Poor Floyd. Also – poor couple he lives with. They feel trapped at home with him and can’t go out without worrying about him.
Floyd suckles a toy
They can’t take him with them with them and they can’t leave him at home. This is despite their having another much more confident dog to keep him company. Rosie is a 5-year-old Jack Russell.
Staffie Floyd is now seven years of age. He came to live with them when he was two.
Meltdown
To begin with, taking him out was no problem. But, within a few days, a motorbike roared past and he had a meltdown.
Every since then he has been terrified of going out. He shakes when they get his collar or harness out.
We have two approaches that need working on at the same time.
First is to fill his life with a lot more enrichment and build up his confidence in every way possible. One blessing is that he’s not scared of people, in fact he’s very friendly.
Second is to work on each of his specific fears one at a time. Each need a systematic plan and it will be hard work. If they can be consistent, it should in time come together to improve his confidence. Success in one area will affect progress in another.
In our online hour we could really only scratch at the surface, but we can make a start. We could then build from this.
Here are the areas we need to make a start on:
Scared of everything beyond their yard
Getting him out happily beyond their small tarmac yard. He has to toilet in the yard and he also enjoys playing ball there.
First they need to get him happy having harness or collar put on. This they will do slowly, using food, and not take him out. Break the connection.
After a few days, they will then, in the yard, pop the lead on. Get him used to walking about on lead where he’s happy. Then they can ‘lace the environment’ with food at the entrance to the outside world. All the time he can make his own choice whether to go out or to come back. And so on….
Meanwhile, forcing him out will undo all the good work already done.
TV
He gets very upset when certain TV adverts appear. They will work on these, beginning with silence and associating with food.
Separation
Floyd’s separation problems are extreme and need a lot of patient work. When they leave him they come home to destruction. The man, understandably, is cross and scolds him for being ‘naughty’. I explained that they are punishing his panic, not ‘naughtiness’.
Mail through the door
He goes mental when something comes through the door and the may wreck it. Again, this isn’t naughtiness. It’s distress.
He loves running free on the beach
So bit by bit they will begin to address the main issues in a systematic way.
There are other worries also. He hates the car. They bought a caravan especially for him and he loves running free on the beach. The price he pays is a car journey nightmare to get there.
So, lots of work to do. They can’t do it all at once but they can make a start. Bit by bit, lie a jigsaw puzzle the picture should begin to take shape. This solely depends upon their patience and endurance – sticking to it. If they try to push ahead too fast on any of the issues it will send things back again.
If you’re facing similar challenges with your dog, I offer gentle, force-free online behaviour consultations wherever you are.
Scared of Everything. Many dogs feel overwhelmed by too much stimulus — find calm support on the Fearful & Reactive Dogs Help page.
