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Alice's Fears HELP!

Discussion in 'Training & Behavior' started by KlownBaby19, Apr 21, 2010.

  1. I'VE TRIED EVERYTHING! I tried handing people treats to give to her, i've tried the "sit by her and ignore her technique" I've tried picking her up and letting people pet her that way, she just is frightened of people! WHAT CAN I DO TO GET HER TO LIKE PEOPLE AND STOP BEING SO DAMN SCARED?

    She has the same issue with dogs, she can sniff them but god forbid they sniff her or even get near her!

    She is also afraid of trucks, 18 wheeler types, or just vehicles with loud engines, she cowers and lowers herself to the ground when they drive by. Its not as bad as it used to be but its so annoying!

    PLEASE HALP MEH! Because I'm moving into a big city, where EVERY HUMAN BEING ON EARTH is going to want to pet her, almost everyone will have a loud engine and I dont want her to stress herself into any serious illness
     
  2. Boss' Mom

    Boss' Mom Big Dog

    Hi there,

    I've never had a fearful dog so I really don't have first hand experience. I am not sure if you've read any of Cesar Millan's techniques, but he has some very good advice. I would recommend you read his book. Obviously, the dog needs some kind of correction from you. What, I do not know (sorry I don't want to tell you something that may make the situation worse as I am not sure of the severity of her fear?). Sounds bad - but not sure if she's aggressive out of fear as well, or if she just cowers? Check out his website or the national geograhic website which has clips from tons of episodes if you can't get the book.

    Was she well socialized as a puppy and how old is she now? Have you worked with a trainer at all?
     
  3. outrightmike

    outrightmike CH Dog

    how old is she?is she fearfull when you two are alone?or does she hide all the time?
     
  4. outrightmike

    outrightmike CH Dog

    check out in search(a shy pitbull is a pathetic creature indead).
     
  5. catchdog

    catchdog Top Dog

    shes not right,somethin is wrong with that dog
     
  6. Dreamer

    Dreamer Big Dog

    Think long and hard before you stress this dog anymore.

    This dog is miserable. I would keep her away from people before she gets so stressed and fearful that she lashes out.

    I would think long and hard before you let this dog continue to lead a miserable existence. If you have to work this hard with a dog to get them to come around, they aren't "right".

    Dreamer
     
  7. Zoe

    Zoe CH Dog

    Is there ANYTHING that brings her out of her shell? Is she aggressing at all or just scared?
     
  8. Do NOT do this. Cesar Millan's technique that is being talked about here is known as flooding.... Your dog obviously has fear issues that need to be worked with, but taking your dog and exposing her to her fears over and over until she hits her breaking point and is simply TOO overwhelmed to have a fear trigger any longer IS NOT the solution. If you flood this dog you WILL cause more issues.

    Now one of the biggest questions here is what are you doing when your dog shows fear? Are you petting her and talking to her reassuringly? Are you ignoring the fearful response? Your reaction here will have a large impact on how the dog acts. For all we know at this point, you may even be reinforcing the dog's behavior by inadvertently praising her when she is scared by trying to calm her down.

    So before writing off the dog as a lost cause, the first thing to do is to access how you have been reacting to her fear.
     
  9. Boss' Mom

    Boss' Mom Big Dog


    Do NOT do what? I suggested she pick up his book...? I didn't tell her to do anything. All I said is that she needs some correction from her leader and then asked her some questions?

    Dogs recover quickly and we don't know if the dog is being corrected or encouraged (even if not on purpose) by her owner. That might be all the dog needs - we really don't know the severity of her fear.

    What is your suggestion?
     
  10. Plain and simple?

    Do NOT apply Cesar Millan's methods to your dogs. They are archaic, not fact based, and many scientific studies have proven they do more damage than good.

    How does he handle fear? By flooding - a stupid technique. It would be the equivalent of me saying I was scared of spiders and you proposing I solve the issue by being locked in a closet full of spiders for 10 hours... flooding is only a viable training method in very rare circumstances.

