Possible trauma related fear

[sweet_ceana]

Obviously we do not know Tripp's past (our new foster), so we are trying to peice together some things. He is a very scared and anti-social boy. He lays with his face to the wall, and his back out towards every room. When he is corrected he immedietly tucks his head into his "business." It is habitual movement without thinking. He gets told "ehh," and his head goes right to his crotch. If a dog gets in his space he will lunge at them and start a noisy, but not teeth envolved fight. It is more of a "LEAVE ME ALONE," then an intention to hurt. He is terrified of toys and other dogs running. Poor Ceana and Poke are going through withdrawls because toys can not be left down or else he just flips out. We have been placing kibble in the kibble ball for him, and he is tolerating a toy, but he is still a little hesitant that it is not evil.

 

He is smart so I pulled out the clicker and we worked on some basic commands tonight. He would flinch from the clicker and shake when told to do a command. He was scared to take any kibble from my hand at first but quickly began to love the treat. We practiced, sit, down, here and his name. After quite a few times of saying his name and clicking and treating eye contact he did not flinch as bad at the clicker. He caught onto everything after telling him the second time. He is a very bright boy. We practiced for about 5 minutes, just enough that it was not so scary or stressful.

 

He has a chunk missing out of his ear, and last night when I was rubbing his belly for the first time, I noticed what look like some old puncture scars on his face on the same side as the missing ear. I can guess that possibly he was attacked by another dog and that is why he is terrified of the other dogs he comes in contact with, but again he is a foster so who knows.

 

Does anyone have any good games or techniques to build his confidence. He is soooo sad. It breaks my heart. I want to do everything I can to bring him out of his shell.

 

Thanks in advance for your help.

[mbc1963]

Hmm... Sounds a lot like my dog when I first brought him home. Except I didn't have other dogs here to contend with, so he could be in a quiet zone inside the house.

 

Can you start by giving him a space that doesn't have dogs running and lots of commotion? Sounds like he might simply be overwhelmed right now and need some decompression time. A quiet room where he could be shut in alone, or crated without other dogs getting at him? By the way you describe his posture, it sounds like he's trying to insulate himself from the things that are apparently overwhelming him.

 

Early on, my dog couldn't be near another dog or he'd have that fear/growling reaction. Even across the street was too close for him to walk. Eventually, I figured out that he was a lot more comfortable being well behind another person or dog. He could sniff their scent and get used to their motions while keeping an eye on them. Lots of treats when appropriately behaved. Lots of safe introductions from a distance. Gradually, he began to feel safe with individual dogs, and could go off leash with them. Slowly, he generalized this to realize that he's safe around here, and that people and dogs can pass and not be frightening. It took a long time, though - like months. And he still doesn't like it when other dogs charge into his space. He'll still react to that. '

 

I'd say slow and steady wins the race. Sounds like Tripp is going to need some time to just figure out what's going on, and some more time to get used to your dogs, and then more time to get used to the rest of the world. If the social whirl is making him shut down, I'd say it's fair to give him lengthy time-outs where he can recoup and destress in between positive moments (like your short treating/training sessions) that make him see socialization can be good.

 

Good luck! You're doing a good thing!

 

Mary

[Wendy V]

I don't know the answer to this question, but it makes me wonder if using something like "rescue remedy" would help.

[Maralynn]

He sounds a bit like Missy when I first got her - "I'm scared and can't trust the world"

 

I'd pretty much second everything Mary has said

 

Give him a "safe spot' away from the other dogs, keep things consistent but very low key for a week or two - let him watch the world from his crate and figure out that it is safe and good before he needs to interact with it.

 

And keep up short clickers sessions, but up the reward to bits of cooked meat or cheese.

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

I would just use a period of "quiet time" to help unravel this dog's discomfort. I had a dog a couple years ago precisely like that. He hadn't been mistreated in any previous home, as I knew pretty much his whole history. He was just a sensitive dog and had at least four homes before he was much over a year old and he had HAD it. It was like he was saying, "I have no idea what got me kicked out of all those 'packs' and this time I'm taking no chances!"

 

This kind of shutdown behavior is called learned helplessness. Normally you see it in a dog/animal/person that's really, really abused - but it can happen to a dog with poor adaptive skills, just as an instinctive reaction to multiple quick changes in scenery.

 

What you have to teach this dog is that you expect nothing from him except a very simple routine. Ignore his attitudes of misery and any future appeasement behavior like peeing, throwing himself down belly up or flat on the ground, crying, etc. It's really hard, I know, but you aren't doing psychic damage - you'll have to trust me on this one.

 

If it helps you be consistent, jot down a routine to follow with him for the first week. He'll be crated as if he were recovering from a severe injury. Schedule lots and lots of short walks. Break up his feeding into at least three meals if possible, four if possible even. Have him drag a short piece of cord so you don't have to touch him to "encourage" him to accompany you on frequent walks.

 

Don't talk to him or fuss at him during walks - don't worry if he lags behind, if you have to practically drag him to do his business, or if he suddenly does the opposite and starts bolting ahead. If he does seem to need a lot of space it's okay to clip on a longer leash than the short drag line - but not a flexi or a long line, yet.

 

Don't mess with him when you aren't doing something on schedule. Resist the urge to try to "cure" him with clicker training. He's removed himself into a world where any interaction is painful - you've got to get him back to "talking" with people again before you can try that.

