Hi guys,

I am sorry I have been rubbish at even attempting to upload a pic of Vinnie. Will sit down over the weekend and try to put a piccie up.

Anyway, I am having a few problems with walking Vinnie. He does at times pull on the lead but we a working on this. He has had a one-to-one training session which introduced him to rewards and clicker based training. However we live on a really quiet road and so walking him is fine until we come across a distraction. This then seems to 'spook' him and he will simply sit down and try to wiggle his head out of his collar or off his lead. No amount of treats, reassurance, pulling, waiting will convince him to move forward and he ends up in a bit of a frenzy. Sometimes it only takes an oncoming person (without dog) to do this. As they get closer he tends to bark and try to escape the lead until they pass. This has completely knocked my confidence walking him as twice I have had to phone my partner to come and rescue us (well me)! It would seems he responds to men, however I am the one with the time to walk him.

In the city he is actually a wee bit better as there are more distractions so he kind of ignores most things whereas we're so quiet it's like all he can focus on is that one distraction.

Very early days I know, we've had him about 10 days. Plus he is still very young at only a year. However at 37kgs I would really like him to be able to trust me and me to trust him! Any advice hugely appreciated? Anybody else experienced similar problem?

Thanks, Liesh xx

Hi there, my heart goes out to you ...and Vinnie. I have pretty good idea where you are coming from. He is clearly uphappy at that stage and I would not reassure him as you are really telling him it is ok to be scared just like we say good boy when they do something we want. Sure others will come with good advice ,I am out of time except to say don't force the issue.Maybe just turn around and walk the other way if possible. If he likes toys or treats try distracting him before he clocks on to the "scary thing" whatever it is.
I don't think it is about your and his trust in you, I am sure you are building that each day.
Best wishes and take it easy.
Sounds like Vinnie has arrived in the right caring home
Mx

Thanks M!
I was so aware that we taking on this big dog who would have lots of energy and need loads of walking and so I felt as if I had fallen at the first hurdle. I think you are right, for now we will just play and run around in our garden as it is big enough for him to exercise. I'm hoping that in time he will realise that I wouldn't 'walk' him into 'scary' situations.
Fingers crossed
Liesh

I had a young german shepard once off someone that was not looking after him,and he too was very timid. If he saw someone around the field he would leg it back home ,it took us time but he was getting there with patience ,we also took him training and he pooed himself .It was a shame because he was just getting our trust and i had to find him a new home which killed me cause he was such a good dog ,but my 9 year old yorkie would not take too him and they had a fight one nite which i think my yorkie started and the other dog riped a pieace of flech of my yorkie ,i do think he catched the collor and that did it cause the collor was bitten in half ,so i couldnt take the chance on keeping the big dog ,you will get there ,just dont rush him.

Don`t get disheartened, puppies have a different view of the world to us.

Jessie would just lay down on the pavement and there was no moving her. Aparently laying down is a submission and they do it if they are not sure or worried. She did it for the first 4 months if she saw another dog who she hadnt met before, a jogger, a postman walking briskly.....

the only way i could deal with it was to ignore her but wait on loose lead for her to get up when ready.

She still stops occasionaly and stares at whatever is coming our way and i juast say `with me` and she comes.

I assuse Vinny is also not sure of things and his way is to struggle form the lead, its just a phase!

It will get there honest - Lara was spooked by walking past a particular house with a loud dog in it. For months she would not walk past it. We tried distraction, ignoring, pleading, picking her up (a bit smaller than yours) etc. Eventually she just grew out of it. She now just scowls at the house and the dog and scuttles past but it took at good few months. Lara is still more confident walking with me than hubby.

One day at a time. I am sure lots of the experienced owners will give some really good advice - also some good dog books will suggest ways of managing this and showing Vinnie you are going to look out for him and he can rely on you to be safe.

In the meantime have a great time getting to know each other in your big garden.

