the home (tell them not to knock or sound the doorbell), you can try having them help out giving treats using he treat-retreat game:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/treat-retreat-game/

Does she mostly bark at other dogs from inside the home or even on walks?

 

Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your puppy or dog shows signs of potential aggression (lunging, barking, growling, snapping, biting) for safety, please consult with a dog behavior professional who uses force-free behavior modification techniques for direct in-person guidance. Articles, videos and general info found in the forums or course (or any online source) are not meant to replace in-person training/instruction. By using this course and forum, you are waiving any liability claims or other type of claims related to any dogs' behavior against you or others.

Also, why don’t you use things such as clickers? Is there something about human sound that’s  better? 

[Adrienne]

14 hours ago, AngieTorres said:

Thank you for all the help! She barks at dogs inside and outside the house but when approached gets very nervous and hides behind me. I’m thinking of just sitting on a bench outside my apartment and working on desensitization. I’ve mentioned it before but her threshold is pretty low, not for humans but for dogs. Most of the time it’s on sight barking, no matter how far, though sometimes she’s able to hold herself back a little and just grumble or whine. She isn’t very food motivated which is my problem. When it comes to positive association work with humans she’ll usually take treats but once she sees a dog she no longer cares about treats. Even things like Hot Dogs or cheese aren’t more important to her than focusing on the dog. 

You are very welcome!

Starting indoors then is a good starting point (watching dogs walk by the window)  and then moving to the bench can be a nice next step once you have a nice conditioned emotional response. Don't leave out counterconditioning with your desensitization work on the bench, as both methods work in synergy.  

With low threshold, it's important to work on distance work initially. I had cases of small dogs who would bark when dogs were very far, and something that worked for me was holding them in my arms, and the moment they saw a dog at distance, I would just place a super stinky high value treat right in front of their nose and that would quickly redirect them and give me a starting point. Sometimes, the treat went in right when the dog was about to open the mouth to bark, and the dog would realize how tasty it is and then once an association was made, bingo! the dog wanted to see more dogs just to have more if it!  Of course, avoid holding your dog in your arms if that stresses her out more, some dogs feel better being free to move others are reassured. 

This method worked for me with some of the most over threshold dogs, dogs who would not care much about treats. It's as if they need to taste the treat to realize how good it is to get things to start clicking. Sometimes some experimenting is needed. I had some small dogs who found chewing too much work when over threshold, so I would just smear a bit of canned food or meat-based baby food (with no garlic or onion) on my finger and offer it right upon seeing a dog. 

If a dog is ever coming too close, it is best to go back inside, or if on walks, do an emergency u-turn. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

Some dogs who are very highly over threshold and are very difficult to snap out, may need medications prescribed by a vet or veterinary behaviorist. These dogs are just tot highly stressed to cognitively function and need meds to cause chemical changes in the brain. There can be some calming supplements that are found over the counter to try before going that route. Your vet can make recommendations based on your dog's level of anxiety. 

[Adrienne]

14 hours ago, AngieTorres said:

Also, why don’t you use things such as clickers? Is there something about human sound that’s  better? 

I am a big fan of clickers, but don't usually recommend them for behavior modification unless the dog is very well clicker trained and a strong positive association has formed with the clicker.  Also some dog owners find it challenging to juggle treats, a clicker and leash all together when outside.  Not to mention, some fearful dogs can get scared of the sound which only adds to the stress these poor creatures endure. 

Clickers are certainly more effective than human words. This has been covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/

 However, a smacking sound you can take with you everywhere and therefore use it at a moments notice should a dog pop out out of nowhere. Even if you have a clicker in your hand, you may struggle getting it in the right position quickly enough to generate the click. There is a leash that has a clicker incorporated that may come handy though. I haven't personally tried it, but it's a nice invention. 

[AngieTorres]

37 minutes ago, Adrienne said:

You are very welcome!

Starting indoors then is a good starting point (watching dogs walk by the window)  and then moving to the bench can be a nice next step once you have a nice conditioned emotional response. Don't leave out counterconditioning with your desensitization work on the bench, as both methods work in synergy.  

With low threshold, it's important to work on distance work initially. I had cases of small dogs who would bark when dogs were very far, and something that worked for me was holding them in my arms, and the moment they saw a dog at distance, I would just place a super stinky high value treat right in front of their nose and that would quickly redirect them and give me a starting point. Sometimes, the treat went in right when the dog was about to open the mouth to bark, and the dog would realize how tasty it is and then once an association was made, bingo! the dog wanted to see more dogs just to have more if it!  Of course, avoid holding your dog in your arms if that stresses her out more, some dogs feel better being free to move others are reassured. 

This method worked for me with some of the most over threshold dogs, dogs who would not care much about treats. It's as if they need to taste the treat to realize how good it is to get things to start clicking. Sometimes some experimenting is needed. I had some small dogs who found chewing too much work when over threshold, so I would just smear a bit of canned food or meat-based baby food (with no garlic or onion) on my finger and offer it right upon seeing a dog. 

If a dog is ever coming too close, it is best to go back inside, or if on walks, do an emergency u-turn. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/

Some dogs who are very highly over threshold and are very difficult to snap out, may need medications prescribed by a vet or veterinary behaviorist. These dogs are just tot highly stressed to cognitively function and need meds to cause chemical changes in the brain. There can be some calming supplements that are found over the counter to try before going that route. Your vet can make recommendations based on your dog's level of anxiety. 

Thank you! That’s a good strategy and she likes being held. It calms her for sure. We met a dog bigger than her today (not really by choice, I had her on the bench with me and he came bounding over) and once he calmed down she did really well. She tried to set some boundaries when he wanted to get in her face and jump around (body language, etc) but once he got settled by his owner she completely calmed down. He was a few feet away and she was sitting on her cushion, taking treats, and even gave a butt sniff! I think her instinct is to protect me too. I let him come up to me and pet him to show her that dogs aren’t a threat to me either. She was watching from a slight distance (she’s on leash on the bench) but didn’t go crazy when he came up to me. 

[AngieTorres]

31 minutes ago, Adrienne said:

I am a big fan of clickers, but don't usually recommend them for behavior modification unless the dog is very well clicker trained and a strong positive association has formed with the clicker.  Also some dog owners find it challenging to juggle treats, a clicker and leash all together when outside.  Not to mention, some fearful dogs can get scared of the sound which only adds to the stress these poor creatures endure. 

Clickers are certainly more effective than human words. This has been covered here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/clicker-training/

 However, a smacking sound you can take with you everywhere and therefore use it at a moments notice should a dog pop out out of nowhere. Even if you have a clicker in your hand, you may struggle getting it in the right position quickly enough to generate the click. There is a leash that has a clicker incorporated that may come handy though. I haven't personally tried it, but it's a nice invention. 

She’s quite good with her clicker actually. She figured it out in like a day. She totally responds to it and gives me her attention when she hears it probably 85% of the time. When she doesn’t it’s because she already went over threshold on accident. 

[Adrienne]

That's great! I love to use the clicker with insecure dogs as it boosts their confidence. Shaping can be a great way to help them out. This is why I listed it as one of the great ways to increase confidence:

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

You can see an example of shaping here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/video-archive/train-your-dog-to-turn-on-a-light/