I have a concern with my Husky/Malinois mix, Luna (the shelter was unsure if this is her actual breed). Luna was rescued from an abusive environment and taken to a shelter where she lived for almost a year before my family adopted her. She is three. She was skittish and food-aggressive when we got her but she was not my first rescue so training the food-aggression and helping her gain confidence at home was possible. She is able to follow commands easily and has great recall. She gets nervous when we have guests but I'm able to calm her down after a few basic commands and encouragement. The problem is outside. Luna seems to be afraid of everything and is extremely reactive outside. I try to take her out in the afternoon while the street is quiet but she is reactive to the smallest things, even leaves. She will bark, growl, and lunge at people, animals, and anything else that moves. It's gotten so bad that I have trouble taking her for walks and can only take her about 100 meters; we walk back and forth from my garage and up the street but past that, she can't manage. When I first got her, she would start to cry the moment we went outside for a walk. Over the course of a month since we've had her she is more confident outside and will play outside in the backyard or walk on a leash in the front yard as long as no one is around. But, if anyone is around while walking in the front yard, she will immediately start crying and then will lunge and bark and try to get to whomever or whatever. I've taken to putting her on my treadmill so that she can have a chance to run and exercise. I would like to take her to obedience training but she is so reactive that I fear how she would respond. I have looked online and asked on forums and have tried everything that has been suggested but nothing seems to help. I would sincerely appreciate any feedback and am willing to try almost anything to give her the confidence to walk around her neighborhood without fear. Thank you. View attachment 258833

Hi, welcome to the forum. . Luna is lovely. 😍

It is incredibly frustrating when you have a dog who is frightened of things that can't or won't hurt them, (I empathize - my dog is scared of fireworks, and anything that even remotely sounds like a firework - like a car backfiring, a motorbike, a digger working a few blocks away - causes her to freeze and turn for home. Until recently, Dark Nights equalled Scary Bangs, so she wouldn't go out after dark, because the 5th November is Bonfire Night, so from October until about a week or so ago, she refused to go out after dark)!

But here's the thing - we can rationalize, they can't.

We know that a leaf blowing in the wind is the same leaf that was blowing on the tree a month ago and the same leaf that fell to the ground a few days ago and has lain immobile until that gust of wind picked it up and flung it down the street. We know that the only reason that leaf is flying now is because of the wind.

We know that if it hits us, it'll be as soft and gentle as a mother's loving touch (unless it's wet, in which case if it hits us at all, it'll do so with the energy of an angry slap ).

But what if that leaf was a billboard or a child's trampoline heading straight for us? Wouldn't we freeze? Wouldn't we be thinking "oh heck! If that thing hits me, it's going to hurt."? And wouldn't we be heading for safety?

That's the comparison we need to make. We see a dead leaf. They see a billboard.

On top of that, you've only had the dog a month. That's no time at all, and while you might think you know Luna, you may not be seeing her true personality yet.

On average, it takes a dog:

3 days to decompress from a move,
3 weeks to start to learn the house rules
And
3 months to start feeling like this is her forever home.

You've had her a month, and you've already got her to the point where she's happy in the garden and going for 100yd walks up the street.

I think you're taking this waaaaaaaay too fast and expecting too much, too soon. Plus, you're not really giving any training (or behavioural modification, which is what is needed here), time to work.

What are you doing to help her overcome her fears? What have other forums suggested? How did you help get her over her food aggression so quickly? Once we know the answer to those questions, we can offer suggestions of our own.

 

Hi, welcome to the forum. . Luna is lovely. 😍

It is incredibly frustrating when you have a dog who is frightened of things that can't or won't hurt them, (I empathize - my dog is scared of fireworks, and anything that even remotely sounds like a firework - like a car backfiring, a motorbike, a digger working a few blocks away - causes her to freeze and turn for home. Until recently, Dark Nights equalled Scary Bangs, so she wouldn't go out after dark, because the 5th November is Bonfire Night, so from October until about a week or so ago, she refused to go out after dark)!

