[NannerPudding]

My neighbor has 2 dogs, neither of which are well-trained or particularly mentally sane. However, her one poor Boxer is scared of everything. The poor thing was terrified of me when I first met him but now we are buddies. He got over his fear of me through repeated exposure and me taking him on a walk with Neighbor and her other dog.

I imagine this is due to an extreme lack of socialization as a puppy. My neighbor got him from her sister who rescued them off of Craigslist from someone who couldn't handle two boxer puppies anymore. The Craigslist person got him and his sisters at 6 weeks from a breeder. Neighbor's sister had them for a few months together I believe until he was sent to Neighbor. Neighbor has since not done much with him. His history is somewhat murky.

His issues: afraid of everything. He has raised his hackles and barked out of fear but actively shies away. He would much rather run away from strange things than attack them. He also pulls on the leash but he is getting better about that as I am working with him.

Since working with him periodically, he is no longer afraid of the train, cars, and reacts much less severely to strange dogs and people. Exercise definitely helps his state of mind (as I figured) so he reacts less when he is tired. When people are out (such as when I am on the sidewalk walking him and someone is on their porch) I have been stopping lately to just desensitize him. When I do this he normally shies away but will look at the people and maybe sniff around nervously. If he looks at them/shows interest I praise him. If he is really wigging out like he can around strange dogs I start running so he refocuses onto me and quickly goes back to "oh boy this is fun" mode. I know this dog needs more exposure and lots of positive reinforcement, but I am definitely looking for suggestions for activities or any other ideas. Of course, this isn't my dog and his owner is not keeping up the work I do with him, but any little bit helps. I also can't have a dog right now so it is mutually beneficial. He really is a very sweet boy.

Again, any tips would be great!

 

[rotten]

ahh nannapudding, you are really doing this dog such a huge favour, and im sure his new owners also.
Boxers are nuts and skittish at the best of times. I can imagine the fear reactions you describe so well. Also of note, is how he is 'willing to trust' your judgement.
Be aware, that training you do, DOES count a lot, even if it isnt kept up by owners.
Your training methods you describe are perfect, and i have no suggestions other than:
keep doing it
enjoy the dog/human time that you have access to

maybe once the dog is more liveable with, they will enjoy and seek its company more?

 

[NannerPudding]

Thanks! I appreciate it. I hoped I was on the right track. He is pretty willing to trust my judgement, but not when he is in a bad headspace. He can be jumpy when he isn't sufficiently tired which makes sense. I grew up with a boxer who was excitable, but unafraid of everything. In her old age she developed issues with dogs, but that had more to do with her becoming physically fragile (she had bad knees). So this is definitely new!

They do love their dogs, but neither of them are really willing to train them. It does seem to be helping at least.

 

[fawkese1]

if your neighbor will allow treats you could likely make much more progress with him. food is a primary reinforcer... pairing food with anything that the dog is nervous/afraid of can change his underlying emotional state:

further, if the dog starts to anticipate a treat when he sees something that makes him uncomfortable, he will learn to defer back to you in those situations. it sounds like you are already playing a version of the "look at that" game:

you want to make sure that you keep the "trigger" (whatever is scary to him) at a far enough distance that he doesn't feel the need to "wig-out" if he gets to that point, you are much too close. this sticky addresses that behavior:
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-behavior/reactivity-leash-aggression-barrier-frustration-12538/
a bit of caution to you. when an animal is afraid, they will deal with it in different ways depending on the circumstances. just because this dog tends toward the "flight" end of the spectrum in your experience so far, it doesn't mean that he can't/won't turn to the "fight" end. that switch can actually happen faster than you might think. you want to be careful that you try not to push him to accept too much too fast, there is no need to rush this sort of training.

as far as the leash pulling, i would read through this:
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training/loose-leash-walking-1683/

there is a particularly helpful video on the "silky-leash" method that i find very effective.

i would also recommend you read through these stickies here on the forum (in no particular order):
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training/helpful-training-videos-articles-11426/
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training/4-quadrants-operant-conditioning-23702/
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-training/thoughts-training-food-1219/
http://www.dogforum.com/dog-behavior/calming-signals-10084/

 

[NannerPudding]

Excellent thank you for all those links! I will try these out tomorrow with him. I appreciate all the resources as I know some but I definitely need to learn more. I can give him treats, and he does seem to be motivated by them.

Again, thanks. I appreciate the help.