Any some pictures please

Poor Vinnie . He sounds very shy from what you describe. As he is about a year old and you have just got him, you might find this book helpful .... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Love-Has-Age-Li ... 957&sr=8-1. It is full of excellent advice on rehoming an adult dog, and has a section specifically on fear of strangers.

In the meantime I would concentrate on finding what he really loves - food or a favourite toy, and keep a certain treat or a certain toy just for walks, and produce it when you see something he is likely to be worried about. It is a good sign that he just tries to get away rather than showing signs of aggression, and you want it to stay that way, so don't force the issue, just try and distract him and move him away from what is worrying him - preferably by crossing the road rather than turning back, so he learns that you will guide him past. Also watch out for tensing up because you think he is going to react - he will pick up on that and it will reinforce the idea that there is something to worry about. If you can, keep a loose lead so he doesn't feel trapped. Aim for calm without being soothing if you can! .

He sounds like a lovely boy, and well worth the extra effort to build his confidence

Poor Vinnie and poor you. With an adult (more or less) dog you've adopted you just don't know what's gone on before.

I agree with all the advice given here, but would add one thing. You need to be ahead of the game and spot something that might spook him before he does. That way, without breaking stride, tensing up or anything, you can calmly cross the road or distract him with a special toy or whatever. Don't feed Vinnie's insecurity by fussing over it too much - keep calm, keep quiet and, above all, try to keep walking. Good luck - it will be worth it in the end.

We have the same issue with Lulu - the terrible fear of traffic. We have had her since a puppy so there is no logical reason other than not enough socialisation. We live in the country and there is not much traffic but she was (getting better) and still is frightened every time a car goes past fast. Tractors cause major panic. The fear is greater than the lure of a piece of sausage. We tried a normal collar and lead but she was awful on it - trying to back away so I went back to using a slip lead. It seems to make her feel more secure although I know some people don't like them. I also make sure she walks against the wall\hedge, with me on the outside to protect her - crossing the road where necessary to ensure she is always on the inside. Our trainer has told us not to stop because you are rewarding the fear but if i see the milk tanker or bin wagon I will stop, pull her onto the verge or gateway and she will sit until it goes past.

http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz292/peachyandamo/P1050804-1.jpg?t=1341584333

I still can't upload it as an actual image as my signature or anything but this is a start. In my eyes he is beautiful and the grubbiness is just a sign of a good time

Thanks for all the support. It seems most of you can relate to this problem in some way. We will persevere and hopefully build up more trust/understanding as time goes on. It's funny as yesterday we took him to a quiet local beach. He was fine walking past people on the lead as there we lots of other distractions, not just one. Recall was non-existent off the lead when more exciting things were on offer like another dog (I'm starting to wonder if this is just a doodle trait!), something we expected and are happy to work on.

Then whilst messing around on the beech practising walking on the lead he walked with me beautifully as long as we followed my partner. Once, I tried to just walk around in a circle but as soon as Vinnie realised we were turing away from OH who was 100m ahead we went loopy and got out of his collar. When he is in one of his panics, like you say Alison not even a frankfurter will bring him back down onto planet earth .Very hard to understand what insecurities trigger these panics but that is all part of taking on a slightly older dog. Will stick with it. The book looks good Bid. We've already fallen for him (hard not to with his eyelashes, they're amazing!), now it's just a case of trying to understand eachother.

Anyway, thank you all so much. The reassurance has helped as much as anything.

Liesh xx

Hi Liesh, as you have a trainer who has worked with you and the dog I would probably ask them for some advice, for me I think the key might be to staying calm and unresponsive to his "stressing out" but that is easier said than done.

It might help if you have command for "moving on". For example with Barney I often say to him "Let's go!" very high pitched, jolly and when he was a young puppy it was always attached to an action... I'd say it as I walked into the kitchen to make dinner, or when I picked his ball up and went outside to play - he knows it means "moving this way!!", and I use it on walks often, especially making him sit before we cross the road and then I'll say it as I quickly cross. When he's sniffing for ages I'll often use it to jolly him along a bit so it often comes with a tug on his harness and I always say it with a kind of "marching" attitude - as if to let him know that I am leading the walk, I am saying we're moving on and you are to follow.

