Baby the pitbull and the holiday blues

[Gooseman]

Well... baby is back in my possession today. apparently the early friendliness she showed when I found her a new home, didn't last too long. She quickly transformed to a dog afraid of everyone, and when I offered to take her back. They did no hesitate to offer to meet me half way. The saddest part is that she didn't recognize me for hours. She would sit in the opposite corner of my room staring at me as though I was an evil beast. Well, no joke, as I started writing this she slowly slinked back over to the bed and is now laying next to me, although it obvious she's nervous of my actions. It was massively heartbreaking seeing her again and it taking this long to recognize me as friend, especially as last time she was with me, I was the only one she was comfortable with. At this point I do not want to find her a new home until I can get her used to being social again. I figure it will take some time, but I don't want another new owner to get tired of her ultra shy nature. Her wounds are healed and she's still not showing any aggression, but she's visibly shaking in the presence of people she doesnt know. I want to make sure she gets a good loving home as I am not going to give up on her.


EDIT:: Her head is now in my lap lickin my fingers as I type so I think shes catching on finally as to the way things were not too long ago. Here's link to original thread.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=56873

[casperca]

Glad to know she is back in the care of someone who will be patient with her. You are awesome for rescuing her, glad she is coming around.

[Thunder Kat]

thats so sad! but at least they gave her back to instead of just dumping her at a shelter.

[Gooseman]

Thnx yall, I hope to do my best.

But yea, the guy I had given her to was an old friend from my HS days and I made sure he knew that a shelter was a no no for her. I'm sad it didn't work out, but I'm glad she's off the road.

[slartibartfast]

Awww Ben, that's too bad. It sounds like she really wants to settle in, just needs some time and work.

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

[Gooseman]

Thank you Jess, I sure could use any advice you could throw my way in terms of getting her used to being out and about with people. I am currently planning on just taking her out and praising her every time she's "outgoing". Also, would you associate her bahviour to prior abusive owners or her just being scared and feeling out of place? Because as I touched on in the last thread, my first impression that she was well cared for has waned quite a bit.

[slartibartfast]

The "abused" label is quick and popular, but I think it's not always that accurate. A lot of fearful dogs have simply been neglected...not exposed to strange things at an early age, and so they don't know how to react to them and are fearful of them. I can't remember from your early thread if she was specificly afraid of raised hands or not. In any case, it's a pretty easy test...if you threaten to hit her and she cowers, then she has experienced situations in which a raised hand has resulted in pain and fear. (I meet an awful lot of dogs who their owners have labeled "abused" and saddled with a huge invented history of trauma, when in fact they are just poorly socialized...when you threaten to strike them with a raised hand, they are oblivious to the message and do not flinch or duck.)


When I am working a dog through a fearful situation, I try to project confidence and happiness. I do -not- sooth, console, or try to reassure the dog. That only confirms to them that the fear is valid. Instead, praise the dog in an upbeat tone, approach the scary thing confidently, interact with it positively, while letting her watch you. "Look at these silly cows! Boy are they funny looking! Look, I'm walking up to them! They look really funny up close!" It may get you some funny looks, but it really seems to work. They take their cues from you, and if you are telling her that it is no big deal, she'll pick up on that.

I would also start her on obedience work. You can do it at home if you don't have a scheduled class near you. It will teach her positive behaviors she can do and build her self-confidence.

Do not coddle her excessively; I really think it's beneficial for a fearful dog to know that you are unquestionably in charge. If she trusts you as the pack leader, and she knows that you can and will kick anyone's butt who crosses you, she will feel better knowing that you can and will protect the pack and by extension her. I hope that makes sense. It's not necessary to scare her, but don't be too weak around her. If she is that timid, a raised voice should be more than enough to communicate displeasure.

I also strongly believe that it's important to them that you give them guidelines and rules early on, so she has a set of rules she can memorize and rely on when she is uncertain how to act. Stuff like Sitting at doors, Waiting for treats, etc...with time, she will learn that performing these behaviors make you happy, and she will begin to eagerly try them on for you. In uncertain situations, you can reinforce her confidence by putting her through the commands again to ground her in something she knows. She will accept that you are in control of the situation, and be less afraid.

I hope that all makes sense...It's late and I'm tired.

[frankykeno]

Sorry Baby didn't work out for the other folks but glad she's back with you Ben. I completely agree with what Jess posted. I'm quite the fan of Cesar Milan and that's very much what he'd do. He believes in being a strong pack leader, in not giving affection when a dog is stressed but rather helping them move past that fear.

