I need a do whisperer!

[JohnT]

Rocky's post about his new dog got me thinking about our dog, Crystal.

We have duke (an English cocker spaniel), my buddy, and I have never had such a loving and playful dog as he.

Then we decided to get another dog to help keep duke company. Our breeder had Crystal who was own by a couple that (she suspects) abused her. To make matters worse, Crystal was raised as a show dog and not as a house pet.

When we brought her home, things were great for the first week. Then it was almost like Crystal decided that there was something about me she didn't like. Not sure what it is. I spent plenty of time with her on the couch petting her and scratching her belly (to get that back leg moving). I never yelled at her or gave her any type of negative experience that I can think of.

She is now so scared of me that she will not come within 5 feet of me. It is so bad, that she will not even accept food out of my hand. When I go to let her into the house, she comes to the door, takes one look at me, then bolts back outside, and barks for a good half hour. I have never had a dog that was so afraid of me. I have no idea on what to do to fix this.

Any ideas out there???

 

[Julie]

Do you recall raising your voice around her, not at her but in her presence? And not necessarily in a mean tone? Sometimes dogs will think they did something wrong if you raise your voice. You need to give her a lot of space right now. Play with Duke in her present so she can see that Duke is not afraid of you. And if she does get close to you, just let your hand hang, don't try to touch her, just let it hang for her to check you out. You need to let her come to you at her pace and this may take some time to do.

Good luck John and don't give up on her.

 

[JohnT]

Julie,

I have been very careful not to yell when she is around. I have been walking on eggshells for the past couple of months. The problem is that she can't even bear to be in the same room as me, so I find it impossible to even start to build us some sort of trust.

 

[GaDawg]

Clicker training which is operant conditioning. It is how they train dolphins at Sea World, Georgia Aquarium, etc. It was first described by B. F. Skinner and uses positive reinforcement. Google clicker training for fearful dogs, also look on you tube.


Sent from my iPad using Wine Making

 

[Rocky]

JohnT, it sounds a lot like when we brought Gina home, except I did not have the great "first week" that you had. Gina was terrified of me and virtually every other man from the start. We suspected that she was abused by the man in her previous life because she was warm and comfortable with women and children. She would not be in the same room with me and if I walked into a room where she was, she would bolt out of the room. I gave her a lot of space and she slowly came around at first by accepting a treat from me and then seeing me prepare her food, but it did take a number of months. We solidified our relationship one weekend when Bev was out of town and I was all Gina had! From then on, she started to warm to me and in a few months we were the best of buddies. She even started to accept other men after a while. As the years went by, she got over any fear she had of men and later in her life was comfortable with all people.

What breed is she, John? How old is she? I think if you just be patient with her everything will be fine. When dogs are mistreated, they remember it for a long time so she will likely have to take some time to get over whatever happened in the past.

 

[JohnT]

JohnT, it sounds a lot like when we brought Gina home, except I did not have the great "first week" that you had. Gina was terrified on me and virtually every other man from the start. We suspected that she was abused by the man in her previous life because she was warm and comfortable with women and children. She would not be in the same room with me and if I walked into a room where she was, she would bolt out of the room. I gave her a lot of space and she slowly came around at first by accepting a treat from me and then seeing me prepare her food, but it did take a number of months. We solidified our relationship one weekend when Bev was out of town and I was all Gina had! From then on, she started to warm to me and in a few months we were the best of buddies. She even started to accept other men after a while. As the years went by, she got over any fear she had of men and later in her life was comfortable with all people.

What breed is she, John? How old is she? I think if you just be patient with her everything will be fine. When dogs are mistreated, they remember it for a long time so she will likely have to take some time to get over whatever happened in the past.

Sounds EXACTLY like what I am going through. She is also an English cocker spaniel and I think that she is, say, 5 or 6 years old. Here is a picture...

 

[the_rayway]

Have you changed your scent? Cologne, soap, shampoo, etc? With dogs being SO dependent on scent you may have changed something and you now smell like the people who used to own her. Just a thought.

 

[BernardSmith]

Have you changed your scent? Cologne, soap, shampoo, etc? With dogs being SO dependent on scent you may have changed something and you now smell like the people who used to own her. Just a thought.

Beat me to it! I was going to suggest that you deliberately change or wear a scent...