[DobbysMommy]

Hello

I had owned dogs before but never adopted two at the same time. I recently adopted two jack russell mix puppies (siblings) from a rescue. They had never been apart and they hoped we would be up for taking them together. They seemed great, until we had them for about a week and potty training was getting worse, not better, and they were destroying everything.

When we got them, we were told they were 'crate trained'. Once we brought them home, they didn't leave their cage at all for the first two days unelss they were sneaking out to use the restroom in the house. Eventually Jack came out and his brother followed - but would retreat back quickly if you looked at him. By the end of day 2, we locked them out of their crate. We had the feeling that perhaps they were kept in their crates more 'full time' than just as a training tool. I had talked to their foster mom about this and she said that she felt they were just more comfortable in their 'den' and even commented on how they did that at her home as well. She eventually had moved a box in with them and they used it like a litter box, but she left their door open they just chose not to leave their crate.

After some research we have come to the conclusion we have a pretty bad case of littermate syndrome. We decided to keep both but separate them for a while, if not keep them separated for good but able to visit each other (my parents are keeping one, possibly for good, but they'll get to visit eventually.)

Jack moved to my parent's home where he lives with my parents and my grandmother, and my grandmother's dog. He seems to be really blossoming into a great companion, almost fully potty trained and much more independent. He was, however, the outgoing more dominant pup.

If you are unfamiliar with littermate syndrome, one pup is the dominant while the other is the more submissive and often thought of as the 'weaker' dog. That's my Dobby. He is very meek, scared, hesitant, and has a very low self esteem. He is terrified of everything. We are continuing to work with him the best we can, and attempting to make accomodations to make him as comfortable as possible while he works through his adjustments.

What I am looking for is any suggestions or tips on ways to get my Dobby to be less afraid of the outdoors. I'm not a fan of the puppy pads, but unless I physically carry him outside every hour he will not go outside. He won't go down the stairs. Even if I do get him outside, he huddles by the door and I cannot get him to move away from it willingly.

I realize this may just take some time to build up his confidence, but for now the only thing he does willingly is to climb up on my lap and bury his face in my chest/arm/shirt/neck and go to sleep. Sometimes I can get him to play briefly, he may fetch a ball or toy once or twice but them will just find a place to hide. I praise, treat, cuddle and pet with every achievement no matter how small. He is more than content to just curl up next to us, on our lap, at our feet... He is sweet! I just want to be sure I am not encouraging the wrong type of behavior as well as finding ways to help him work towards being comfortable outside and hopefully one day be trained to potty outside. I am afraid he is depressed, or that there may be signs of other issues, possibly other abuse he may have been subjected to as a puppy.

OH. And the Foster mom had told us she thought they were about 18 weeks old when we adopted them. I feel they are much closer to a year as they have no puppy teeth left, and have not grown hardly at all since we had gotten them almost 2 months ago. (Also, I found on her Facebook page photos of when she had gotten them in November -- they have not grown much since then, even, so they may be even older...)

I am open to any and all suggestions! I am afraid there has been a LOT of damage, but hoping that we can help Dobby move FORWARD!

I apologize for the long post - but I feel background (At least the parts I know) are important.

 

[Grabby]

You're doing fine. Dobby may never be a confident dog. He can learn that the world isn't scary even without his littermate around. Since Dobby does come to you for comfort and has shown some slight interest in playing, you've got something to build on. Comforting him is the right thing to do. Keeping him feeling safe will go a long way toward helping him.

I'm going to suggest you visit fearfuldogs.com. You might also get Debbie Jacob's book.

Don't focus on what might have happened to him in his previous life. Many dogs are fearful and were never abused. Focus on how you can keep him feeling safe as you learn how to help him become more confident.

If you're on FB you'll find a great group of supportive and knowledgeable people in the fearful dog group. It's an open group. If you want to post, you'll have to watch a webinar (well worth it).

Good for you for separating these two dogs. I've often been criticized when I advised people to separate dog's like Jake and Dobby. It is almost always the right decision, for both dogs.

Best of luck and please keep us posted on both dogs and how they're progressing.

 

[TiggerBounce]

Hmmm...I'm not sure if this is actually littermate syndrome vs. one dog just being more timid by nature. You might need to provide a bit more detail. Littermate syndrome is when the two dogs are VERY attached to one another. It could be that one is more confident and the other more timid. But not always. They've just bonded to one another and have an unhealthy attachment, and they get separation anxiety from one another when separated. Sometimes one dog becomes more bonded than the other.

If this is the case, and if it's why Dobby has shut down...IE he's happier to go outside and "be a dog" when he's with Jack because Jack's confidence helps him...Then I'd actually highly suggest putting the dogs BACK together temporarily. Separating them is traumatic and doing it cold turkey is just going to cause distress to Dobby. You need to slowly build Dobby's confidence, not just throw him in the big scary world with no security blanket.

If Dobby is fearful like that even with Jack around, then I still think keeping them together isn't such a bad idea because again, Jack's confidence will wear off and help the situation with Dobby. Dogs can be very influential to one another.

You also have to remember that they're going through a HUGE change. I'm not sure how long you've had them, but it can take MONTHS for new dogs to settle in to a new home. For now, I wouldn't force anything with Dobby. Don't worry about reinforcing fear. Fear is an emotion, not a behavior. It cannot be reinforced. Try to keep everything positive with Dobby. Don't yell at him or try to correct him if he misbehaves. Let him come to you if he wants attention...Don't approach him or do scary things like lean over him, or hold eye contact for too long. Remember this isn't submission, this is fear.

 

[Loraura]

Treats, treats, treats! Treats for everything!! Use his meal for treats if possible.

If Dobby seems happiest in his crate, I'd let him have access to it, with the door open, unless he hasn't pottied outside recently. If he hasn't pottied outside in the last hour, I'd either close the crate door (with him inside) if you can't watch him, or tether him to you on a long lead so you can keep a close eye on him and look for signs like sniffing, circling, attempting to wander off, then time to go outside for a potty break!

I personally agree with separating the two siblings, even if it means you need to do additional work with fantastically yummy treats building up Dobby's confidence.