Need Suggestions From Dog Professionals
Lounge By SweetThistleCakes Updated 18 Oct 2006 , 8:13pm by bluehen92
Hi Everyone-
To make a long story short, I adopted a 6 year old Siberian Husky last year that was turned into a shelter because the former owner just didnt want him anymore. I named him Vader. He has obviously been abused. I love him to pieces but I dont want to see him so scared all the time. He flinches and ducks if I move to quickly, he's terrified of loud noises, and he's always guarding his and my other dogs food dish. If my other dog is eating, he'll race over to the food dish and scare him off. He is such a wonderful dog- I dont see how anyone could ever hurt him or any other animal. Today was the last straw though- we had a bit of thunder and he was hiding along the side of me bed and wouldnt come out to eat or go out. I cant seemto break him of being scared all the time and if anyone can offer me some advice rather than taking him to a trainer, Vader and I sure would appreciate it. I just want him to be ahppy and feel safe with us.
I have seen dogs like this before. I think it helps some to play with them a lot, like you would with a puppy. Get a little rough. It seems to make them feel more trusting of you. Just my opinion. I hope it works out. I love puppies (no matter what age, they are all puppies to me) 
First off, kudos to you for taking him from a shelter.
He's kept in the house? With other dogs? I think that after a year he'd be better than he was....is he any better at all? Maybe just a smidge better?
I am in no way a professional, but I used to have a cat that was 5 when I got him. He behaved just like your dog would - I thought he would get over it after a while. We had him for 1 1/2 yrs; he was going on 7 yrs old when we got rid of him. I became preggers & couldn't handle him anymore, he was really trying the nerves behaving like a big chicken!!! If we moved our hands fast, he ran & hid!!!
So, I really have no advice for you, I just wanted to say I feel for you b/c I've been in a similar situation. The only thing I could offer from my experience is that since he has a little bit of age on him, he's probably not gonna change.
Maybe some other CC'er can help you out better, so atleast here's a bump.
Good Luck to you!
My nephew has a dog that came from a shelter and he was abused by a former owner. He has had Dagwood for about a year and we still can not let him see a broom! He also seems to prefer men to women but he would rather not have anything to do with anyone but my nephew. He is great with the other animals though. It is going to take time for the poor puppy to trust again. Just continue to love him and play with him....he will get over his fears. Good luck.
He is a smidge better. He will sit on the bed with Anakin. He lets us rub his belly- which is remarkable because he would cringe if anyone would touch him when he first came home. He'll play with Anakin occasionally and they run outside together.
Don't give up on him. Have you ever seen the show on National Geographic Channel, The Dog Whisperer??? That man is amazing and he has a book out. Maybe you could check it out. I would bet there is something in his book that deals with this situation. You might also google and see if there is a website.
My dog (see my avatar) is 11yo and she was rescued as a pup. She has always been terrified of thunder. I think some dogs just are. Since my male dog died last year, she will hardly go outside to use the bathroom without me. Oh well, she is getting old and I think it is the least I can do to allay her insecurity.
I truly hope you can find a workable solution, especially where the food aggression is concerned.
I do believe it is going to take some time, but I think you can do it.
Cindy
We adopted a dog from a rescue group and it was clear right from the start that he was abused. He would flinch if you moved too fast, cower if we raised our voice around him and I thought we would never be able to house break him. We have had him for 6 years now and he is much better. We never had the aggression problem with him around our other dog because she seemed to establish dominance the minute he came in our house. We spent a lot of time playing with him, taking him for walks etc. He is just a part of our family now although he still fliches if you move too quickly around his head and he gets really nervous if we raise our voices and use his name in the sentence. I think they will always carry with them the damage that someone else was cruel enough to instill but love and time do wonders.
