Otherwise Confident Dog Now Nervous.

[bappit]

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Throwing this open to try to find the best way forward for my young bitch (14 months), have asked advice from a few folk and would value any additional input from here.

She has always been confident enough on lead, but owing to an 'incident' a few weeks ago, when i was walking her and my older bitch at night a 'boyracer' went past (we are used to them around here so nothing new), however, for a bit of sport the passenger threw what turned out to be an egg. The egg exploded on her eye socket, an i do mean exploded, i really thought it was glass and at first glance took the liquid to be blood, of course I checked her over and perhaps my panic has led to the situation i now face, she was spooked at the time obviously, but alright when i got her cleaned up at home. Since then she has been perfectly fine on lead near traffic through the day, but has been if anything getting progressively worse on lead in the dark.

She is always walked with the older bitch who is totally steady, I pay no attention to this young one shying away from passing cars at night, as i thought that was the best way forward, but she has now taken to crouching down and being spooked by passing cars (only at night).

Further info. is ... I really dont HAVE to walk her in traffic, have access to land we can get on to without any need to go near road traffic. Would it be better to give her a break or persist? I realise there is no quick fix as such, just trying to find the best way forward for her...any suggestions please?

Thanks in ancipation of your response.

:cheers:

Sheena

 

[~elizabeth~]

So sorry to hear this, what a :rant: to do this.

Had a similar experience with ours following his attack and subsequent trip to the vets to be stitched up; having been previously always very good there he suddenly developed a phobia of vets. Just like yours, he would cower as far away from the vet as he could go and then panic if she came too close, which was a real joy for all involved when the stitches had to come out.

Having said that, it now seems the phobia is very particular to being placed on the table for examination, he's much better if she examines him on the floor, and each trip has been slightly easier as he realises that he's not going to have something horrible done to him on that table. (we may well be back to square one on friday when he goes in for his x-ray :wacko: )

My point is that they do seem to make very strong associations with bad experiences related to specific objects, places, people or even times of day, so I personally would avoid the time/place for a while, and maybe start again when you can do the route in the light which might help break the association.

Goodluck :luck: :huggles:

 

[Seraphina]

I would also give her a break, later on and only slowly i would be taking her out to similar situations. First high traffic area in daytime, then at dusk....etc. I would not push her. It may take a long time, they have very long memory.

It must have given you an awful fright as well, maybe you also feel bit tense in the same situation and she is feeling it? Anyway, walks ought to be a pleasure, so go to places you both feel comfortable :luck:

 

[wild whippies]

I agree give her some time to recover from the trauma and then slowly expose her to traffic again. One of mine was terrible as a pup with cars and wagons and I basically resorted to exposing her to the situation as much as possible mainly for fear that if I didn't get her used to it, I was worried she may spook and try to slip her lead in a panic. Good luck with her :luck:

 

[alfyn]

What a dreadful thing to happen to you,what is this bloody world coming to :rant:

I would also give her a break from the night road walks,maybe a couple of months or so before you try again!

 

[whippynit]

What b******s!!! :rant: :rant:

Sorry, i dont have any advice but just wanted to say good luck with your poor girl and lots of :huggles: to her

 

[zilloot]

:angry: What a horrible thing to do to a dog.

I hope eveything works out for her - I would give her a break from the night-time association then introduce it very gradually again. :luck: :luck:

I know if a horse spooks from something that's normally not going to harm them it's best we let them turn and look in their own time than to avoid completely.

 

[clairej810]

Oh that's awful, hope she is okay! :huggles:

I would be incliined to give her a break and then reintorduce her gradually - as others have said, letting her take her time and look at everything. :luck:

 

[Lanakeshena]

I too would give her a break, and what with the lighter evenings coming it will be better for her, hopefully by Autumn, she will gradually get used to it again in the darker evenings.

Best of luck with her, hope her eye is better.

 

[wilfred]

I can only echo others' comments about giving her a break from the night walking on lead near traffic, if she is OK with it during the day I would continue with those walks instead.

I hope she is OK in the long run, just shows what a stupid thoughtless act by someone thinking they are having "fun" can do. Hope your little girl's confidence is not ruined by this experience. She was very lucky not to lose her eye, I think, having an object hitting it at speed.

