rescue BC afraid to venture outside yard

[sblock]

Hello, all:

This board was a huge help for me a few years ago when we adopted a rescue dog who was thunderphobic and obsessed with the moon. I'm hoping you can help with our new rescue, a two-year-old tri named Morgan. He is a dream dog: affectionate, great with other dogs and people, easy to train. The one problem is that he is afraid to venture far from our back yard. He came from a puppy mill situation in a rural area, followed by a few months in a very good foster home. He's afraid of so many things: bicycles, crying children, car lights, you name it. I thought it would improve with time but we've had him for eight months and he still shuts down after a few feet. We're worried about him getting enough exercise (although we do play frisbee with him in the yard) and it's tough to work on leash training when he shuts down. Suggestions? He loves riding in the car and will go for longer walks/runs when we're in the country.

[Sue R]

Thank you for rescuing yet another needy dog (I mean that in the best possible way)!

 

It sounds to me like he has a lot to overcome as the formative years of his life were apparently very negative. I know others will give much better advice (D'Elle is super and experienced from her time with Kelso) and I hope she sees this and chimes in.

 

In general, I'd tend towards staying near to his comfort zone and working there - whether it's in the house, the yard, the country. Exercise is important but mental exercise is even more so, and so you can do that in the house or yard. Do you have any like-minded friends who might let you "use" their home or yard as an alternative training place when you want a change of place that has fewer distractions/triggers, someone with calm and quiet children who can be part of his "life experiences"?

 

Sometimes, what you need to do is know his limit and try going to that limit, and taking just one more baby step. When he can manage that, then one more.

 

I wish you the very best and know that others can help you where I can't.

[urge to herd]

There's a phrase I keep hearing, from experienced trainers and experienced dog owners: Work with the dog you've got, not the dog you want.

 

So if your boy, (thanks for taking him in, BTW!) is too scared to go far away from your yard, work with him right outside the gate for a while. Ask him to do tricks/behaviors that he's good at just there. Then take him back in your yard or your house and let him chill for a while. Do this at quieter times of the day, for very brief periods.

 

After a few of these outings, he might be interested in taking a few more steps away from the yard/house. Don't go overboard w/praise, sometimes these types of dogs get overwhelmed when there's too much fuss made. Keep your encouragement low-keyed: soft 'good-boy', etc.

 

Let him set the pace. He might surprise you and make some leaps and bounds, on the other hand, it might take him several more months to get used to noises/lights, etc. And he might never be comfortable around crying babies.

 

Keep taking him to quieter areas, like your trips to the country. And if he loves riding in cars, consider taking him just outside your yard, giving him one or two behaviors to do, then popping him in the car to run errands. Use that as a reward.

 

It sounds like you're basically doing all the right things, you just need to slow way down and let him go at his own speed.

 

It can be a long process, but it is so rewarding to see this kind of dog blossom! Again, good for you for taking him in.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

[alligande]

You might have already read this thread about Kelso, but if not it inspiring and might also give you some ideas. http://www.bordercollie.org/boards/index.php?showtopic=31080&hl=kelso

[D'Elle]

You have gotten good advice so far and I will echo these two points most emphatically:

Work with the dog you have. This also means don't be ambitious for the dog and don't have expectations. He may never be the dog you would wish he could be. Or, he may surpass your hopes. Having expectations will limit your patience and will hinder your relationship. Take the attitude that you love him just the way he is and he doesn't have to change for you.

 

And, work in his comfort zone and don't be in a hurry. If you want him to go out of the yard, my experience tells me that the way to approach it is not to take him out of the yard at all at first. Since you say he shuts down after a few feet, don't take him to the shut-down point. Just take him to the gate, leaving it closed. Then give him treats, or praise, petting, play, whatever reward he likes best. Do that for several days. Then repeat the same, but with the gate open for several days. Don't take him outside the gate, just let him have fun right at the gate with it open. The next step would be halfway out the gate, for several days. And so on. Literally one step at a time, not several feet at a time. Any time that he starts to show signs of shutting down, you back up and repeat the previous step for several days again. Take this very very slowly, and break it down into the most tiny steps you possibly can - smaller than you even think it needs to be.

