For pity's sake! Life with a neurotic dog

YORKSHIRELASS

Awww poor boy. JRTs are normally as brave as lions so this poor fella must have had a rough time of it, either that or he is just naturally a wimp!

My JRT is not always fearless, but he will always pretend to be! He doesnt do rain though and will run for home. He will also avoid going out in the garden if its wet, no matter how desperate he is!

minimad1970

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Well, that can be solved by the purchase of a simple item:




He'll either stay welded to it - or he'll discover his legs work again

Great idea The only problem is he's also scared of skateboards and scooters.

Froglet

krlyr wrote: »

Interestingly, Froglet, epileptic fits have been linked to thyroid conditions
http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/Lowthyroid.html

That is interesting.We thought that maybe he had had a blow to the head as he was so nervous.The fits weren't bad enough to put him on medication,that was the vets advice.

I suppose it might be just one of those things,as in humans they don't always have a definitive cause.

Buttonmoons

My cat is incredibily neurotic, only 1 of them (and he was the one I got from stables so he should be used to loud noises) if the buzzer/doorbell goes he's off like a shot, tries to run into the kitchen to hide behind the fridge, you drop a fork and hes off, you rustle a carrier bag - zooooom offskis. Everything sudden or loud freaks him out, even worse when he's on my leg and something spooks him, goodbye skin.

My mums dog is scared of odd things, we think it was abused before, terrified of hula hoops, if the electric meter runs out it makes a quiet beep noise - the dog sits terrified shaking for hours, and usually defecates all over the floor (!!!!) Hates fireworks, that makes her poo everywhere too.....scared of the dark.....really lol.

heretolearn_2

Soggy leaf stuck to his foot - he's crippled for life :rotfl:

Poor lad, he must have had a hard start in life. Sounds as if they were fairly confined without much exposure to the outside world/houses etc, and just deal with it differently. His sister just has more confidence naturally.

On the other hand, while I do feel sympathetic for him, you say he's a smart dog. JRs are brilliant little actors sometimes. What happens when he is scared? Do you make a fuss of him? Talk in that 'poor baby' voice to reassure him? He might have some genuine anxiety but could be laying it on a bit 'cos he likes the reaction it gets.

I'm only suggesting this and could be wrong, but might be worth being very matter of fact/completely ignoring him the next few times he's scared.

I'm just thinking of my old JR. Boy, she could win an Oscar for her portrayal of an RSPCA poster victim, and it was hysterical sometimes. You only had to talk to her in that 'poor baby' sympathetic voice and she'd start. The whole puss in boots from Shrek face, one little front paw lifted up pathetically in front of her, whole body shivering and quaking all over. Or if she had an audience of sympathetic looking strangers. Oh God if we ever left her outside a shop for 5 minutes we'd come out and find her shaking and quaking till she nearly fell over, little pathetic lifted paw, miserable hunched posture, with a lynch mob of old ladies patting her and cooing to her and waiting for us, accusing us of doing all sorts to the 'poor little dog'.

That dog was totally spoiled. But she loved to lay it on and get extra fuss.

tizerbelle

Apologies for my tardiness in posting back.

krlyr - thats interesting about the hypothyroid testing and if he seems to be getting worse it's something I'll certainly consider.

Fosterdog - we've done treats in the kong a few times now, ones that will fall out easily and he isn't making any progress at all. I know he's intelligent enough to figure it out but he just won't give it a go. Little girl dog thinks they are great only she hasn't figured out the roll it around bit and the treats will fall out - she tries to jam her tongue in to get the treats that way. I'll keep trying him and just leave the kongs lying around so hopefully he'll realise at some point that a) they aren't going to squeak at him and b) they aren't going to attack him either.

Froglet - such a shame about your mum's dog. I'm very glad she found him to bring some joy into his life.

thorsoak - I used a DAP diffuser in the run up to bonfire night (along with the thundershirt) - no obvious effect whatsoever.

pawsies - oh dear your corgi sounds to be similar reaction wise to mine although different triggers. Mine do at least like snow and being in the car.

CFC - ha ha! little boy dog would have your fella carrying him everywhere - they are very good at manipulation aren't they. I don't fall for it though, I will concede to removing soggy leaf from foot but that is it. He doesn't get picked up or coddled.

chewynut - some similar dislikes to mine. He has fantastic eyesight and apparently can see a danger to worry about 5 miles away and through solid walls. Little girl dog has cataracts but she doesn't worry about things like him (mind you she doesn't have to, if there is anything to worry about she knows he'll spot it first - on her own she is less confident about things)

Yorkshirelass - tbh I think you've hit the nail on the head - he is a natural wimp! Out and about he does put a good show on of being a hell-hound if anything scares him or if we see dogs we don't know or if theres a dog behind a solid fence or in a car and we walk past or if we are in the car and they see a dog - can make all the threats he likes as he knows he's safe! They are both majorly lead reactive and quite reactive off the lead as well - I am doing BAT with them and they are improving in teeny tiny steps but its a long slow process.

Buttonmoons - thats so sad for your mums dog (and having to clean up after her)

Heretolearn - thats my thoughts that they haven't been well socialised. As I said earlier she worries less because 1) she can't see far and 2) she knows he'll alert her to any dangers - although if something spooks her she reacts more vociferously than he does. But don't worry there are no poor-baby voices used or coddling to his foibles. He is likely to be told "For pitys sake - just get on with it" (I come from northern farming stock - we don't do over sensitive / sentimental, a dog is a dog and should act like and be treated like one.)

He is very bright - he has learned several new commands since I've had them such as:
away - send him across the field
here - usual recall command
wait - stop where you are and don't move forward. He likes to walk ahead of us when off lead.
quick quick - move fast (across the lane) used after a wait.
leave - stop threatening that dog through the fence and carry on walking
back - let me get to the door/gate so I can open the sodding thing
go on - a release command after wait
errr! - I gave you an instruction and I meant do it

She, not so bright, has learnt:
the clicker means treats
treats are kept in the right hand pocket of the coat :rotfl:

And now I really must go and take them out, they've been waiting patiently while I wrote this epic but I think the leg crossing might fail soon.

RevolvingDoor

My rescue JRT is very nervous sometimes and hates the hoover, the remote control (to be fair sometimes I drop it on the floor and it makes a loud noise:o) stray plastic bags, leaves rustling on the ground in the park etc...

minimad1970 wrote: »

The only problem is when he wears his christmas outfits, he only has them on for 5 minutes, he loses the ability to walk forwards and just walks backwards very slowly.:D

:rotfl:

heartbreak_star

tizerbelle wrote: »

He has fantastic eyesight and apparently can see a danger to worry about 5 miles away and through solid walls.

Oh that made me chuckle!

My mum's dogs are a little like this, one is a bouncy little mountain goat and the other is a nervy worrier. They seem to complement each other!

HBS x

chewynut

tizerbelle wrote: »

chewynut - some similar dislikes to mine. He has fantastic eyesight and apparently can see a danger to worry about 5 miles away and through solid walls. Little girl dog has cataracts but she doesn't worry about things like him (mind you she doesn't have to, if there is anything to worry about she knows he'll spot it first - on her own she is less confident about things)

It could be his sense of smell more than his eyesight. Have you noticed if your doggie is better walking into the wind where he can't smell all the bogeydogs creeping up from behind to get him?