New here, Hello and Thank you! :)))

[nancy in AZ]

Andrea,

Sky is such a beautiful girl. I think she looks like a BC/coyote mix

 

Your description of her anxiety makes me think that she may benefit from psychotropic medication, even if only as a temporary step to help get her past her fears until she can *learn* that her fears are groundless. When a dog is in an anxious state it becomes harder for them to process learning behavior.

 

One of my dogs exhibited fear aggressiveness when I brought him home after I found him as a stray. After beginning in the exact wrong direction, I found a veterinary behaviorist who prescribed behavior exercises along with a mild anti-anxiety drug. He was able to make steady progress afterward. The medication didn't make him dopey at all, it simply raised his trigger point to a higher level so he wouldn't be quite so quick to react. In this way I could very gradually introduce him to situations where he had previously exhibited fear or aggression under very controlled circumstances, and he was able to learn to accept them much better. He's been off the meds for about 6 months now, and continues to progress, though I would never deliberately put him in a situation that was more than he could handle. You may want to do a search on these boards for fearful or shy dogs. There are several older threads that address the issue as well reading recommendations and links to many web sites you may find helpful.

 

Best of luck.

[Krambambuli]

Hi Nancy!

Coyote, why not? Somebody told me, and I'm pretty sure they ment it in a totally nice way, that she looks like a hyena.

 

Believe me, I have thought about meds! I don't know enough about the medications, but I'll try to find more info, and see how people fare with them, or rather their dogs. How about genetics versus behavior? Do meds work on both? Hm, I'll do a search and see what I can find out. Glad it helped your dog!!

 

 

Thanks,

Andrea

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I wish I had been there, to hear how someone said, "Your dog looks like a hyena," in a totally nice way! ROFL . . .

 

I agree that she looks like either she's got some terrier, or some corgi in her. Michigan is the homeland of sport bred Border Collies and "height dog" crosses so it wouldn't surprise me at all. But she looks like she's got a lot of Border Collie in her, too.

[2 Devils]

She almost looks like she could have koolie in her...

[Krambambuli]

I wish I had been there, to hear how someone said, "Your dog looks like a hyena," in a totally nice way! ROFL . . .

 

I agree that she looks like either she's got some terrier, or some corgi in her. Michigan is the homeland of sport bred Border Collies and "height dog" crosses so it wouldn't surprise me at all. But she looks like she's got a lot of Border Collie in her, too.

 

 

I was speechless for a minute, and I do wonder about my face at that moment. But this was a nice, older lady who lives up the street, and just wanted to talk, so I swallowed and we had a nice conversation.

 

Andrea

[BustopherJones]

I recounted this story once before, but it is appropriate to this discussion. I was walking Annie in our neighborhood one day when a woman in a SUV stopped, rolled down her window, and said, "Omigosh!!! I thought you were walking a fox!!!" I patiently explained to her that, in our environs, foxes were red-and-white, not black-and-white. And Missy has been mistaken for a coyote (albeit a black-and-white one) on more than one occasion...