Thanks Connie im looking now.

I had a husky who was EXTREMELY fearful when we brought her home, as a foster, when she was 12 weeks old.

She was from a litter that was purposely bred to make money, no one wanted them because they had not seen a human until they were 10 weeks old, which by that point you couldn't touch them without squeals and loss of bladder control.

I started exactly how everyone on this thread has mentioned, slow!

The one thing I found that REALLY finished her - completely brought her out of her shell - was Agility!

Still, she was a little insecure in new places, and while she would not shut down, you could tell this was a dog who needed some confidence - badly!

Enter Agility! Her first class was really hard - I worked for 6 weeks to get her to learn all of this equipment without losing confidence. It was hard - but boy was it worth it!

Once we started doing the seminars and weekly Agility it only took a few short months to see this dog really blossom! She now has been rehomed into a wonderful home, she can be brought anywhere, has now done Canada Day demos and walked in the parade for 3 years, has amazing house manners and LOVES everyone, from the tiniest hamster to the largest dogs - an absolutely perfect pet!

ETA: She will always have that genetic side that causes her to still sometimes be insecure, but because of the conditioning she received through training, and her ability to trust in the handler, she gets over things almost instantly now.

Edited by Niomi Smith (11/03/2011 11:34 AM)
Edit reason: See last para.

I am loving this thread...it is so good to know that I am not the only one out there and I am doing the right things

 Quote: Niomi Smith

Once we started doing the seminars and weekly Agility it only took a few short months to see this dog really blossom! She now has been rehomed into a wonderful home, she can be brought anywhere, has now done Canada Day demos and walked in the parade for 3 years, has amazing house manners and LOVES everyone, from the tiniest hamster to the largest dogs - an absolutely perfect pet!

ETA: She will always have that genetic side that causes her to still sometimes be insecure, but because of the conditioning she received through training, and her ability to trust in the handler, she gets over things almost instantly now.

Thanks for sharing this...Vigo loves agility too He truly just loves to jump on or over things. When he gets stressed at the park, he practices jumping on picnic tables...totally calms him down and makes things FUN!

Additionally, goal setting has been so important for Vigo, both short term and long term. We worked hard all summer on going new places as much as possible. He has become comfortable anywhere, as long as there are not a bunch of people around. Now, we are working on becoming comfortable and focused on me around strangers.

We in my family say that Vigo takes "stranger danger" way too seriously! I am actually looking forward to colder weather because less people will be out and about. We are focusing on obedience class being where he meets/sees new people or in our home.

He has so many positive qualities that I have to remember to focus on those. My nephew, who lives with us, said "Vigo would be the perfect dog if he wasn't such a chicken" and that is true. I have high hopes that we will work through most of his issues. And I will be accepting that some things will NEVER be something he enjoys.

Cherri - he is about 17 months old...and from very slow to mature lines...still a baby

Sandra - in addition, look into Control Unleashed and Behavior Adjustment Training. I have used elements of both very successfully!

Anne just because you don;t like my training methods doesn't mean they don't work. i have trained a lot of problem dogs. i never give up just fixed a rehomed JRT (abused) that was a real problem biting the owners and hiding and shaking. clicker people were out and a dog psych who charged quite a bit of money i didn't charge the owner 2 sessions of 1.2 hr each now he is a great little pet they love him i don't allow bad behavior i don't care what happened in the past. this is today. i teach if you become afraid you must sit. then we will work through it together.

John, you make me want to bang my head against the wall. Your techniques would turn my Vigo into a mess.

 Quote: john axe

i have trained a lot of problem dogs. .

So have I.

We just do not agree.

We may not even agree on terminology. I don't know who advocated "allowing bad behavior," but I missed it.

Here's the thing: I gather (but correct me if I am reading wrong) that you would advocate flooding. This can work, yes -- but it can also go horribly awry. Desensitizing and counter-conditioning are, IMO, far more likely to be successful, without presenting the possibility of a very bad outcome. In addition, the focus work that's employed in desensitizing makes it a plus-plus.

You will never see me recommending flooding to anyone of limited or unknown experience, or in fact without in-person evaluation of the dog, and in fact I don't employ it myself except under extremely well-defined and controlled circumstances, with one specific trigger, with a dog whose level of fear is not in the panic range.

Never in a million years would I make a blanket recommendation to use the method; it's far from a one-size-fits-all protocol, and in fact, IMO, the situations where it's appropriate are pretty rare.

So .... we just don't agree.

 Quote: Melissa Hoyer

I am loving this thread...it is so good to know that I am not the only one out there and I am doing the right things

You are doing the right things. Have you ever seen the thread here about "success stories with reactive and fearful dogs"?

I can look for it later after I get some work done. I'm about 90% sure that Kristel was on the thread (and she is another owner who has had great results in her desensitizing work), so that might help me find it.

I'm making a Postit to go looking for some of those threads tonight. Reading about other people's experiences is very heartening.

flooding lol where did you come up with that? Connie we will have to disagree although it has worked well for me.

as far as Vigo you would be surprised how fast he learns and the ability to overcome his fears. if you get a chance watch RFD tv horse trainer Clinton Anderson he is excellent. he teach horses to overcome they're fears very fast. his motto heart attacks are free. when the horse stands still the scary thing leaves. my friend said it made him a better dog trainer after training horses for a few years

John there are stark differences in horses (prey animals) & dogs (predator animals) & the way you deal with them.

I also am a horse person & trained my skiddish 4 year old horse that was spookey & afraid of many things to a x-counrty competitor. I didn't flood HIM either. Desensitized him & took him out with an older steady seen it all horse to help him 'deal' with the world. He turned into a horse that would jump anything that you aimed him at & would jump the moon. Solid jumper that never spooked at a jump. A far cry from what I started with.

BTW....I am familiar with Clinton Anderson & his methods.

My fearful dog would have just shut down & never been able to take a step ever again outside the house if I ever exposed him the way you suggested. Flooding can destroy a fearful dog.

I guess that we will have to disagree also.

That's ok Anne we have disagreed before. i am surprised you had a fearful dog ?

off subject ( Anne your right about the differences in dogs and horses but i learn from everyone maybe i can use it... Clinton's methods worked great i bought a horse never ridden a handful To see if the methods worked) halter had rubbed his nose raw national Show horse. when delivered he dragged me down the arena. few weeks later he wasn't scared anything. Clinton's methods work )