I'm no professional, but I have had Siberians for 14 years & foster for a rescue, so I'll throw in my 2 cents. I have had dogs in my house & in rescue that sound similar to yours. Quick movements & raised voices sent them running or ducking for cover. For your boy to still have these reactions after a year, I'd say he was in a terrible situation and it will take longer than "usual" for him to move on. All you can do is keep loving him and treating him well. He clearly trusts you if he lets you rub his belly, but it will take time for him to stop flinching when you make a sudden movement. My guess is that the abuse began very early in his life and now he doesn't think "I'm safe here, I don't have to duck" when you move suddenly, it's just ingrained in his behavior to do so.
Re: thunder & loud noises. Ignore him. When he cowers/whines/etc. at thunder DON'T tell him in your mommy voice "It's ok, good boy, it's ok'" because then he will think you are praising him for his whining & cowering. I know it's hard, but just ignore him.
The food guarding is another story. Some dogs have that in their personality, and what we recommend is that they are seperated when they are fed. We used to free feed our guys, then after our female died the female we adopted was food aggressive so that had to stop. She is fed in her crate and the other dogs eat in the kitchen. That way everyone gets their own dinner. We also worked with her on her food issues in other ways, but I would still not feed her in the same room as the others.
Where do you live? I'm sure there is a Siberian Husky Rescue in your area that would be happy to help you. We get calls & emails all the time from people looking for help with behavioral issues, and are glad to help them. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions.
-Lisa
I was watching the Dog Whisper just last night and he was dealing with a scared dog. The general idea he kept saying is that the dog needs to know that you are in charge and in control, he needs the "alpha dog/pack leader" to follow. He always talks about calm assertivness/control. Not being tough or angry, just strong and calm.
Don't coddle and love all over him when he's acting scared, that's like a reward for good behavior. You could see if you can distract him with a favorite toy or some general training drills when he's acting scared. So he's doing something else and getting praised for that instead. So when he's relaxed is when they get a reward.
I've seen food agression worked on by making the dog sit and wait patiently before being fed.
Our dog is nervous during thunder storms too. He trys to cuddle up real close and shakes like a leaf with his eyes bugging out of his head. He's gotten better over time, but most of the big storms have happened while we're at work, and he's taken to hiding in the basement bathroom. He won't go down in the basement even with bribery when we're home, but for some reason, it's his safe place when he's alone. Dogs are strange sometimes!
Good luck and don't give up. He'll probably take a while. Maybe you could see if you can get the Dog Whisper to come to your house? I love watching him help dogs.
First off . . . nothing is going to be an easy fix. I've worked for a veterinary behavior specialist before and dogs in this situation require a lot of work and training.
Why do you not want to work with a trainer? A good trainer would be able to come to your home and work with you on your dogs weak spots--basic sit, stay commands are obviously not an issue for this guy.
Having a dog who is terrified of storms is not uncommon. Speak to your vet about giving your dog a mild sedative when storms pop up. I used to give my pit bull a sedative during storms, loud parties in the neighborhood, etc. She has gotten better in her older years and now I only give her an antihistamine that makes her drowsy. Without it, she will wedge her fat body between the washer and the wall in the laundry room and just cower forever.
All you can do is work with training and try to teach him acceptable behavior. If he has a problem with food guarding, its past time for you to change the way they are fed. Insted of putting the bowls down and leaving them out . . . try feeding both dogs seperately. Feed them twice a day, in seperate rooms, and only leave the food down for about 15-20 minutes. If they arent finished, pick it up. It will only take a few times for them both to learn to eat when its out or its soon gone. This will avoid the guarding behavior. The less he can do this, the sooner he will learn to not be such a wreck.
Basically, its all about changing your approach on a lot of normal, everyday things until he is better able to handle them in an acceptable manner. Your first step should be to speak to your vet about sedatives and getting a recommendation for a good pet behaviorist . . . good luck!
I have been in the pet industry for many years (www.woofcreekbarkery.com) and have dealt with many dog trainers. Here is what I have learned:
Like your poor pet, many dogs suffer from lightning and thunderstorm anxiety. It is understandable that you want to make him feel better. However, petting and consoling our frightened pets may actually make them more fearful. We as our dogs' leaders need to be up-beat and model confidence. Next time your dog comes to you and trembles during a thunderstorm, start singing the "Happy Birthday" song. Try to laugh and divert your dog from his fears. Play his favorite game or do some obedience and be liberal with his treats.
