I made a list of things that have changed in her life, and they're fairly short. We moved in May and she's not been crated since then because she's 6 years old.

I got Shelby when she was 8 months old and she was feral. She's always been a timid dog by nature and she's never really liked me. When my husband, Clark, got home from Japan a year after I took her in, they both fell in love and she became HIS dog. He spoils her, he doesn't exercise her enough, he never practices training, and he lets her get away with things my dogs aren't - like getting on the couch, getting in the bed, sitting on the front seat in the truck, pulling on the leash. He's FUN!

Like I said, the only thing that's really changed in her life is that we moved to a new apartment in May and she hasn't needed to be crated because she's trustworthy. She does have a crate and a bed in the bedroom where she can go for some quiet time, and she often does hang out there free choice.

I've kept up her training (positive only, any kind of correction shuts her down), I've insisted on manners and house rules when I'm in charge of her, and I keep up her exercise - flirt pole, walks, off leash runs at the fields and river. I make it a point to always be upbeat because she's never really liked me, but for the past month she's acting like I've tried to kill her.
If I walk into a room she's in, and Clark's not there, she flattens herself to the ground, pins her ears back, and cringes away from me. She does this regardless of what I'm doing. I could completely ignore her and walk in the opposite direction of her body and she still does it. If I call her to me she creeps up to me, cringing away physically as if she's ready to run for her life if I try to hurt her. If I tell her to go to her place ('go lay down') in a happy tone she belly crawls, cringes, winces, and acts like the sky is falling. If I make any kind of movement during this display she freaks out as if I've jumped up to grab her and hurt her... even if I just happened to move my foot slightly.
She's also started cringing at me if I make noises. Earlier today I picked up my keys and she acted like I'd tried to hurt her. The other day I set a plastic cup down on a wooden table a bit too hard, it made a clack noise, and she jumped and stared at me with an expression as if she was waiting for me to become violent toward her.

I don't really know what to do. I've tried giving her valium, I've tried thunder shirts/body wraps, I've tried DAP. She's very uncomfortable with me being anywhere near her while we're inside. Outside when I'm practicing training or playing with her she's not as happy with me as she is Clark, but she's not fearful and worried about me.

Any ideas? I could leave her crated in the bedroom alone except when she's outside pottying, playing, or training but that's about 10 hours of being alone during the day, and then about 9 hours of being 'alone' while we're all sleeping at night.

Is he still at home and in charge of her?

Or are you?

With no consistency in the pack rules from her two pack leaders, could she possibly be confused about what the rules are?

You're right, Elaine. Solid pack structure has "fun" beat all to heck on the canid need list.

JMO.

He lives here with me now (no more out of state stuff) and has since we moved in May. He's in charge of her to the extent of making all the decisions. I've been unemployed and it seems kind of silly to not involve her with the other daily dog routine of play, exercise, training (some basic OB and scent work since she loves to work for food), potty walks, and trips to the fields and river. I'd say my role in her life is more like doggy daycare.
When he's home from work they do go for a walk, but then they snuggle together while he either plays on the computer, reads, or watches TV. She's ridiculously happy when he's home even though she's just laying around with him.

I can't say with certainty she's confused. I haven't changed, and neither has he. Our two vastly different ways of keeping dogs has been exactly the same for almost all of her life. It seems odd that she'd suddenly decide she can't take it anymore.
She's even moved around a lot with him and been extremely happy. When she's with him only, it's like the world is sunshine and rainbows. When she's with me only (before this past month) she's a happy dog, but she's not overly enthusiastic about life like she is when she's with 'her boy.'

I also believe that pack structure should be consistent but is she actually causing trouble?
How have you discussed this with Clark? What was his response?

Even when she was brand new she never caused much trouble. Now that she's 'tamed' and a house pet, she never gets into real trouble or causes us problems. She may occasionally do simple things like pulling on the leash because of a squirrel or eating something off a plate because Clark left it at her level unsupervised.

Clark knows she's getting worse around me, but really aside from liking dogs a lot, he's not really a dog person. If it's not his way, he's so inconsistent that it does no good to even try.

I have a fearful dog and he goes through odd phases in life all the time. I have to pay close attention to him to gauge how he is doing.

I'm wondering if you have expanded her world too far...while you are looking at it like "why wouldn't I take her with me and do the things the other dogs do", she may be looking at it like you are dragging her around the world without Clark.

I know that sounds weird - dogs need exercise, training and mental stimulation, right? - but with my fearful guy, I have to limit what he does. Taking him somewhere 7 days a week and training/working him was actually detrimental to him. It was more than he could handle and created anxiety for him. What it got me was a dog that would run and hide if I touched his leash.

We had to back WAY up and change the way things happened. He has a list of places he loves to be or to go to. It's a short list: home, my mom's, my in-law's and two parks. So he gets his exercise/training at these places. We walk at other parks maybe one or two days a week and do training there & during the winter months, we sometimes take an agility class. I know him well enough know that I listen to him when he says he needs a mental health day at home, but it took years for me to be smart enough to notice what he was saying.

Additionally, something that made a HUGE difference with him is a daily dose of l-Theanine. l-Theanine is an amino acid that is supposed to help with anxiety and kind of leveling out the brain. I (and others who know him well) can tell when he misses a dose, so it's definitely working. He weighs 85# and gets 100mg daily. On days where I know he is going to be out and about, he gets 200mg. I also use Xanax as needed if we are going to be going to a place where I know he will be pushed out of his comfort zone (usually on vacations, for training in unfamiliar places, etc.).

P.S. Valium didn't work for him and a thundershirt slightly works, but makes him too hot.

Samantha, can you refresh my memory on what breed or mix she is? I know you said she was feral, so I'm assuming she's not a purebred, but is she a large dog? If so, six years old is maybe getting closer to the senior years. With my own dogs over the years, I have noticed that any fearful tendencies often tend to increase as they get older. And like Melissa, I have seen them go through phases of fearfulness.

Since you say this seems to have gotten significantly worse in the last month or so, I think I would want a vet check. It's possible she's not feeling well and it's manifesting in emotional or psychological symptoms, before there are any physical symptoms.

Shelby is a 30 pound shepherd mix of some kind. We're guessing, due to color and the way she looked as a pup (I was able to get puppy pictures) she's either a GSD mix or a Belgian Shepherd mix. She had sable coloring as a pup that brightened into the classic Belgian Shepherd coat length and color. We don't know who the breeder was, but there are several puppy mill type GSD and Belgian 'breeders' in the area she was taken from and I had seen several dogs that look like her in that area, as well.

I usually start full blood panels around 5 years old and she should get her first one. I'll make an appointment.

It IS possible that I'm overdoing it for her comfort level. She's always enjoyed going places, but perhaps she's changed.