 

I know this seems tedious. but it is the best way to avoid major setbacks.

 

To get Kelso out the front door I first moved his food bowl toward the front door one inch at a time over the course of many days. One inch per day. I know that may sound too ridiculously slow but it wasn't. Puppy mill dogs are severely damaged. Think PTSD squared. They can recover - Kelso did - but it takes a very long time. Don't rush him. If you rush him you may destroy weeks of work.

 

Thanks so much for taking on this dog. I will help in any way I can.

[sblock]

Thank you! I read the thread on Kelso and found the story tremendously inspiring and helpful. We are making good progress. Treats help!

[alligande]

If you search for Kelso you should find D'elles latest updates as well. The Kelso story has such a happy ending.

[WickAndArtoo]

Have you tried taking him in a car to a new area that he doesn't walk to from the house? Or somewhere like the woods where he can explore without running into scary things (children bikes cars etc).

[sblock]

Have you tried taking him in a car to a new area that he doesn't walk to from the house? Or somewhere like the woods where he can explore without running into scary things (children bikes cars etc).

Yes, we have, and it works pretty well, although we can never predict what will spook him. For example, a couple of weeks ago we took him running on a wooded towpath, and a train went by in the distance. He simply refused to go any further after that.

[WickAndArtoo]

Yes, we have, and it works pretty well, although we can never predict what will spook him. For example, a couple of weeks ago we took him running on a wooded towpath, and a train went by in the distance. He simply refused to go any further after that.

Aw poor little guy I'm so sorry for both of you! Have you tried a thunder jacket or a working backpack? I have heard this can be very calming for dogs with high nervousness like that.

[D'Elle]

Yes, we have, and it works pretty well, although we can never predict what will spook him. For example, a couple of weeks ago we took him running on a wooded towpath, and a train went by in the distance. He simply refused to go any further after that.

Once again, I will suggest strongly that you work with him within his threshold and do not take him (in the car or otherwise) out of the yard until he is comfortable with it. Taking him someplace where he then has a bad experience, such as you describe above, is very counter-productive.

[D'Elle]

Aw poor little guy I'm so sorry for both of you! Have you tried a thunder jacket or a working backpack? I have heard this can be very calming for dogs with high nervousness like that.

A thundershirt is not designed for this kind of thing, and is not likely to be helpful, although you never know. A backpack only will add another level of complexity to the issue and I would not recommend it. The main thing is not to take him out of the yard at all until he is ready for it, and this takes time and patience. There just are not any shortcuts, and if a person tries to take shortcuts with a fearful dog it will prove to be counter-productive every time.

[WickAndArtoo]

A thundershirt is not designed for this kind of thing, and is not likely to be helpful, although you never know. A backpack only will add another level of complexity to the issue and I would not recommend it. The main thing is not to take him out of the yard at all until he is ready for it, and this takes time and patience. There just are not any shortcuts, and if a person tries to take shortcuts with a fearful dog it will prove to be counter-productive every time.

I have read that the use of the thunder shirt can be very calming while working on the fearful situations, I wasn't trying to suggest a shortcut, only a tool while training. I agree that slow progress is very important and shortcuts don't work. I was curious earlier about the trips to other places because much of what was scaring the dog was in town scenarios and I wanted to know if it was fearful without those stressors. Our adult rescue was very nervous inside the house (he had been a stray) but on walks in the woods he was very confident and happy, I just was curious if it was similar.

[sblock]

An update, and thanks again for all of the good advice; we are making good progress. In the past few weeks, he's ventured farther from our house in the city than ever before. But it's not linear: there are still days when he doesn't want to go much past the gate, and when that happens, we just go back inside and play with the frisbee for a while.

[urge to herd]

Progress is progress! Good news, thanks for sharing.

 

And I want to let you know, some days I don't want to go very far from home, too.

 

Keep up the great work.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

[D'Elle]

And I want to let you know, some days I don't want to go very far from home, too.

 

Ruth and Gibbs

LOL, me too.

[GentleLake]

^^ And me. In fact, I'm having one of those days today.