Another approach that may be helpful is to play a sound effect tape. See if your dog is fearful of the tape. If he is, start by playing the tape very softly while doing something he loves. Each day turn the volume up just a little. Make sure he's not scared at each increase. Hopefully, this will desensitize him to the effects of the real thing when it occurs.
Finally, some dogs may have particularly severe symptoms and not respond to the above approaches. For these dogs, anti-anxiety medication may help. If your dog acts frenzied in spite of diversion and the tape program, talk to your veterinarian about medication.
I hope these suggest ions will help prepare you and your dog for that proverbial rainy day.
Good luck.
CakesUnleashed . . . thats actually such a great suggestion! My pitbull gets intimidated by different situations . . . our trainer taught me to use an excited voice anytime I am introducing her to something new . . . and instantly her tail comes untucked and she gets excited. Its annoying as all hell to listen to, but as long as she hears the baby talk from me she gets excited and handles things like a champ! I'd totally forgotten about that since we've been doing it for years.
Just give it time. I took in a half grown Shepherd pup that had been repeatedly starved and beat bloody. For the first two weeks she literally hid under the bed. It took a lot of coaxing, love and patience, but she turned out to be the best dog I ever owned!
I lost her to old age, and I miss her like crazy.
Just give it time..
My dog will be seven in december and she is afrid of two things-Thunder and fireworks. We got her at three months and they said they had been mistreated ie. fed the dogs chili for food.
She has never grown out of this behavior. Fourth of July is real fun!
As far as food. I also watch two dogs during the week. The yellow lab is slowly understanding that no will eat her food. My dog is a grazing dog. She never eats it all in the same sitting. When I feed all three dogs I put there bowls away from one another. If one finishes outside they go. My dog never finishes so I just put a plate over her food and she will just tell me when she wants to finish.
We have a 3 year old American Bulldog and just found out that she has hip dysplasia really bad. She is bone to bone and also has bone spurs. She is my husbands baby. We got her when she was 3 months old and I know she was abused just by her behavior. Her tail is cropped and her dew claws are gone and honestly, I think they did it to her themselves. She is very scared of storms & fireworks and if my husband yells. She hasn't been around people much either. I tried taking her to Petsmart for training and she shook the whole time so we never went back. I called a trainer and she said that she wouldn't train our dogs because they sleep in the bed with us. I have a 2 year old Old English Bulldog and he does not like monkeys. If he sees a commercial, he goes crazy. We have just learned to deal with Angel and her problems. She just goes under the bed and doesn't come out. Now that we found out about her hips, we are contemplating hip replacement. We couldn't imagine life without her and would do anything for our dogs, they are like our kids. I don't really have any advice, just to say I know what you are going through. I don't understand people who abuse dogs, they are so helpless. Good luck
mmdd, the Dog Whisperer is on National Geographic channel.
He's great. Actually he really "trains" people to train their dogs!
Here's his website, there is a show sched. there.
http://www.dogpsychologycenter.com/
bransmom, the trainer wouldn't work with your dog because they sleep in bed with you? I've never heard that! Did you call other trainers? Those books by the Monks in New York who breed German Shephards suggest having your dog sleep in your room (well, on the floor, but STILL!) as one of the "pack".
Our hound was a pretty unrully puppy who we tried to crate train. Turned out that at the exact time we let him sleep in our room is when he started calming down and obeying us more.
hi,
i am by no means expert but all that will help is that he has to feel secure and loved.
