Several behaviour issues

[Bettysmum]

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Hi, I have recently given a home to a 6 year old dog who was being re homed due to a marriage breakdown. She is a cross breed (looks like a Patterdale terrier x Jack Russell ) she is a fantastic little dog at home her house training is impeccable and she is very friendly with people and especially children, she is starting to settle in to our home apart from a few issues

She is sometimes aggressive with other dogs mostly when she is on the lead, I am working on recall but its not perfect yet.I do let her off the lead on walks so she can have a run but have to be vigilant for other dogs

She has separation anxiety and hates it if I even go to another room, we seemed to be making headway with this until this week when we seem to have gone back to square one,she is being given Zylkene as recommended by our vet. we also give her a kong and various other toys to play with if we go out,she seems to spend all her time digging at the front door in an effort to follow us and she does bark although my neighbour told me that she doesn't do that as much now

I have so far started training her to sit which she will do most times and have also started on stay

She gets quite nervous sometimes when I am training her so for example instead of sitting she will lie down and roll onto her back, but she looks upset like she thinks she is being told off, i am using positive reinforcement with treats for training

Does anyone have any ideas or tips I can try to sort these issues out, any advice would be great thanks

 

[goldenbear2013]

Hi there,

you sound like you have a very worried and nervous girl on your hands.

As she is a rescue you do not know her back ground so you have to so very patient in her rehibilitation.

The first thing i would advise you to do it get her to training classes. This will not only help you on how to deal with her anxiety etc, but will also help your dog.

She will get to socilise with other dogs where she feels safe and the trainer will guide you through every step of the way. Just because she is 6 doesnt mean she still cannot learn.

My dog is 1 year old and he has a friend called Luna in his training class and she is 8 years old learning the same things as he is.

As you continue to train her and the more she socialises the more her anxiety will start to go and she will be easier to manage and leave on her own.

if you are worried about leaving her and her being destructive i reccommend crate training her, however she is years old and if she isnt used to this it may take a long time for her to realise that the crate is good and safe place to be, not somewhere she goes when she is naughty.

As for rolling on her back when you are teaching her to sit this again is down to her fear, and rolling over is a sign of submission and her telling you not to tell her off, or give her negative energy. Again, a trainer will give you more insight into this.

Do google some trainers and attend the classes to see what you think before taking your dog along. At least you know then what you are getting into before you sign up.

I wish you the best of luck and I applaud you for taking on a rescue dog.

Sophie x

 

[Bettysmum]

Hi, Thanks for your reply, I know a little bit about her background, she came from a family of husband, wife and four children, they got her as a puppy and she was with them until she came to me,we got her on the 8th of May and she has just in the last couple of weeks started playing with toys with us, I bought her one of those tuggy rope toys and she quite likes that,she also wags her tail more than she did and seems to be settling in to the house, I just need to try to make training seem fun as at the moment she is acting like she is being told off whenever we try to train her. The night I posted the original message I looked up some training classes and have found one locally but they don't start again until the 11th of Sept, so I am going to carry on with what we are doing and then see if I can enroll for the classes, its a 6 week beginners course then you can move onto other levels after if you want, hopefully this will help with socialisation )

 

[goldenbear2013]

Fabulous! This is great news!

Clearly it is a very big adjustment for her so it will take a lot of time for her to feel like you are there to love her and be her new family. Sounds to me like she is starting to settle in nicely.

Great news on the training classes, they are a massive help in general as well helping her with getting to know you as her new owner.

All the best for the future

Sophie x