But here's the thing - we can rationalize, they can't.

We know that a leaf blowing in the wind is the same leaf that was blowing on the tree a month ago and the same leaf that fell to the ground a few days ago and has lain immobile until that gust of wind picked it up and flung it down the street. We know that the only reason that leaf is flying now is because of the wind.

We know that if it hits us, it'll be as soft and gentle as a mother's loving touch (unless it's wet, in which case if it hits us at all, it'll do so with the energy of an angry slap ).

But what if that leaf was a billboard or a child's trampoline heading straight for us? Wouldn't we freeze? Wouldn't we be thinking "oh heck! If that thing hits me, it's going to hurt."? And wouldn't we be heading for safety?

That's the comparison we need to make. We see a dead leaf. They see a billboard.

On top of that, you've only had the dog a month. That's no time at all, and while you might think you know Luna, you may not be seeing her true personality yet.

On average, it takes a dog:

3 days to decompress from a move,
3 weeks to start to learn the house rules
And
3 months to start feeling like this is her forever home.

You've had her a month, and you've already got her to the point where she's happy in the garden and going for 100yd walks up the street.

I think you're taking this waaaaaaaay too fast and expecting too much, too soon. Plus, you're not really giving any training (or behavioural modification, which is what is needed here), time to work.

What are you doing to help her overcome her fears? What have other forums suggested? How did you help get her over her food aggression so quickly? Once we know the answer to those questions, we can offer suggestions of our own.

Thank you for putting things into perspective. I suppose because she has learned and gotten so comfortable at home so quickly, I expected or hoped that the rest would follow suit. But you're right. I can't explain to her that she doesn't have anything to be afraid of and I can't know all of what she's endured to make her so afraid of the world.

As far as helping her overcome her fears, I started taking her outside every few hours -- I work from home -- where we would just sit and relax, she'd get treats, we'd practice commands. Just so she could get acclimated to outside. She goes in the car with me everywhere which is fine for her unless the window is rolled down then she will cry and bark. For walks, forums suggested showing her she doesn't have to be afraid with treats and praise; standing in front of her when a person or dog approaches to show her I'll protect her; taking her out when no one is around so that she gets comfortable in the environment first before introducing people into the environment; etc. The leash training is actually going quite well for the most part. I've gotten her to stop pulling for the most part. But all bets are off if she sees anything that moves. She freezes and so I get her attention by calling her name or taking out a snack from my pocket -- small bits of lunch meat. If I'm able to grab her attention then I put her into a sit and give her the treat. But, if it's a person or animal that she's noticed she goes immediately from freezing to lunging and barking. In the garden we have a six-foot fence and if she sees someone the same thing happens but she returns to my side as soon as I call for her. But on a leash it does not happen. Until the person or dog is gone, she will continue to bark and lunge until they're gone.

As far as the food aggression goes, I worked with her the same way I worked with my dogs in the past who were food-aggressive. I've only had rescues so many of them exhibited this behaviour. Luna is quite smart and learns new commands rather quickly. We mastered sit, stay, and come the first day after repeated practice. We would work in 15-minute increments over the course of the day with about an hour in between. I started with letting her finish a full meal without any commands aside from sit and stay while I put the food into her bowl. After the food was in front of her, if anyone came close she would growl and would occasionally snap if you got too close. I wanted her to understand that her food was her food and no one would take it from her but also understand that she couldn't eat without listening. I would tell her to sit and stay, give her food but get her used to following commands even while she was eating. I would have a treat and give her a sit command while she was eating her food and, if she complied, she would get something tastier than her dog food like a piece of banana or a piece of steak depending on what was in the kitchen. From there I included "come" so that, while she was eating, I would tell her to come to me, I'd giver her the treat, and release her back to her bowl. Once she learned that, I had my kids start the same process from the beginning and, after about two weeks, she went through the routine without having to be given commands or treats. She will sit beside her bowl as I grab her food from the kitchen; after I put her food into the bowl, she waits until I return to the kitchen and put her measuring cup away; she will then come to my side once I leave the kitchen and sit -- she has gotten used to giving her paw whenever she wants something because that is the command my kids always give her -- so she will give me her paw and wait to be told to eat. I do still call for her after she's taken a few bites just to reinforce that she still has to listen even when she is eating. She will return to my side and immediately go into a sit and I release her right away to go back to her food. I don't know if this is a standard, it's just what I've found to work in the past and so have continued.

