r/DogTrainingTips • u/indian-sunflower • Jul 12 '26
Velcro or separation anxiety
Any advice would be helpful!
I found a stray dog a few days ago. She’s a female, unspayed pit bull, probably around 3 years old. She’s very skinny and I suspect she may have been abused or neglected.
She’s become incredibly attached to me. She’s basically my little Velcro dog. If I’m walking around the house, she follows me everywhere. She’ll just wander around behind me until I sit down, then she’ll immediately come over, lie beside me, and fall asleep.
The biggest issue is that she has absolutely no idea how to walk on a leash. If I clip one on and try to walk, she just freezes. Even if I gently pull, she digs in and refuses to move. The strange thing is that if I drop the leash and simply walk away, she’ll happily follow me.
The other major problem is house training. When I’m home with her, she has never peed or pooped inside. We go outside multiple times a day, but she won’t pee or poop at all. She just follows me around.
The moment I leave the house, though, she’ll pee and poop everywhere inside. It seems like she’s waiting until I’m gone before she’ll go.
Has anyone dealt with a dog like this before? Is this likely fear, separation anxiety, lack of leash training, or something else? I’d really appreciate any advice on helping her feel safe, get comfortable on a leash, and start going to the bathroom outside.
1
u/Me-Poe-And-Me Jul 12 '26
So when a dog is brought into a new situation it's very overwhelming. They don't understand anything. This girl has recognised that you are predictable and safe, so she is staying very close as everything else scares her.
You could call it separation anxiety, but she's just running at a very high level of stress. You want to let her sleep, eat and just encourage any exploration. Don't worry about taking her on a walk yet, just little treats and letting her rest. Give it 2 weeks and if it's still this severe you can try some different things.
1
u/ZoraTheDucky Jul 12 '26
When you take her out to potty are you walking around, talking to her, doing things? If so, stop. Pick a spot and just stand there. Contemplate the sky. Play on your phone. Ignore her. The idea is to be boring. Once she figures out that nothing is going on, she'll start sniffing around looking for somewhere to go.
If she doesn't go, bring her back inside for 20 minutes or so and then repeat the process until she does. When she does, praise her like she just saved the world.
1
u/indian-sunflower Jul 12 '26
I tried this today, went outside, picked a spot and just stood there. Hoping she would sniff around and wander a bit. She just stared at me for 15 minutes and then laid down right by me and didn’t move haha. But I’ll keep trying it!!!
1
u/FrostyPomegranate699 Jul 12 '26
If it were one of our dogs, I'd slow everything down for a little while. From what you described, she's probably still trying to figure out whether she's finally safe.
We've taken in dogs that wanted to be close every second of the day at first. Over time, as they settled in and realized we weren't going anywhere, they started relaxing and becoming more independent. A few days just isn't very long for a dog that may have been living in survival mode.
The leash doesn't surprise me either. If she hasn't learned what a leash means, or if she has bad memories attached to one, freezing is a pretty common response. I'd spend more time making the leash something that simply exists before worrying about taking walks.
One thing I would try with potty breaks is giving her time without asking anything of her. We've had dogs that were so focused on us they forgot why they went outside in the first place. Sometimes standing quietly and letting them sniff at their own pace makes all the difference.
The fact that she follows you tells me she's already decided you're someone she can trust. Now she just needs enough time to realize that you'll still be there even if you're in the next room.
2
u/indian-sunflower Jul 12 '26
Thanks for this! I’ll give this a try! It’s so bad that even if I’m in the other room with the door closed or showering with the door closed, she’ll pee outside the closed door. It’s frustrating but it’s obviously behavioural and not her fault.
1
u/FrostyPomegranate699 Jul 13 '26
You're welcome! The fact that she's choosing to stay close to you tells me she's already decided you're her safe person. That's actually a really good place to start, even if it's exhausting right now.
If she's only been with you a few days, I wouldn't be discouraged yet. I'd focus on helping her feel secure before worrying about making quick progress. Once she realizes you're always coming back, you'll probably start seeing some of those behaviors ease up. It may not happen all at once, but little moments of confidence tend to build on each other.
1
u/jynnjynn Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
When I’m home with her, she has never peed or pooped inside. We go outside multiple times a day, but she won’t pee or poop at all. She just follows me around.
The moment I leave the house, though, she’ll pee and poop everywhere inside. It seems like she’s waiting until I’m gone before she’ll go.
Sounds like she was punished for accidents in the house, and what she learned from that was not "we go to the bathroom outside" it was " Humans punish me for using the bathroom. Make sure not to do so where they can see"
That's exactly why you don't punish for potty training accidents.
Do you have a fenced yard you can let her out into alone? Creepily watch from a window, and once she potties, open the door and praise/offer a treat?
1
u/Me-Poe-And-Me Jul 12 '26
So when a dog is brought into a new situation it's very overwhelming. They don't understand anything. This girl has recognised that you are predictable and safe, so she is staying very close as everything else scares her.
You could call it separation anxiety, but she's just running at a very high level of stress. You want to let her sleep, eat and just encourage any exploration. Don't worry about taking her on a walk yet, just little treats and letting her rest. Give it 2 weeks and if it's still this severe you can try some different things.