What these people get from behaving like this, heaven only knows. I wish I had it in me, to pity them, but I'm afraid I just feel angry with them. I haven't walked my dogs in the dark for a long time because of the yobs round here. They make me nervous.

Best wishes

Gill

 

[simon]

My 11 month old Deerhound got a football kicked at him by a group of youths -accidently?- near one of our local shops, for a short while afterwards he would start trying to run the other way everytime we approached the incident spot. I decided to persist and while in that area i would play with a stick for 5 minutes and give him a treat. After a week everything was back to normal.

Good luck.

 

[bappit]

Many, many thanks for all your replys :huggles:

Basically I had been thinking along the lines of giving her a rest from the night/dark walking in traffic as her anxiety had been getting progressively worse, so your comments have convinced me to leave it for a good while, as i had, had some people I'd asked advice from say to keep her at it, but it was a miserable situation

She is otherwise fit and well (have attached pic of her new favourite escape from the garden...by trampoline!)

 

[Strike Whippets]

I personally wouldn't stop the night walks, as it could well be much harder to get her to ever do them again ........Try Rescue Remedy ........2 - 4 drops in her daily water bowl (it won't hurt the others as they'll share) and 2 drops orally 4 - 6 times aday .......then walk her as usual in a carefree, happy manner with your steady dog .......She should start improving within a week or so, and the sooner she see's everythings ok and safe the better .......... :luck: :luck: :luck: Hannah.

 

[simon]

Bappit, is your dog a deerhound?

 

[bappit]

Strike Whippets...have been adding a bit (have a friend who swears by it). However have decided to give her a bit of a rest from it for now, but sincerely :cheers: thanks, know what your saying :thumbsup:

Simon, Caileag is close 7/8th Deerhound 1/8th Greyhound from a line my friend keeps going alongside her pure Deerhound line :thumbsup: she was given her name by my friend, it means girl in Gaelic.

 

[Seraphina]

If dog has an irrational fear (phobia) I would recommend slow familiarization with the object/area it fears. However, in this case it is not really irrational. She not only got a bad fright but it would have hurt and rendered her temporarily unable to see. I do not think getting hit by football is quite comparable. And yes I would perservere, but not yet, and I would go very slowly. Visit the same spot in daytime, maybe early Sunday morning when there is not much traffic, walk in other places in dark....etc.

:luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck: :luck:

 

[~elizabeth~]

If dog has an irrational fear (phobia) I would recommend slow familiarization with the object/area it fears. 

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Yup, I think there is a difference. Things like distraction, encouraging titbits etc wont work as if they think they're in real danger and genuinely traumatised. I was really quite worried by the phobia it at one stage, but it has got a lot better in only a couple of months.

I must say I'm getting more and more pissed off with wayside aggression everywhere :rant:

 

[bappit]

She really is neither or up nor down in traffic through the day, will give her a bit of a break from in the dark in that situation, and let you know how she gets on once its slowly re-introduced. Really appreciate all your advice and comments :thumbsup:

As i also strongly suspect she is coming into her 1st season, will let her take it easy for a bit, rather than keep at it, and hope for the best when she's had a gap from it :luck: .

Sheena

 

[Joanna]

The poor thing...........How absolutely horrific. I imagine a human being would take a long while to get over that, let alone an animal. It seems cruel to try and get her to go through what is obviously a terrifying prospect if she doesn't need to. I would avoid darkness for now, it is summertime and the nights will be lighter any-way.........If it was me, I would just start to play games in the garden at dusk, and gradually build her up VERY slowly to being in a safe place at night. I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about what she must have gone through. By the time the nights draw in, she may get some confidence back, but who could blame her if she never did :huggles:

 

[simon]

Simon, Caileag is close 7/8th Deerhound 1/8th Greyhound from a line my friend keeps going alongside her pure Deerhound line :thumbsup: she was given her name by my friend, it means girl in Gaelic.

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Does she ever have a problem with brittle/broken fur? The fur on my dog's legs just went really brittle then broke off. Now he looks like a hobo, people tell me deerhounds are supposed to look regal and graceful.