Thunder and fireworks were big problem with my dog as well. He had never been abused but he was so scared of it that he actually was shriveling like a leaf and hiding to a tiniest hole he could fit. new years eve i always thought that he might have a heart attac. it was so bad
I know why he became so scared of it (i miss my dog so much, he died 4 y ago) it was my fault but i could have never anticipated this.
i was going to college at the time and i left in the morning. the day was nice and clear.few hours later we had a massive storm with thunder hale and wind. all of my windows were open and it also rained in the house because all i had were windows.
it lasted maybe for 3-4h. he was just a pup at the time (4m) and i wasn't at home. Finally when i finished i couldn't find him anywhere. i just hear a pup crying. he had hid in tn my closet and was shriveling there for many many hours.It was so sad 
Anyway this stayed in his head for the rest of his life.
My vet told me to try and get a cd with thunder and firework noices and start playing it every day a little. starting from very quiet and adding volume every day and he should get used to it. never did it but this is the advise i got.
You might be interested in Bach Rescue Remedy:
http://tinyurl.com/y66kwv
HTH
Rescue Remedy can work, we have used it in some cases in our rescue, but you have to be very careful with it. It may be herbal & "all-natural" but that doesn't mean that dogs can't have very bad reactions to it. I don't want to be entirely negative about it, but I would advise anyone who is considering using it to completely research it first & to also get your vets opinion. For anxiety issues your vet can also prescribe Clomicalm which is a very low grade doggy prozac. It's not really for things like thunderstorms because it has to be given daily for ~ 2 weeks before you will see any effect. But it's great for dogs with serious seperation type anxietys and other anxiety issues. I have used it on one of my guys who would flip out when he was crated. It got to the point where he was hurting himself in his crate & about a month after we started on the medication he was able to be crated for several hours without a problem.
-Lisa
I tried taking her to Petsmart for training and she shook the whole time so we never went back. I called a trainer and she said that she wouldn't train our dogs because they sleep in the bed with us.
That is the strangest thing! I have had good and bad experiences with trainers, but not once was I asked if the dogs sleep in our bed. I would either try Petsmart again or call around to find another trainer in your area if you really want to train them. If she's scared of Petsmart you could take her there just to go shopping & make sure she gets a nice treat so she can see that it's a nice place to be. I'm sorry to hear about her hip problems - just one more victim of bad (backyard) breeders & puppy mills.
-Lisa
Our dog tore both her ACL s in a six month period. It cost over $3,000 to fix both legs. I would not have done it any different. I also hired a specialist to to both surgeries. She was just built bad and tore each one running.
Been there, done that! That's why credit cards were invented 
-Lisa
Our dog tore both her ACL s in a six month period. It cost over $3,000 to fix both legs. I would not have done it any different. I also hired a specialist to to both surgeries. She was just built bad and tore each one running.
Been there, done that! That's why credit cards were invented
-Lisa
That was actually our trip to Mexico!
It is very common from what I have heard-Of course did not hear it until it happened!
Hi there, I just joined the site today, I saw your posting and I see it is an older posting however if you have ANY animal questions my sister is an expert in that field.She has and does it all grooming ,training ,agility and so much more. She has a way with animals that still boggles my mind,so if you ever need any advice let me know and I can give you her e-mail address. have a lovely day
czyadgrl & bluehen92
I could not believe that they told me that. I called like 2 or 3 and they said the same thing. I can't remember the reason because it was so long but I do recall them saying that dogs need their own beds and not sleep with owners. Well that is my choice. I was in tears. My dogs are good and they are sometimes treated better than our kids. We don't even take vacations because we don't want to leave them. Someone is always home with our dogs on the weekends. We do have to work but they have each other during the day. Yeah we will do what we have to about her hips. She is 3 years old and we definately are not ready to give her up.
czyadgrl & bluehen92
I could not believe that they told me that. I called like 2 or 3 and they said the same thing. I can't remember the reason because it was so long but I do recall them saying that dogs need their own beds and not sleep with owners.
I am still so surprised by this! We have dog beds scattered around the house and they are all free to sleep where they want (except the 13 week old foster puppy, he sleeps in his crate). One is always on our bed and one other is always on the dog bed next to our bed. I'm going to ask around in our rescue email group to see if anyone else has had this happen 
-Lisa
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