Dog very anxious - suggestions please!

quietheart

I rescued a second ex racing greyhound in September to keep number 1 company.
In December she slipped her collar and was immediately hit by a car. She had an open leg fracture and had a massive arterial bleed. It didn't look like she'd survive but 7 wks on and £8.5K of vets fees later she is starting to go out for walks again :j
She is enthusiastic about the idea of a walk but freezes at the end of the drive (she was hit on the road we live on). I bought a Thundershirt and it has helped but she's still very scared. She will walk a bit but is very distracted and her heart is racing like mad.
I'm unsure how to build her confidence back up.

arbrighton

Could you pop her in the car and take her to a park or somewhere? Lots of praise, and maybe if she just steps onto the pavement at the end of the drive, treat and go back in?

quietheart

Thanks. I do get her to go further than the drive but she regularly freezes.
Unfortunately she is way too scared to take a treat, even her favourite sausages!

arbrighton

Just lots of praise then. Maybe just get her to walk on at all from wherever she freezes, praise and call it a day?

quietheart

Cheers. I guess it's going to be baby steps of progress and will take time to get her back to normal.
I'm just glad we've still got her after a close call :-)

calicocat

My old dog was in an RTA and was very shakey for a couple of years after in some situations...in his case he was in the car (diesel) and for around two years after would shake like a leaf if he was in one ...or jump if he heard one starting up.

At first, I was constantly trying to reassure him all was ok by talking to him / stroking etc....and eventually I figured this just wasn't working.

I read up about it, got advice from a serious doggy friend who was really into dog behaviour, and was told by her to ignore all his behaviour and worries and carry on as if nothing was wrong.

She pretty much told me I was re-enforcing his fears.

It was Really hard to do at first.....but did work. 7 weeks isn't long after a trauma at all either by the way.

I would give a treat when we had been for a walk and he was calm once home at first. I also had to pick him up....take him to B....and he would walk back to A as that was where he wanted to be...it just takes time.

I agree about putting your dog in the car and walking elsewhere for a start if you can to build confidence. ...if you can't to that, sit with your dog in the drive for a while...read a book..ignore any anxiety, then go back in. I had to do this for a few weeks as there was a diesel car nextdoor that spooked mine.

Good luck, you will get there in time. Time is what works though.

archieboy

The same thing happened to my dog when he was 5 months old although in his case it was the extending lead which slipped out of the lock position and he got hit by a car when he shot into the road. He was very scared to walk anywhere after that but we kept away from where it happened for many weeks. (I know your situation is a bit different with it happening so close to home.) We took him on the same short, quiet route ever day for weeks and with me ignoring cars when they passed which was the worst time for him. Gradually we varied his usual walk very slightly although he didn't want to and had to be persuaded with treats. Eventually after more than six months he will walk happily anywhere even the road where it happened and he loves his walks again.

PS I now keep the extending lead only for walks in parks.

quietheart

Thanks for your replies.
We've just taken her for a walk in quiet parkland and it went really well. We've avoided the car as 2 greyhounds in a smallish space might've been troublesome but it was fine.
Belle had her first normal walk so thanks for the encouragement!
Glad both your dogs were ok. It was a grim experience.

artbaron

One option you might consider are calming tablets, like Traveleze. I know they're for travel (!) but they do have an overall calming effect. My Staff hates being in the car and will start shivering within a couple of minutes but with a few Traveleze he will be mostly OK for an hour or even longer. Maybe not for every day use but for the first few times?

krlyr

There are similar products designed for daily anxiety too artbaron - Calmex, Zylkene and KalmAid to name a few.

quietheart

Cheers, I didn't expect over the counter stuff to be any good but some of it gets great reviews. Will be trying some out.
Thanks for the suggestions.