Extremely Anxious Dog

WolfSong2000

Quick question for you all:

I adopted an absolutely wonderful dog from Romania toward end of last year. He's about 3 years old, very sweet, gentle, loves to please, doesn't steal/counter surf and is generally just a really, really lovely dog.

His one issue is his anxiety. He is constantly highly anxious to the point where it's negatively impacting his life.  He was very shut down when I adopted him, but as his personality has blossomed his anxiety has also become more apparent.  He was terrified of people and dogs (vast improvement with people and slow progress with dogs, but these days only has a major meltdown if the other dog barks) and although he's not aggressive per se, in extreme circumstances (e.g. a jogger coming up behind and not distancing) he has lunged.  He mainly tends to bark (it's a "please stay away" bark - again, it's fear not outright aggression).

I've tried a variety of calming supplements which seem to be helping - he's generally much calmer around people (anxious but it's manageable) and before a few idiots ignored my repeated requests to keep their dogs away, he was also improving with dogs.  But overall he's still much more anxious than I woul like.  I am working with a behaviorist who is ery good with him and the main reason we have made as much progress as we have, but I am beginning to wonder if there are any other options.  Considering asking vet about anti-anxiety medications, but that's a last resort.

Anyone have any experience with overly anxious dogs and any suggestions?

His walks are limited so he's not over stimulated and I take him quiet places where he's less likely to meet other dogs/people (and when he does there's plenty of space to give him distance) and I spend a fortune renting private dog fields so he can enjoy a good off lead run which helps lessen his anxieties.

sheramber

As you are already working with somebody I don't want to interfere but some things to consider things to think about.

Using an appeasing pheromone collar/plug is etc. ( like Adaptil, but there are others)

Look at agility. Using his brain and having an outlet for his energy can help distract a dog. Try and find a local trainer who does one to one  training for agility. 

Sniffing is calming so play sniffing games  with toys  or food. 

Do you know about the yellow dog project?   https://www.yellowdoguk.co.uk/

What works for one dog doesn't for another so you need to find what works for your dog.

Are you in touch with any other owners of Romanian  dogs. A  person asking people to avoid her dog when in the park as it was a very nervous Romainan dog , discovered there is a local group of such owners who meet and socialise.

carefullycautious

I could write a book about living with an anxious dog. Mine was a small lurcher x who I had from 15 weeks old (bad decision) from a rescue. He had obviously not been socialised and was shut down like your dog. He never got over his fear of children as their sudden movements set him off lunging and barking and he would chase them in fact he chased anything that moved but luckily never bit anyone.

 I used reward based training with him eventually getting another dog who was the ideal calm companion and he did get better over the years. He was highly intelligent so I always had to be ahead of him mentally. He was exhausting at times but ultimately my soul dog as he was so loving and protective of me. The funny thing was that he loved our coast holidays and on a sandy beach with miles to run around he never put a foot wrong. Make sure you are not sending your anxiety down the lead to him. 

I was lucky that he had excellent recall and would always come back so I could let him off in areas  I deemed safe for him. Keep rewarding good behaviour and good luck. 

Have you tried him on a long lunge line for a bit of freedom
Also could you get local dog walkers to gradually walk towards you without him reacting until he accepts them. Also walking alongside you so he gets used to that ? 
A local dog training group may help with this.

onylon

How long have you had him? I just adopted an ex racing greyhound direct from kennels so like your boy she wasn't a pet. She started off very shut down and nervous. She didn't want to leave her bed, wouldn't eat unless someone sat with her, and would hide behind me if anyone approached us on a walk. It took about 2 months before we started to see her doing more normal dog stuff. We are now at month 3 and I think she's going to be quite outgoing and gregarious. She actually tries to stick her nose into strangers pockets as they pass us, just in case they have treats!

I used an adaptil plug next to her bed but it didn't seem to make much difference. I got her a harness with a handle, a martingale collar and a double ended lead so I can move attachment points as needed. If there are deer around I will attach one end of the lead to her collar and the other to her harness for maximum control. If it's safe then she can wander around with one end of the lead on her harness and the other in my hand or clipped to me so she has some space. I can always grab her by the harness if needed. I swapped her to a high protein food with no artificial stuff and walk her *loads*. Walkies are her favourite thing and in our case a tired dog is a happy dog. If more exercise isn't practical then a low protein food may be a better idea as having too much energy to burn can make a dog (or person) nervous and jittery. Definitely stay clear of artificial flavours, colours and preservatives if you can as many cause or exasperate behavioural problems.

For us the next step is obedience training and we are going to work on her scavenging. I have booked a behaviourist for next month to give us more time to bond and settle down first. 

I'm considering a couch to 5k challenge as we already do a bit of running on walks. Jogging (or bouncing around me while I run) is fun and there is less opportunity for her to scavenge or terrorise the neighbors doodle. Just a bit concerned about over exercising my girl. Greyhounds are built for speed rather than stamina and it's so easy to overdo things. It might be good for you though as running is a great way to get the dogs focus, even if it's the odd short dash. 

Main thing is to relax, take things at their pace and enjoy them really. Good luck with your good boy!

Soot2006

I also could write a book about life with an anxious dog.  Just now we were enjoying a quiet lunch break in the garden when the neighbour said hello over the fence. My dog knows the likes this neighbour but head over fence was too much, so he started barking and pacing and crying and that was thirty minutes ago and he's only just settled again.

We use an Adaptil collar (maybe works; maybe doesn't; don't dare take it off in case he's worse!); Adaptil spray (works. Diffuser did nothing, maybe made him worse); he's also on a low dose of prescription gabapentin which definitely helped him .... but keeping him happy is a lifestyle. He's 4 years old and has always been like this - we were his second home at 12 weeks, that should have been a red flag!

melbury

Our dog who we have had since he was 9 weeks old is extremely anxious.  Sadly our vet said he shouldn't go out and mix with other dogs until a couple of weeks after his second vaccination and so, unbeknown to us, he had missed the vital socialisation window.  In the past we have always already had a dog when we got a new puppy, but this time we didn't.

He is now four years old and has improved quite a lot, however, he is still very nervous of other dogs.  There are two that he feels comfortable seeing out on walks, but any others he just lies down when they are quite some distance away and looks terrified.   We thought at one time that we would never be able to take him for nice long walks as he used to be scared of other people, dogs, any other animals and poultry!