 

I'll add that changing your mindset about scary things should also include not thinking of your outings as 'going for a walk'. If you can stop thinking of it like that, and instead thinking of it as a training or confidence building session it will take the pressure off you both.

 

Since it sounds like she is scared of the outdoors, I would slowly build a safe zone for her. Don't worry about the walk for now. Encourage her out onto your front steps, give her treats and pats, let her look around. Take her back inside if she gazes towards the door. A trip outside should never result in being exposed to something scary or being forced to stay outside longer than she's comfortable. For now she may not be comfortable staying outside longer than a trip to your mailbox. That's ok.

 

The safe zone has been the backyard. She has become comfortable enough in the backyard that she no longer needs a leash or someone out there with her to be comfortable. She'll go out and stay out for some time just running or rolling in gras or sunbathing. She actually enjoys being outside on a walk as well and is eager to go out. But that's only if everything is quiet and still. Since she enjoys it so much, I'm just hoping to take away this anxiety that she has when there is movement nearby.

 

That sounds like a strategy that could make her more food guardy - if she feels she is going to be asked to do meaningless (to her) tasks, she might try to get the food down before you try it interrupt her. Put yourself in her position. If you were in a restaurant eating your favourite meal, and someone asked you to step outside for a minute, then go to the bar, then call for a taxi for the people at the next table, then check someone's bill was accurate, then take a delivery of potatoes for the kitchen - at some stage you are going to mutter "FFS, just. let. me. eat. in. peace."

Why do you need to do this? Why can't you just let her have her food without interruption? That's what will lead to food security and a reduction in her need to guard it because she is afraid she will lose her access to it.

 

Thank you for the advice. Since it's worked and she has stopped being aggressive with food, I'll continue as I've done with this. As I said, it's worked for all of my dogs in the past and, since she no longer tries to attack and guard or bury food, I don't have much reason to change this practice. But thank you again.

 

Remember the three D's: distance, duration, distraction.
She may be able to deal with something she sees at a far distance, but not closer.
She may be able to deal with a quick glimpse of something, but not its continued presence.
She may be able to deal with something if you have captured her attention with treats and playfulness, but not if she's allowed to focus and worry.

 

This website may be helpful to you: Fearful, shy, anxious & aggressive dogs & animals | education & training (fearfuldogs.com)

This book can be a good resource as well: Love Has No Age Limit – Patricia McConnell

 

For confidence building, I love these games and they follow/are inspired by some material by Julie Daniels. Do they seem random and unrelated? Yes, but they do work.

The first one involves paper towel, gift wrap, and/or toilet paper tubes. To start, you'll take the shortest tube (tp tube size) and drop a treat or kibble (depending on his food motivation) down the shaft. It's important that the treat falls out of the tube to build the correlation that weirdness=good things. If that weirds her out, bump up the treats for one round and you're done for the day. Once she starts showing either vague interest or excitement, go ahead and move on to blowing softly through the tube. You want some noise, but nothing like a rude raspberry or growling their name. Just enough there is something, like a huff. After the noise, drop the treat through the tube every time she either looks at or interacts with the tube. Once she once again shows vague interest or excitement, you can up the noise ante--like a kazoo noise. Then you rinse and repeat with the paper towel size, and then the gift wrap tube.

