Fear Aggression

[Travlingman]

Our lab of 16 years passed away this past January. The first of August we adopted a roughly 2 year old lab mix from a rescue organazation. We know she was from a divorce couple and neither wanted her. For the first week she was friendly toward meeting new people, usually would go straight to laying on her back with legs up in a submissive position. But after the first week she would start to growl when a person came up. On walks she would be scared of a bird flying from a tree, cows, about everything. The growling at people turned into actual agreession with her trying to bite the vet on her visit.

I took her to a dog trainer/behaviolist and his first statement when he saw her was that she was scared. When he tried to walk her she went after him and I mean for blood. He said that from his obervation that she had never been socialized and showed signs of abuse. He also said that training might aliviate the problem some, but she would always have to be watched as she could never be trusted.

We know from her actions at home that she has been abused. If my wife picks up a shoe she will cower like she is about to be hit. She wouldn't even go into the bathroom at first so we figure that she must have been confined to a small room. With us, she is very loving. Wants to be an 85 pound lap dog. She has never shown agression to me, but has barked at the wife, so we think her abuser was a woman.

The trainer has offered training, but at over $2000 and with him saying he couldn't guarantee, I have a hard time going with that.

I am trying to socialize her to people by taking to Lowes or other stores and letting her walk around but making sure to keep people at a distance.

I have looked at a basket muzzle and wanted to know if anyone has tried these and had good luck? Was thinking maybe with this she could get closer to people, some petting her and show there is nothing to be afraid of.

Has anyone had a dog with fear agression and what did you do? Is it cureable? The only other change since we got her was that we changed the food she was on at rescue, Purina One to Taste of the Wild. Don't think food could cause this.

Taking her back to rescue it not an option for us, as we made a commitment to her and will not give up.

[ReneeG]

To the OP, just wondering how your dog is doing now?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

You have done an amazing job with your dog!!!

[Scottiemom]

You're doing a great job with Sahara. Thanks for rescuing and for not giving up on her.

God bless all rescuers.

Dale

[ReneeG]

That's amazing progress. I'm so glad you decided to work with her rather than give her up. Thanks for letting us know.

[Travlingman]

Thought I would give an update on Sahara.

We came across some information from the rescue group she came from. Originally we thought she was around 2 years old but found out she is close to 4. At some time in her life, she was in the Miami Florida area as her ID chip was from that area according to the company. Don't know all of her journey from there to TN, but it doesn't appear to be a good one.

Know for how she is doing since last time I updated. She has really started to come out of her shell and start acting more like a lab. By that I mean more adventurism, wanting to play, explore, nosey.

She is starting to act better around people. When out on a walk, if she sees someone at a distance, she might bark 1 time. If they walk up to talk, she shows no aggresion, just stands for a few minutes and will lay down if conversation goes longer.

We are presently at the beach, and she is being exposed to new things that she has never experienced from the way she acts. Even though she came through Miami, she doesn't act like she had saw the ocean before. When a wave would come in, she initially ran from the water. After letting her see it wasn't something to be scared about, she didn't run but just walked along us on the beach in the water.

The biggest thing she overcame was riding a golf cart. We rented one and she didn't even want to get near it. We started getting her around it and eventually put her on the backseat with my wife and she rode there. You could tell she was scared, but we went slow and you could see the fear subside. After a while, my wife came up front and she rode some by her herself.

Later in the afternoon I took her outside by the cart, and she jumped up in the front floorboard. I patted on the front seat and she jumped up and we went for a ride. Wife came out and set in the back and we rode for a while longer. After dinner I took her out, she jumped up and we rode for an hour and you could see the fear level was very low. You could also see her grin as she was enjoying the ride.

One good thing about this was after all of the time we spent riding around, seeing people, dogs, just so many new things for her to experience, never did she bark or show any signs of being upset.

I know this is small steps for most dogs, but for her it has been a leap. T

[Pawz4me]

That's an awesome update! Good job!

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

That is heartwarming news!! Great job!

Sometimes it IS all about the introductions. My Aussie Ike wanted nothing to do with men - I suspect there had been abuse from his prior owner's husband. But when my son-in-law Creig first visited after we got Ike and I explained the dog's fear of men, Creig got down on his hands and knees and did a "play bow" to Ike. Ike immediately responded in happy play - and a bond was forged that lasted Ike's lifetime. Some people just know how to tell a dog "I will never hurt you".

[ReneeG]

That's great news Travelingman. Sahara's improved behaviour is a huge testament to your working with her and your kindness.

[dturm]

Fantastic!! It also helps when you encounter people who really know dogs and their behavior and also know how to interact. Well done.

[Travlingman]

An update on Sahara. We went on our first trip of the year. We haven't been out much the last few months due to issues other than Sahara, so I was worried how she would react to people. We walked around the campground 2-3 times a day, and she never had an issue with anyone. She would do the usual Lab bark, sees someone and lets you know they are there, but no agression.