 

Once he gets to the point where he's greeting you at your arrival at the crate at each "event" in the routine, you can give him more space, but still give him a space that's his own, away from the other dogs in the household. Stick with the schedule for a couple more weeks unless you see a HUGE change in his attitude towards you during that time.

 

By the way, make sure all the humans in the household participate in his routine, even just one walk or delivering a meal.

 

When he starts really enthusiastically greeting you and other humans and most importantly seeking attention, you can start training. Keep it very simple and if the clicker bothers him, forget it. Use a marker word or just go with simple reward for behavior training for now. You have to build up the concept that "I can earn attention and rewards." Just like you had to build up the idea that "attention is nice."

 

It took about two months before Eddie was anywhere near ready for advanced training, in his case, and he still had a lot of issues. Sometimes these cases seem to reverse themselves within a few weeks - and I've had dogs I had to work on for six months just to get them adoptable.

 

It's always worth it because these sensitive, clever dogs are great fun once they trust people to be fair, and understand their expectations.

 

Good luck! Also agree with the Rescue Remedy by the way, although there's a Bach remedy that is even more specific for rescue trauma that I used to use. It's Chestnut Bud - I used it in combination with RR, I think it helped at least the first couple of days. I believe if you start a dog on it right at transfer, it works better to head off any unpleasant connections that might be made.

[beachdogz]

I agree with Rebecca's entire reply...I think it is very solid advice. My dog was in no way abused or traumatized before I got her...she came from a loving home. Yet, when I tried to see if she shook hands (3 or 4 days after I brought her home) she growled and ran away from me. When I tried to brush her, she tried to bite me. I started trying to attribute these things to her past experiences, and I thought she was "damaged" by them. What I have found is that she was just trying to adjust, and I was throwing too many things at her. If I had it to do again, I would simply let her settle in at her own rate; not push anything at all; and wait until she came to me for those types of interactions.

 

Now, "shake hands" is no problem and brushing is no big deal. Probably never was a problem, just me trying to make things happen too quickly.

 

With your dog, having been so traumatized, Rebecca's advice seems even more sound...to let the dog adjust and build his trust up. He will let you know when he's ready for the next step.

 

Even with my dog who was not traumatized, I cannot imagine what she thought being taken out of her home and thrust into a strangers house. So for the traumatized dog, this must be even worse. It is a wonderful thing you are doing. I'm sure it will take time, but I'm also sure you will be successful. There was a previous post where someone described a dog that "shuts down" and compared it to someone on an elevator. That was a very enlightening post for me, and if you can find it, it is worth reading (or you may already have)

 

B

[Sue R]

There was a previous post where someone described a dog that "shuts down" and compared it to someone on an elevator. That was a very enlightening post for me, and if you can find it, it is worth reading (or you may already have)

 

B

That, too, was a post by Rebecca if I remember correctly and an excellent description. Thanks for the advice that has been given here and in previous posts on this subject. It's been very enlightening.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Mary and Rebecca have given very sound advice. Let him settle in with a nice routine etc. he'll come around.

 

There is another thing you could try out. TTouch, by Linda Tellington-Jones. It's a type of massage for animals that helps different types of issues they may have. I've just started looking into it and when Daisy is stressed out I do it on her and she seems to settle much quicker than if I were to do nothing. It's very interesting.

 

julie

[urge to herd]

Another vote for Becca's advic/experience. If we ever take in another dog as shell shocked as Shonie was, we'll do exactly that kind of routine. Getting Shonie really settled into our home took much longer because we pushed it, and didn't know we were just prolonging her discomfort.

 

Good for you for taking this boy in!

 

Ruth

[sweet_ceana]

Thank you so much you guys! This helps a lot! He absolutely freaks out in a crate, so his safe spot has been the kitchen. (He is not liking my bathroom door at the moment either, but he can not be left all day to roam the house) That is the area that he seems to go to get away from everyone. Towards the end of last night he even started scooting out and watching us all from behind the kitchen table. We will continue to go about our business as usual routine. If he joins in, he joins in. If not, he can continue to decompress.

 

He loves soft things, so I may just take the top off the crate and place his bed inside the bottom and leave it in the bathroom with him while we are at work. The only time he really seeks attention is at night. He has been with us for a week, and last night he hopped up on the bed and snuggled me for about 20 minutes before getting off to fall asleep. He also hopped up on the bed to greet me this morning. The only problem with that is he stayed up there for 25 minutes getting his snuggles before I had to call it quits. The in -laws are flying in today and I couldn't clean the house by staying in bed with him all day. The great thing about this morning is he let Poke lay with us for a while. (Poke does not stay in one spot for very long so it was short lived, but still a success!)

 

What is rescue remedy? (sp?)

[bc friend]

Like everyone else, I agree with Becca. I'd also suggest that once he becomes comfortable with you, if you have a soft submissive dog in your pack , that you give you the foster some one-on-one time with the submissive dog. A dog that won't challenge him over food or toys but will try to make friends without being a pest may help build his confidence and help him accept other dogs in his world. After all, every dog needs a friend.

 

You can get Rescue Remedy at health food stores - it's a natural product for people and pets that has a calming effect. http://www.rescueremedy.com/ I've used it for years for stressed dogs.

[bexie]

Have you ever looked at "Control Unleashed"? It may be able to give you some ideas that can help. If the clicker makes him nervous, what about just saying "yes" or clicking your tongue or making some other noise that is less disturbing for him? I would wait a while on commands and for now just focus on rewarding him lots of different places so he starts feeling safe and trusting you.