    Also his whole training basis is flawed and has been exposed as so by true dog experts many times over. Domination is not about the physical - you don't need gimmicks like "hands that imitate bites on the neck", domination is 99% mental. Not to mention there are VERY few breeds who would ever need the level of "dominance" Cesar uses to get results. I own a truly primitive Spitz dog breed and I can tell you without a doubt, my dog is genetically closer to a wolf and needs much more firm and dominant hand than an APBT or another breed - and STILL even with my primitive Asian Spitz breed dominance is NOT applied in the ways he seems to believe.

    If she wants her broken fearful dog to simply become more broken and fearful, sure she should go watch Cesar Millan.... go right ahead. :eek:

    This page has many links to different resources explaining why his dominance theory is wrong:

    Dog Whisperer, Dog Psychology and Cesar Millan
     
  11. That would be exactly why I said in my post, first things first - we need to determine how she has been reacting to the dog's fear issues.... even by having good intentions, she could be making the issue worse.

    For the record, I have extensive experience with dogs with extreme fear and trauma issues. An example? One of the APBT's I owned actually had neurological brain damage as a result of being beaten over the head with a lead pipe by his previous handler. This dog was such a mess it was unbelievable. His fear however would be on the most extreme end of things as it was a combination of brain damage and fear due to his experiences, the OP may not even have a dog on that level. Which is why I said we first need more information from her about the issues at hand and how both she and the dog are reacting. Training is not a one size fits all methodology - so at this point, I don't have a magical suggestion because I don't have enough experience.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 22, 2010
  12. Sorry cut that sentence short - should say because I don't have enough experience with or knowledge of the OP's dog. She needs to give more information before I could even pretend to have advice to give her. Every dog is different and just throwing out random advice could do more harm than good at this point.
     
  13. todd

    todd Pup

    we have a two year old female and she is people shy and the other two females in her litter are shy too but she is getting better thou but still a long way to go and we have had her since she was six months old just takes time
     
  14. Boss' Mom

    Boss' Mom Big Dog


    OMG that's horrendous. I don't understand how someone could do this to a dog.

    But yeah I agree. I wasn't meaning to say "oh do this or that" I just wanted to recommend a source of info for her/him (sorry OP!). Not everyone seems to agree with Cesar Millan's techniques, but I've always found his book helpful to understand dog behaviour so I thought the OP could benefit from it, too.
     
  15. DryCreek

    DryCreek CH Dog

    Personally, I enjoy Ceasar Milan, he's very straight forward and basic.

    BUT

    His techniques, at least the one's I've seen (don't have his books) are for dogs that have issues, NOT for puppy/dog training. I don't remember him ever saying that this is how to train a pup...

    The "cases" he deals with are supposed to be last chance dogs with serious issues. If he saves dogs, who cares if he does it against "common" beliefs as long as the owner can maintain.

    A combination of training techniques geared to the specific dog is my suggestion. Investigate them and incorporate what works best for your dog. Clicker, NILIF etc...

    And I agree, knowing how the owner reacts when their dog acts this way is very important as they may be encouraging this behavior without realizing it. A dog can learn how to "fake" injuries or pain just to get the attention it wants.
     
  16. Leslie H

    Leslie H Big Dog

  17. i take her around ppl all the time, and she tucks her tail and runs everytime someone tries to touch her, and I bring her out and have to hold her in place so someone can pet her, she wont bite, she just cowers
     
  18. ummm..not sure what can bring her out, if someone else gives her a treat she throws it down and gives that person a very nasty "fuck you" look and hides behind me or just leans on me and I just try to pull her out from behind me or out of hiding
     
  19. Zoe

    Zoe CH Dog

    Does she have any interest in toys at all? Any sort of toy drive? My first girl was VERY shy but she was also very toy and food driven. They can actually be a good tools to help them progress. Maybe try a more high value treat like cheese or meat. And get her further away from the person to start, have the person not looking at her, their body not facing directly at her, or them even sitting on the ground would be better as it's not as intimidating and just get them to toss treats in her direction. You don't want to push her past her threshold with people. Let her approach them at her own comfort level. Never force her to be petted. You want HER to be making the choice to go towards the person. It can be a long haul with shy dogs. It was a good few years before my girl was to the point where people couldn't believe she ever had any issues with shyness..
     
  20. thank you so much
     

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