One walk turned out to make the trip. As we were coming down a section, a guy standing at the end of the lane commented to his wife how pretty Shahara was. As they approached with their Golden Retriever puppy, I asked them not to try and pet her and told them why. They understood perfectly and we talked about someone who would harm a dog. Well, Sahara and their pup decided it was playtime, and they started having a big time. It was great to see her so happy playing. About this time, a friend of theirs walked up with a lab and he decided to join in the fun too. The first gentlemen I spoke to, bent down and stuck his hand out for Sahara to sniff. She slowly went up and sniffed, then put her head under his hand for him to pet her. He started petting and she just stood there and enjoyed it.

We had told the 2nd gentlemen who walked up her story, but he went ahead and bent down and stuck out his hand. This time Sahara just walked over, let him start petting her and rubbed up against him. She set there and let him pet her until we left. To say this was the highlight of the trip, would be an underestatement.

I had hoped to get her in the dog park with their dogs, but didn't. Everytime we went to the park, there was always other people in the area and I don't feel comfortable letting her off leash with people in the area.

But, again I saw some progress. I have noticed around other dogs seems to help her accept people. Still working on her training and have also been working on getting her comfortable with a muzzle to take her out to a Lowes or such to be around more people. Almost forgot, Sahara and my wife are best buds. Of course this means my wife now has a 90 lb. lap dog.

[xteacher]

I'm so glad that Sahara has made such good progress! Thank you for your patience and love as she continues her socialization and training process.

[Travlingman]

sgfrye wrote:


great news and great work and patience. my wife and i have been a foster home for a chihuahua rescue for several years. 2 of our fosters along the way we ended up adopting after 2 years of fostering them. They both have been with us for a total of 4 years. Momma Girl was rescued from a puppy mill kept in a small wire cage 24/7 and Meg came from a 40 dog hoarding case.

they continue to have trust issues but they still make slow progress and are 2 of the sweetest dogs ive know.

Thank you for helping the pups by fostering. It takes someone very special to be able to do that in my opinion. It sounds like Momma Girl and Meg have found a great home with great parents, and they deserve that.

[sgfrye]

Travlingman wrote:

ReneeG wrote:
Hey Travelingman, how is Sahara doing?

Thank you for asking ReneeG.

She has been doing great. She has become very comfortable around the house. She no longer shows any fear about me or my wife. I told about when we first got her, that she had showed some agression when my wife came out of the bedroom with heeled shoes on the wood floors. After getting her use to seeing my wife in her Sunday clothes and then letting her hear the shoes, she now runs up and tells her goodbye for the day. She knows around the time she should be back and will jump off the couch and go to door and start listening for her. When she hears the garage door open up, she will start dancing and whinning and then lay down at the door until she comes in. Then the happy dance starts.

It is kind of funny. Our last lab was a female too and was "my" girl. She loved my wife, but was "my" dog. If I did something, she was by my side. Inside or outside, she had to be there. My wife would say that she hoped she had a dog one day. This weekend I was outside and took Sahara. My wife was inside cleaning and Sahara made me bring her back inside and she would follow my wife around or would lay down so she could watch her. Now, whenever my wife sets on the couch, Sahara will jump and lay down beside her. Tonight she jumped up, laid down beside her and put her head in my wifes lap and went to sleep. My wife looked over and said, "well, it looks like I got that a dog I wanted."

With the weather we have had, she hasn't been out much but hopefully spring will be here soon. I have noticed though, that a few times we have been out that if another dog comes up with a person, she acts very calm. She doesn't even bark at the person. We also found some video of her from the rescue where she was in a dog park and had no issues with people. So, we are wondering if another dog might help her with people. We also found out she is around 4 years old verses the 2 1/2 we thought. So we know that she had been mistreated for longer than we thought.

Forgot to mention that she is responding well to learning commands. She is a quick learner and we just need to practice more.

To see the progress she has made in the 6 months we have had her, to me is amazing. Yes, she is still scared of some new things, but we understand that. We know we have to watch her from now on, but we are OK with that. She is our baby, and she now knows that.

great news and great work and patience. my wife and i have been a foster home for a chihuahua rescue for several years. 2 of our fosters along the way we ended up adopting after 2 years of fostering them. They both have been with us for a total of 4 years. Momma Girl was rescued from a puppy mill kept in a small wire cage 24/7 and Meg came from a 40 dog hoarding case.

they continue to have trust issues but they still make slow progress and are 2 of the sweetest dogs ive know.

[ReneeG]

Wow! What wonderful news! Thanks so much for responding and providing the update. I just had to smile a huge smile when I read "well, it looks like I got that dog I wanted."

It's so sad to know of any dog that has suffered in one way or another. We have a little Rat Terrier that we adopted at a year old and although we've had her since 2014, she still shows signs of abuse, but has come a long way. We have never abused her only showered her with love and affection and yet she still shows some apprehension with us. We just coo to her and gently pet her and she always relaxes and paws us seeking for strokes.

Take care and keep up the good work.