nevous dogs(seek guidance) - Page 1

hello, iown a dog which is around 7 months of age he is afraid of things not with men's but if any car passes by or some one talks loud he ran back and he is very chossy for food how this can be prevented

Hard to tell much from so little. But it sounds like this dog is missing some early socialization that he would have needed as a young pup. Hard to correct some of it now. But it can be improved on. The sooner the better. Start by doing more with him. Take him out and take him places.And only while he is ON the leash. Do NOT take him off the leash until his behaviour is changing for the better and you know that he will stay close and respond properly. The success of running away can be leared just as well as having to stick around to face the uncertain and uncomfortable. The more often he is successful at running back, the harder it will be to break this "habit". Hand feeding him for the time being can help too. When he gets hungry enough he will take the food. Always have his food with you, take the food along to your outings. Every time he comes to you or does something well, give him some of his food. Doing something well also includes not panicking for example. Every little success, no matter how small needs to be acknowledged and rewarded. Food is restricted to the times you have direct contact, stow away the food bowl for now. Resume feeding once you see results. If he startles, panicks, or tries to run away, remain completely calm. Stay in the same position and let him deal with the situation until he starts to relax again. Very common mistake is to try to baby the dog in such a situation, or try to calm the dog excessively. That will only confirm his fears. He needs to learn to deal with them. So just stay put. Let him fight the leash and throw a fit if he needs to, it will stop. You just need to be persistent and patient. If you speak to him to calm him, use a very monotonous voice. The attempt to calm him should be brief. If you see no reaction, keep waiting. And only once he is calm again, will you give him a reward. The goal is that he relaxes faster and seeks a response from you, not you a response from him. Basically you need to catch up on what he has missed out on so far. To a dog that has never seen much of the world the whole world is a very frightening experience if he has to go out and face it all of the sudden. Socialization lets the dog learn about the world from puppyhood on. Sounds like this opportuntiy was missed. Look for some dog friends so that you can walk together. Let this dog learn from other well socialized dogs. Look for a dog club and go out there and do stuff with the dog, mostly fun stuff, some basic obedience, some basic control. Do NOT take this dog to a SchH club and start such a dog doing bite work, not until behaviour issues are settled. If the changes were recent, and he did not react like this before, onset of puberty is good possibility for such changes. It will be over in about a year... still means you need to keep getting this dog out into the world and correct the behaviour he is showing now. Good luck.

I agree with D.H. I work with explosive detection dogs and we have seen alot of dogs lacking proper socialization. When at a training center they do great, nice controled enviroment but when we get them to the real thing, checkpoints with trucks, people,so forth they freakout, not to mention explosions and gunfire. You still have a good chance with yours a 7 months. When he freaks out, you do not need to babby him, that juat re-enforces the behavior. Keep him on a leash so he cannot run away but take it slow with him, don't overload him all at once. Start with small challenges, what you are basically doing is de-sensatizing him to his fears. The most important thing is to not let anything bad happen to him while doing this. Example is a dog afraid of other dogs and you are showing him not to be afraid and another dog gets loose and attacks him, you just lost all progress and may never get it back. So take it slow and safe. As far as feeding, that is usually a owner induced problem. If a dog is hungry he will eat. If a dog gets treats all the time then why bother eating boring dog food. As long as a dog has plenty of fresh water, he will not starve to death if he does not eat for a day or two. Good Luck

A little tough love can help with a picky eater. He is old enough for three feedings a day. Put his food down in the morning. Give him five minutes to decide to eat. If he doesn't pick it up. No treats in between unless you are training. Give his food back in the afternoon. If he doesn't eat it again just pick it up. Again no treats except if you use them for training. Give food again at night. Same as before. Start again the next day. Just don't baby him by giving him something else because he won't eat. Dogs aren't born pick. We make them that way by giving something else or giving a bite off of our plate. A smart dog will wait for your dinner as opposed to that stuff in his dish. Good luck.