A simple example with our new Lab, Bella, to illustrate. Bella has no fears other than one. She freezes and either will not move or tries to run away when she hears flags or awnings flapping strongly in the wind. When we walk her we go by several places like the post office where flags are and our own home has a decorative awning on the front porch. When she balks, we just keep moving her forward, or even around in a circle with her head high up and a strong, "heel Bella!". No mushy stuff, no big deal....just the message that nothing is wrong, we're not leading her to anything scary and off we go.

Robin told me that's what they do with her dog training for the assistance dogs. They don't allow them to fear anything, they lead them strongly to face a fear and see it as nothing. I also noticed Cesar often changes the walking speed so the dog becomes distracted from the feared thing but he keeps moving them by it until they learn to be less sensitive to it. That worked with Bella and she pretty much could care less about that sound now, she'll glance up to check what the sound of the flapping is but that's about it now.

I'd just get her out and about. Stop and talk to people, put her in a sit position at your side and just talk. Don't have them fuss over her, just let her get used to lots of people and other dogs by seeing you interact easily and calmly with them. Invite people over to your place. Make sure she is close by but don't have them make a huge fuss over her and excite her which can trigger fear responses. Some regular visitors that offer her a treat here or there will help her accept newcomers. Make sure you always are relaxed and in charge.

Here's Cesar's site. There are some good tips there and even a forum where you might find some more specific ideas for fearful dogs.

http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

I think the biggest thing is to not pander to her fears, that just reinforces them. If she's afraid and you make a fuss over her at that moment, to a dog that means..."holy crap it MUST be bad because my leader is fussing over me".

Odd thing but I'd change her name hon. Calling her Baby may set up in your mind that she is a baby in need of coddling. Think about her beauty and her strength and pick a name that reflects that. A good strong female name. I think words have power and a powerful yet peaceful name may help you project that concept on to this dog. Just an idea.

[rabernet]

I can't remember from your early thread if she was specificly afraid of raised hands or not. In any case, it's a pretty easy test...if you threaten to hit her and she cowers, then she has experienced situations in which a raised hand has resulted in pain and fear. (I meet an awful lot of dogs who their owners have labeled "abused" and saddled with a huge invented history of trauma, when in fact they are just poorly socialized...when you threaten to strike them with a raised hand, they are oblivious to the message and do not flinch or duck.)

Hey Jess, quick question - we got Diamond when she was 9 weeks old. She has always been head shy - always ducks her head if a hand comes over her head, so we ask when people pet her, that they pet her under her chin (if they can get to it before she plops down on her side begging for a belly rub).

Is it possible she experienced abuse in her first nine weeks that has stayed with her, her entire life? Or is she just a soft dog? We clicker trained her, so she's never experienced physical corrections from us - ever.

[rabernet]

Ben, I have to agree with Jess and Joanna - you have to stop coddling her. Do NOT pet her, or give her reassurance when she's fearful - you are telling her that she has a reason to be fearful by trying to re-assure her.

When I work with the service dogs, many times there are fears, simply because these guys are raised on the "farm" (the campus of Canine Assistants). When we take them home for home visits, we're exposing them to a lot of new sights and sounds.

When they act fearful in a new situation, we ignore that behavior and keep moving forward. We don't say "it's ok!". As Jess said - we HAVE to be the leader - if we aren't, they feel that THEY have to be the leader and keep us from harm (fearful situations). They need to understand that we will determine what's a dangerous situation, that we will not ever allow them to be in a dangerous situation.

For example, many of the dogs are fearful of sliding glass doors at a grocery store. I will literally make them sit by the sliding glass doors for 15 minutes to 1/2 an hour only praising when they exhibit a calm demeanor. I'll talk to people coming through the doors and ask that they not speak or touch the dog while they are being fearful.

Similar to Jess, we'll also keep a very light tone in our voice if they are just slightly fearful to something new with a "what was that? that was a silly noise, wasn't it?" and keep going - no more muss and fuss than that, no physical touch from a fearful reaction.

Good luck with her - you're going to have to give her tough love. As Cesar Milan says - only give affection to a calm relaxed mind.

Also Ben, once she's more relaxed around people, and willing to let them approach her, you might also keep some of her favorite treats nearby and hand them to your guests when they come in the house (cut up hot dogs for example are hard to resist) and have them offer them to her when they meet her so that she begins to associate positive interactions with meeting strangers. Or if you're out walking with her if someone wants to pet her and you know she's not behaving fearfully, hand them a treat you might have in a fanny pack and explain you're working with her and ask them if they'll give her that treat.