Now I know this wont help you immediately because it will take time to build up the action with the word and you don't want to use it till he's really "ingrained" but I'd start attaching your "moving on" command to other things so that one day you can might be able stop a "freak out" from developing by saying it right at the beginning so it doesn't develop.

Until you find that "click" with him that makes him listen to you when he's in that "zone" (ball, command, food) I think the answer will be to go calm, stand tall and firm and give him a loose lead. I'd probably let the dog know you heard/saw what he did by saying something like "Oh yes", and then stop looking at him and just act like standing in the middle of nowhere with a crazy dog is the most normal thing in the world until he calms down. You should notice him start to settle eventually and when he does you can just cheerily say "walk on" or "let's go" or "this way" and throw a ball and stride purposefully off.

I think he needs to learn that you are assertive enough to protect him from "danger" and at the minute if your husband turns up to "save you both" you're rewarding his "freak out" by saying - he was right, it was a mega danger and you needed that authority to turn up and rescue you both.

Thanks Maggie So simple really, why couldn't I see the situation like that.
I accept that I am very much part of the problem because I know I begin to panic. My priority is to regain control and therefore continue walking with him. However I see now that by staying calm and acknowledging his behaviour and then just standing patiently until it passes I may actually appear slightly more in control, especially if we continue in the direction planned. I'll just have to pretend to any onlookers that a loopy doodle doing somersaults on the lead and then resorting to the 'I'm sitting and absolutely not moving' pose is completely normal. Surely as he sees me not panic he will learn to do the same.
Easier said than done however I'm willing to give it a go. That will involve leaving the house mind you!! Be brave Liesh! Just please don't let us encounter the horse down the road just yet!

In terms of favourite things Vinnie is keen on any squeaky toy which I only play with occasionally, could try taking it as my secret weapon. Alternatively he is partial to a slipper which I'm not aiming to encourage!! The 'move on' command we will start building on.

Thanks again

Ted doodle is just like this He gets really nervous in certain situations and I have come to be able to read what these situations will be. It was really worrying at first as he just randomly started barking at old people and being fearful in certain places.

I do think it is probably me that has caused a lot of the issues as I don't think I always acted appropriately when he was scared however, I have worked to overcome this and he has vastly improved so with a little bit of work you can definately get there.

I found with Ted that he was most calm in big open spaces, where he could play with his ball and also be off lead so he didn't feel trapped in any situation. He also loves other dogs so if he is in a place with a lot of dogs other things he is normally scared of aren't an issue. So we started in places like this and slowly built from there. You haven't had Vinnie long so spend a little time getting to know him and find a level at which he is comfortable and build from there.

He does still get worried - for example, an old lady was walking along the canal with a trolley and he was petrified but I knew he would be so I took him passed and then proceeded to play with him with his ball to reduce his stress levels otherwise he is on alert for the rest of the walk and spooks at everything. It takes time and at first I was at a loss but you will learn to read Vinnie and you will get there

Oh yes, definitely take the most obnoxiously loud squeakiest toy you can on every walk if he loves it! The other walkers maybe wont love it but that's their problem

I know I wrote all about how you didn't need an amichien dog trainer but a lot of the ignoring behaviour is a Jan Ferrell type of response to that problem - I think you'd gain some value out of reading her book at least - but just don't feel you have to be as prescriptive as the book is, and don't think that following everything she suggests will automatically give you a calm dog But can be a useful book on learning what is calming or stressful for a dog etc

Wispa does this sometimes, too! I have found that pretending to be really excited and then jogging forward gets her to follow me, and then we'll run for about 10 seconds, then slow back down to a walk, and she's past the distraction and happy to go forward!