Recc. Reading for Fearful Dog Issues

[nappingonthejob]

I had a big long post typed out and COTH ate it...le sigh.

Anyways, all of the dog behavior and training books I've ever stumbled across seem to all address issues with big happy boisterous dogs who act out. I have the opposite problem and would love to learn more about what possibly motivates her behavior and if there is anything I can do to make life easier for her.

What I have is a 9/10/? year old Beagle of mysterious origins. About two years ago a friend found her wandering out of the woods and managed to catch her in a stall. She was incredibly skinny (skeletal even), covered in ticks, and looked like she may have had puppies in the not-so-distant-past. She was also completely terrified of EVERYTHING and very very shy.

I will emphasize that she has never, ever, EVER been remotely fear aggressive, even in very stressful situations. She is the world's sweetest, snuggliest, and happiest dog, but only me and a select handful (read: 2-3 other people) have gotten to see that side of her. In two years. I feel like I've given her more than enough time to naturally come out of her shell and I need to actually do something about this if there is anything to be done.

Anybody have book recommendations, or any other ideas on how I can learn how to help this sort of dog be more comfortable? My previous dog experience is with Labs and other 'happy' dogs. I raised a seeing eye dog puppy, and so did a lot of basic obedience and socialization with her. However, none of the training methods I was taught do a thing with my little headcase hound. (We did finally master potty training after about...a year)

I can provide more detailed descriptions of her behavior if interested, she does so many odd little things that this post would run on forever if I started to list them all!

[equinelaw]

Any and all books by Dr. Nicolas Dodman.

[Twiliath]

"Control Unleashed" by Leslie McDevitt
Anything by Pat Miller
There are others out there.

[threedogpack]

Patricia McConnell

http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB586

[Bluey]

Clicker training helps shy dogs.

Agility classes empower dogs, but don't know that you and your dog would like to try that.

Here is where to look for books on all dog subjects:

http://www.dogwise.com/index.cfm

Help Your Shy Dog, by Wood, you can search for it, is one you may be able to use:

http://www.dogwise.com/search.cfm

[Mallard]

Yes...McConnell
And Jean Donaldson...'Culture Clash'

[MunchkinsMom]

I don't know if you can do this, but what has really brought my fearful stray out of her shell is my existing pack of dogs. She is learning self confidence from them, and learning that not all humans are bad. And she has learned it all in 4 short weeks.

Also, I never try to force the issues, if she is acting timid, best to let her try get over it on her own, and approach the "scary" person. It does help that the other dogs will fawn all over anyone that comes into the house, and then my shy dog wants to come and be part of the pack.

I'm not recommending that you get more dogs, but maybe some play dates or dog socialization classes that might help her, especially if the classes are run by folks that are knowledgeable about fear issues.

Good luck, and bless you for saving her. Also, some dogs are just naturally one-person dogs, but my past beagles were never that type, they were very social, but then again, I had them since puppyhood.

[nappingonthejob]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone! I'm going to try and request some of those books through our library system if I can find them. In response to some of the other suggestions:

She is a lot more comfortable with other dogs around, and I really wish I could get her a dog for that reason. I just moved and don't have many friends with dogs around here which is too bad. I did have friends with multiple dogs before and she was always more comfortable with people if all the other dogs were lounging on the couch too. She can also be really passive with other dogs, and has gotten attacked before. Puppies make her very very grumpy but she lets them get away with murder before she'll stand up for herself.

I've tried clicker training, since that was how I worked with my previous dog (using a verbal marker and small treats/praise). What happens is she gets really excited, and then if you move too fast or reach to pet her, she yelps like you hit her and runs and hides and won't respond. She seems to get overstimulated really quickly and then perceive everything as a threat or punishment.

She's the ultimate couch potato so I don't think agility will be in our future. I might consider bringing her to some classes and see how they go in regards to socializing, though.

[kdow]

I don't know if you can do this, but what has really brought my fearful stray out of her shell is my existing pack of dogs. She is learning self confidence from them, and learning that not all humans are bad. And she has learned it all in 4 short weeks.

Also, I never try to force the issues, if she is acting timid, best to let her try get over it on her own, and approach the "scary" person. It does help that the other dogs will fawn all over anyone that comes into the house, and then my shy dog wants to come and be part of the pack.

I'm not recommending that you get more dogs, but maybe some play dates or dog socialization classes that might help her, especially if the classes are run by folks that are knowledgeable about fear issues.

Good luck, and bless you for saving her. Also, some dogs are just naturally one-person dogs, but my past beagles were never that type, they were very social, but then again, I had them since puppyhood.

My rescue is definitely coming out of his shell as a result of our other dog, too - I don't think it's just interacting with her, either. I think some of it is from observing her interacting with US. (His most recent 'trick' is that he's picked up her habit of passive resistance when it's nice out and she doesn't want to go back inside. She just sits and stares at you. So now we have TWO dogs who'll sit and stare. On one hand, I'm super-happy to see him expressing his wishes once in a while, on the other - he's 70lb, that's a lot of dog to move when he wants to plant his butt! :) )

So regular interaction and not just within a fixed class structure might well help her a lot - particularly if the other dogs are interacting with people rather than the dogs all just playing together only.