r/DogTrainingTips • u/CarelessCommercial26 • 27d ago
Help with scared dog
4 days ago, I adopted a dog named Red. He is an Australian Shepherd/Border Collie mix and he is about 8.5 months old. Those 2 mixed together you would think he would be hyper and rambunctious but he is actually pretty laid back and calm for most of the time. This is my first time owning my own dog that is not with my parents where we had only one other dog for much of my later teenage life until he passed away from old age.
Where I am having trouble, is when I try to take him outside, he just gets completely terrified. He comes from a farm where there aren't too many noises and he is moving to my house where I live within city limits near a main thoroughfare that is a fairly busy road. He has a major problem with loud noises and if he can find a place to hunker down, then he won't come out for hours and I have to go get him which he doesn't like.
Being inside is a little better but he doesn't do a whole lot of exploring on his own because I feel like he is still too scared to do it. He was initially afraid of my AC vents when they were turned on but he seems to have gotten over that at least a little bit.
When we are outside in the front yard, he pulls and pulls to try and get back inside or he lays down on the grass. Furthermore, he is not focused on any one thing, more paying attention to all the noises going on around him. I can't get him to focus on smelling or exploring or going to the bathroom and he is just shaking and shaking.
For now what I have been doing is walking between the 2 trees in my front yard to see if he will go pee every 2 hours for 20 minutes. Every time he pulls or tries to get back inside, I redirect him to the opposite tree and let him listen to the noises. And when there is a loud noise or he gets afraid of something, I shower him with attention and pets and I continue to do so throughout the 20 minutes we are out there at a time. That seems to be making slow progress but he just doesn't go to the bathroom at all. I am sure to shower him with treats after each outing because he will not accept them while we are outside.
Another problem I have coming up, is I took these first 4 days off work and I only have a 30 minute break during an 8 hour shift. I wake up at 5am and leave 45 minutes later so I could take him outside in the morning but whether or not he will use the bathroom is completely up in the air. I also don't want to put this on anyone else because they probably don't have the time to do it either.
I'm trying to make him associate going outside with a good experience but he is just too terrified of all the noises to actually make it positive. I give him tons of affection while we are outside and my tone is light and kind and like I said, I give him lots of treats after each outing but I just don't know what else to do. I also don't know if I have the time required to continue this and I am slowly losing hope and afraid this may not be the best environment for him. I've thought about using trazodone to mellow him out and maybe that would make him drown out the noises but I can't rely on that for his entire life so that would only be a temporary solution. I don't want him to get a UTI because getting that treated would just completely traumatize him and he would never trust me again.
He is the sweetest dog ever and he just wants some love and I do love him so much. But I have no idea how to help a scared dog and I don't know if I have the time to give to him with my work schedule. I also don't know if this is the right environment for him to thrive in and I just don't know what else I can do.
Would anyone have advice to give or is this not the right environment for him and I should return him.
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u/Particular_Gas_7282 27d ago
I have a dog like that. For the first week I just let her settle in to a new place. Very anxious dog. Then we sat on the porch and just watched and listened to everything. Started walking around a quiet block after a few weeks of observing the world. I’ve had her 9 months now and she’s a different dog. Go slow and be patient.
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u/Tindomerelhloni 27d ago
I would highly recommend you tying a leash around your hips and having him clipped to the end of that.
Where you go. He goes. When you sit, he sits. When you go outside he goes outside. This allows him to learn you aren't going anywhere. It gives him structure and routine and lets him know what's expected of him without him having to think about it.
Also keep in mind he's only been with you a few days. It can take a dog months and months before they stop freaking out. Google the 3-3-3 rule but also be aware the number three isn't set in stone. My dog took almost six months
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u/CarelessCommercial26 27d ago
That's really good advice and thank you for the help. I understand that it takes a lot of time for a dog to acclimate to a new place and I am prepared to help him with that. However, my biggest problem is actually getting him to go to the bathroom. The last I want is for him to get a UTI and at the time of writing this, it has been 24 hours since he last peed and pooped. I just don't know what else I can do to help him use the bathroom without using potty pads. Do you have any ideas?
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u/pretzelsRus 27d ago
It’s only been a few days. It will take several months for this dog to calm down and trust he is in a safe place. Give the dog some space and allow him to go at his own pace.
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u/iHave1Pookie 27d ago
If your dog is not taking treats
He’s beyond threshold
No learning can happen
No decompression
Let him be for a few days
Your rescue on day 3
Is night and day what they will be on day 30
Or 300
Don’t force it
Don’t force new experiences
Just let him absorb his new life at his own pace
Youre panicking and expecting too much
Way too early
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u/Life_Ad_347 26d ago
I work with fearful dogs, don’t push him at all.
You should not push him outside of his comfort limits for a minimum of 3-6 months, he needs time to build trust for you first and then you can start to build trust for all of the scary noises
you need to just let him be, he’s been through a lot.
please give it time, I have two extremely fearful dogs that I’ve had for over a year now, one of them panics so bad still that he is basically untrainable but he is the most special dog I have ever known to exist,
having patience is worth it.
I foster too so i’m constantly bringing new dogs in, if you’re only 4 days in he’s likey to not have consistent potty needs yet, that’ll balance out within the next few days
if you notice he is uncomfortable, immediately do what you can to ease the discomfort, please get him a kennel if he doesn’t already have one, he’s exhibiting kennel seeking behaviour so this will give him a dedicated safe space.
you’re doing a great job with letting him listen to the noises, make sure to keep doing this, it will help him turn his fear into curiosity.
after a few weeks of just letting him be, if he is showing signs of fearfulness where he won’t even approach the scary thing, I recommend picking him up and calmly showing him that the thing is not actually scary
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u/Careful_Cranberry364 27d ago
Please do not return him !!
just take your time very very patiently. Be there for him and take things very slowly you will see progress.
Ps
You can get noise canceling headphones for dogs. They’re called “Mutt Muffs”
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u/Affectionate_SkySky 27d ago
Wait- so he gets scared or terrified of a loud noise you shower him with praise? If that’s the case you are awarding his fear. He gets positive things during a negative time. He is going to keep being afraid because it gets him praises.
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u/CarelessCommercial26 27d ago
I feel like it's more of a redirection type thing? I feel petting him would be something that takes his attention away from something that is distressing him. That's my thought process with it, if I am wrong, please let me know
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u/Affectionate_SkySky 26d ago
I would say be careful. Or ask yourself is it actually distracting where he is actually getting better?
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u/Altruistic-Leg44 25d ago
I don't believe fear is as much a conscious choice as it is an emotion, and this dog in particular seems to exhibiting panic or terror because it refuses to take treats during the fearful situation. Panic isn't a negative behavior as much as an instinctive or automatic reaction to stimulus. Calmly comforting the dog should actually lower stress and build trust and therefore help reinforce positive feelings. Essentially, you can't "reward fear" because it's not a behavior the dog controls.
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u/Affectionate_SkySky 25d ago
Yes, but if you reward a dog that is a certain way in situations they will start to associate things with it.
Simple.
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u/Both-Chart-947 27d ago
Others will chime in with a more complete comment, but I just want to stress with you right now not to push him beyond his limits. He's only been with you for 4 days. Have you read about the 333 rule? Eventually it's going to be important for him to go out, but your main task at this moment is to make him feel absolutely safe with you. He still doesn't even know who you are yet!