Using the same tubes, you'll line them up upright in a box or container, though this time you'll have the food already in there. You want him to push the tubes around to get the food. You can help a little, like take a tube out if he is having some difficulties and is getting discouraged, or sit by him, but you want him to being learning some agency here. Once she gets the knack, we get to the fun part and more control for the dog. You'll up the ante by having her start pushing noisier things around like jingle bells or your keys. Still soft, but noisier and needing more force. And you build up as she gains more confidence. It's a bit hard to describe, but there comes a moment where noise sensitive dogs realize they can control and create noise, and a switch flips.

The next one is you are basically becoming a poltergeist in your own house. When she is not looking, you're going to move things into unexpected places and positions. Like the food bowl is upside down. A toy balanced on your head. You are not going to lure her to check things out. This is the most important piece-she needs to approach them of her own free will and pace. For things like the moved food, place high value rewards around it, on it, near the edges. For more interactive things, you will treat after she shows initiative to investigate. There's a good chance one of these changes are going to throw her off. You'll take a step back and build up again. Or, you can help her investigate and then take a short break.

I also like Kikopup's Check-it Out Game.
Go Check It Out - for fearful reactive dogs - YouTube



I also like this article/example of a different method.

[Dog training]; Pattern games with Jack & Jill 🐾 - By Jill Hassevoort - Animal Training Academy -


As others have mentioned, letting her have some control over things can be very impactful in building confidence.

 

For confidence building, I love these games and they follow/are inspired by some material by Julie Daniels. Do they seem random and unrelated? Yes, but they do work.

The first one involves paper towel, gift wrap, and/or toilet paper tubes. To start, you'll take the shortest tube (tp tube size) and drop a treat or kibble (depending on his food motivation) down the shaft. It's important that the treat falls out of the tube to build the correlation that weirdness=good things. If that weirds her out, bump up the treats for one round and you're done for the day. Once she starts showing either vague interest or excitement, go ahead and move on to blowing softly through the tube. You want some noise, but nothing like a rude raspberry or growling their name. Just enough there is something, like a huff. After the noise, drop the treat through the tube every time she either looks at or interacts with the tube. Once she once again shows vague interest or excitement, you can up the noise ante--like a kazoo noise. Then you rinse and repeat with the paper towel size, and then the gift wrap tube.

Using the same tubes, you'll line them up upright in a box or container, though this time you'll have the food already in there. You want him to push the tubes around to get the food. You can help a little, like take a tube out if he is having some difficulties and is getting discouraged, or sit by him, but you want him to being learning some agency here. Once she gets the knack, we get to the fun part and more control for the dog. You'll up the ante by having her start pushing noisier things around like jingle bells or your keys. Still soft, but noisier and needing more force. And you build up as she gains more confidence. It's a bit hard to describe, but there comes a moment where noise sensitive dogs realize they can control and create noise, and a switch flips.

The next one is you are basically becoming a poltergeist in your own house. When she is not looking, you're going to move things into unexpected places and positions. Like the food bowl is upside down. A toy balanced on your head. You are not going to lure her to check things out. This is the most important piece-she needs to approach them of her own free will and pace. For things like the moved food, place high value rewards around it, on it, near the edges. For more interactive things, you will treat after she shows initiative to investigate. There's a good chance one of these changes are going to throw her off. You'll take a step back and build up again. Or, you can help her investigate and then take a short break.

I also like Kikopup's Check-it Out Game.
Go Check It Out - for fearful reactive dogs - YouTube



I also like this article/example of a different method.

[Dog training]; Pattern games with Jack & Jill 🐾 - By Jill Hassevoort - Animal Training Academy -


As others have mentioned, letting her have some control over things can be very impactful in building confidence.

I'm sure my kids will have fun with this one. I'll give it a try. Thank you

 

Please note that you are responding to a thread that is 2 years old.
The OP has received excellent advice already, and has not been seen for almost 2 years.
Noting the dates on a thread is very helpful. You will see the date of the post at the top of each post.