Foster issues I have not seen before.
Our girl was raised by an older man who recently passed away. After her owner passed, her companion dog died. The wife could not handle her so she was shuttled off to rescue after losing her two best friends. The original owner was not a leader and Lady was left to make her own decisions. If she doesn't like what you suggest, she growls and bears teeth, on occasion goes for the bite. She doesn't have food aggression and plays well with the other dogs. She goes into total slobbering barking melt down in the car. She is starting to understand that I'm more determined than she is. When I want her to do something like get off the couch or go outside I approach her from the front put her leash on and she falls right in step. If I grab her collar instead I get a growl and snap snarl. She does not react negatively to touching or petting. Other than not want to obey the rules, she is a sweet girl. If I approach her from behind or the side it seems to frighten her and I'm wondering if she may have a sight issue. She is also shadow obsessed. She will chase any shadow day or night inside or outside. This girl is the worst I have dealt with, so I'm looking for any direction possible. Thoughts suggestions.....  |
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| Some of her issues sound very similar to one of my fosters a couple years ago. The: no structure or leader and dog made the rules, recent big upset in his life, the collar issue with using it vs a leash, and fearful or startled to sudden approaches. We started with household rules - the same expectations we have for the rest of the dogs right off the bat. No babying, no exemptions. However we did use our stable home dog pack rather shamelessly - he was pretty easily convinced to "go with the flow" - therefore rather painlessly learning routines, and learning to obey commands and finding out that it's OK to do so. It became apparent that every command was treated as a struggle point in the past, and even had progressed to him challenging his humans and winning....grr! We also left a short lead on him at all times when loose in the house. That way all approaches were for fun, and not to hook on the lead, then make him do something he was likely going to resist against. Anytime I gave a command (off couch, etc), I made sure I was ready to enforce it - 100%. By choosing my issues, and having the lead on and the setup as much in my favor as possible every time. It soon became apparent I wasn't dealing with a true aggressive dog, but one who was fearful and on a power trip. The startle times were actually when we caught him without his guard up - we surprised him. He was carrying all this bravado as his default coping behavior. Whenever he was stressed, pushed, or asked to do something, this default came into play. So we started a campaign and taught him better, more positive defaults. I also used his natural curiosity and neediness to get him to accept grooming. That was one of his power things - he had totally freaked out his several previous homes with growling, and biting with any attempt at brushing. So they had totally given up! Again, I used my attention loving pack to get over this. At 1st it was almost comical - he flat out looked shocked my dogs all vied for attention to get groomed, nudging and pushing each other out of the way. He just stood on the outside of the group and watched and watched. After time, he got closer, then even pushed then to get to me. I would give him a quick pet, then ignore him and love up the other dogs...that about flipped him out! He was sure I was going to push the issue and start a struggle  It was a long haul, but soon he was accepting short grooms, then longer, then even pulling at little snarls. (Before the littlest snarl made him flip out). With time, he was tolerating all over grooming, snarls and all. Nails too!I did find a permanent home for him, but I was very, very selective. It was many states away, but it was the best match. I wrote up a very detailed log of every issue he came in with, how we were working through it and what point he was now at, and a plan to continue in their home. This couple were very dedicated and followed through to a T! And when they had an issue, they called or emailed me and we worked out a plan. For this dog I would limit car travel until she makes more progress. You want to work just below the behavioral threshold, and sounds like car rides put her way over the top. Once comfort is established, you can push the threshold again...and continue gradually expanding. As you get a better relationship and trust (as she has NONE), you can start pushing the envelope on some of her other behaviors. Good luck! Good luck! |
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