Help for very nervous dog

picklepick

As some of you might know I'm a dogwalker for a living. Lucky me!

I have been walking a dog daily who has a severe problem with anxiety and nervousness.

He quite simply hates being outside. His head is down, his tail between his legs, he pants and licks his lips constantly.He physically shakes from fear, any sudden noises or gusts of wind make him worse. I just feel so sorry for the poor boy. He's constantly trying to pull in the direction of home or to where the car is parked.

I've tried making it fun for him by throwing sticks, a ball etc which he just ignores.

I've tried offering him treats, which he again ignores!

Anyone got any words if wisdom that might help this poor boy?
I almost feel like im torturing him by taking him out but he has to go i suppose!

Thanks

foreign_correspondent

ooh, its hard to say - Do you know why he is nervous and whether he always has been? What sort of dog is he? How old? Is he like this with his owner or just with you? do you walk him alone or with other dogs?

Notsosharp

Hello,

I don't really know much about dogs to be honest....but my Mum recently rescued an extremely timid border collie. What she was told to do was to walk in front of the dog (if you can) so that he knows you are going to protect him, or put him behind you when you see something approaching he seems nervous of.....

Smelly cheese also works well apparently.

picklepick

Hes not always been like these as far as i can tell. Ive spoken to his owners about it, they arent very helpful. They say hes not like that with them but having spoken to other people who walk their dogs in the same park, he is! Hes a border collie, and hes about 2 or 3.

It makes no difference wether hes walked alone or with other dogs. If he is with others they might try to engage him to play and he just turns his head away and ignores them!

picklepick

I've tried walking in front of him but its pretty much impossible, hes have my feet out from under me i think!

Its such a shame cos hes such a lovely dog when hes in the house!

foreign_correspondent

oh dear, I wondered if he was a collie, but I dont know many collies that are not interested in fetching a ball!

I think perseverance, treats and routine may be useful here - and yes, smelly cheese is good! Maybe as the area you walk becomes more familiar to him it will become less worrying.

What does he like? - he doesnt seem easily motiveted by balls or treats, do you know what gets a wag out of him? Maybe fetching the ball involved going to far from you, have you tried other games with him that may feel safer? a squeaky toy maybe?

picklepick

well the area i walk him in is the same park hes been going to since he was a puppy, so im not hopeful that thats going to improve. ive tried taking him to unfamiliar areas and that just nade him worse.

i know he loves to play with water at home, but again he ignores this when we're out.

i feel this may be a bit of a lost cause but i wont give up. im off out with him now so ill take a hunk of cheese with me and see if he likes it!

wish me luck!

foreign_correspondent

good luck! Try giving him a little snippet of cheese at various points on the walk, he may just start to have some positive associations with the route then. I wonder if he has had a bad experience at some point?

supermezzo

Try getting a really good treat for him which needs his concentration to eat (something chewy rather than a kibble of food, for example a schmacko, dentistick)and giving it to him in the house with the door open and his lead on, then close the door and take his lead off. Use a buzz word when offering the treat (try a word that you'll use later on such as 'walkies' or something you can get a silly tone of voice to, thus making it more interesting). As he is 'safe' in the house, he will turn his concentration to the chew and that way you can focus his attention on the treat and you before you go out. The trick is to make the treat and therefore you, the most important thing to him (If only he were a lab it would be so much easier lol). Repeat a few times and always using the treat first and during the walk, start to venture out ( practice the treat technique in the garden first if needs be), increasing the journey over time. Pause every few yards and quietly re-assure the dog with a 'sit' and either a quick nibble at the treat or simply a stroke and kind word. Pre-empt any possible causes of stress whilst out such as buses, kids playing etc and if you think that there may be something in the offing which will be a problem, simply get in first and say the buzz word in your silly tone of voice as this makes you more exciting again, get the dog to sit facing you once you have his attention and offer the treat all the while keeping a calm voice and praising til the problem has passed. It may only be a couple of hundred yards at first and if possible, stop at any point you sense he is reverting back to being worried and try again later. Keep to the same routine and route for a while and keep any praise warm but not excitable so that he learns to accept that he's doing nothing exciting but merely bimbling along for a stroll.
The only good thing about is that as he's a collie, he'll pick it up really quickly. Probably quicker than a human in fact...lol
Good luck and shout if you need any more help.
And for what my opinion is worth, it sounds as though he wasn't socialised very weel at an early stage.

MrsTinks

I would persist in trying to walk him with other but calm and chilled dogs... there is more chance of him relaxing if he's with dogs that are calm and relaxed on the walk...

picklepick

thanks supermezzo thats all very helpful. my problem is that im supposed to be out with him everyday for 45mins and so realistically its hard to spend time with him in the house or going home if hes too agitated. i generally put him in the car and drive to the park, he loves being in the car so i may try this but in the car iyswim! He tends to ignore any treats i try to give him in the house as hes anxious from the moment that he sees me coming cos he knows whats going to happen next!

Anyway, i tried the cheese today and at first it was working quite well. he wasn't so jumpy, would come running over to me when i called him for a treat but then, not sure why, i cant see a reason, just started ignoring me as usual?! i showed him i had nice things for him, even tried wafting it under his nose (which he ignored) This continued until we got back to the car and then was trying to stick his nose in my cheesey pocket again!

I have heard through a very long grapevine that he was fine up until one bonfire night. Wether this is true or not i cant say as his owners seem to be refusing to believe that theres a problem at all!