Fostering Fearful Dogs!
Three years ago Miniature Pincher Joaquin came into my life and to my surprise; I had no idea of the degree of fear and anxiety that could live in a dog, especially a 3lb dog. We all hear of this from time to time but when you live with it each day it can become overwhelming for most people. Being a dog trainer, a positive and reward based trainer and years of experience with dogs it would be challenging for me to find peace for this little dog. It took time, patience and lots of love but we got there and he is in a better place in his little doggy mind today than he was three years ago. Since Joaquin’s arrival and my hands on education with him I have been able to help many other fear and anxiety based dogs. Having him and figuring out what works best for him is one of the greatest first hand educations I have ever been given.
Recently I have decided to foster two new little Chihuahua’s one who also had some serious fear and anxiety to the point she pee’s where she is standing when a new person approaches. Fostering is not something I usually do, with five dogs of my own, daycare, boarding & training it can get pretty hectic. Of course, when she was first left with me she would growl and snap if you tried to approach her, so for the first day I just ignored her. In my experience the best method for this was a clear point of structure to build trust with this little dog. Feeding time 5:45AM for her and six other dogs, my five who are trained to go into crates (we call them houses) on command and wait there while the food is prepared. The first day I would place her carrying case next to her and she would hop in it, this made it easier for me to place her food dish near her and secure it so she could eat calmly before the other Chihuahua, her brother would try to steal it. The male was also placed in a house to eat by day two he knew the routine and picked a house of his own and would just go in it and wait for his food to be served. Next feeding was around 4:30PM and at 7:30PM they all got a light snack. Of course all food is measured to prevent over feeding. After each meal all dogs are let out into the yard, after a day or two the female would wonder out into the yard and on day three she was running and playing in the grass, to my amazement I knew this behavior was a breakthrough, she is starting to relax. Bed time around 9 or 10PM all dogs tucked in the same beds every night under the covers. Both fosters fell into the routine rather quickly. After observing this I knew it was a safe time to remove her harness, keep in mind she still did not want to be handled. My partner and I put on gloves and placed a blanket over her letting her feel my hands on her back, she growled, snapped but we were able to remove the harness with no harm to her. After that she sat on the couch for a while, I sat next to her back first and could feel her move next to me and lean on me. It was a process and each day we made a milestone, if I sat on the couch she would climb up and sit on my lap, but no lifting her up. Than we moved to placing a blanket on the floor she would step on it and I would lift her up in the blanket. She learned to go up and down the stairs and share my attention with the other dogs. About after three days, I could pick her up and even rock her in my arms like a baby. No more yelping or peeing when approached by others, but it needed to be a slow approach. At this point I observed her approaching people when they came in my house and asking to be petted, the transformation is just amazing. She has become a little cuddle bug with me and company. This is the abbreviated story here it took work but I thought it would take much longer than it did.
In my experience helping her to build confidence and give structure aided in removing her brain from a perpetual state of fear. Allowing her to think and make positive decisions for herself, she has learned to share my attention with other dogs, no snapping or biting at them or she loses her wanted resource, my attention. Her fun loving personality is now shining through; she plays with toys, me and the other dogs. Having the ability to help in this way and witness first-hand the transformation in these dogs is extremely rewarding.
Important note “each and every fearful dog needs to move at their pace not ours” regardless of how long it takes.
Life is doggy worthy!
