# Dog afraid of leaving our home...help?



## ZoeandRocko

Hello,

I rescued my dog, Zoe almost a year ago. She was adopted from an animal shelter when she was 4 months old. Zoe was found abandoned as a puppy in the dead of winter. The day I took her home, I had to carry her out of the shelter. She is a pitbull, but the sweetest dog I have ever met. She is sweet to anyone who comes into our home, and even treats my little rodent pets like they are her babies, however, if we try to take her out of our yard, she is terrified. I recently took her to the pet store, and she refused to walk in the door. She trembled so hard that her whole body shook, and we had to put her in the cart to get her through the store. Eventually, we put a "thunder vest" on her, and she seemed slightly more calm, though she panted, and barely walked without quite a bit of coaxing. We have similar results if we try to walk her in our neighborhood. She doesn't seem to enjoy leaving her home or her yard.

My question to you all, is: Do you have any suggestions to help this sweet little girl not be scared? And, could simply being abandoned cause her to be so terrified of being out of her home? I am hoping that some of you had some success in helping your rescues not be so timid, and that you can help me to make little Zoe more comfortable out of the house.

Thank you!


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## georgiapeach

You might want to contact your vet and ask him/her for some anti-anxiety meds for TEMPORARY use while you help Zoe overcome her fear. She may be fearful b/c she's afraid of being abandoned again. 

I have an adopted poodle who exhibits fear in new situations, trembling, etc., like Zoe. He spent his first year or two tied to a tree in TN along side a chow (yes, a poodle!), and we can only imagine the abuse/neglect he suffered. He is very fearful of the leash, and we think he was beaten with a leash, chain, etc. He does a little better at night, when the distractions are fewer. Have you tried this? We've had Potsie for a couple of years now, and while he's better, he's still fearful in new situations.

I'd start with just your yard, and see if she'll walk to the the driveway and back from your front door, to start with. Coax, praise, and treat for even the smallest success. Eventually, walk to the end of your driveway (or part way down the driveway - depends on the anxiety level) and back to the house. Again, lots of encouragement, praise and treating, no matter how small the success. You may have to do each step for several days in a row before seeing success. Make sure you never pop or snap the leash to try to get her to move - that will only increase her anxiety/fear. Also, don't coddle her and say things like, "you poor baby, it's okay" when she's trembling. That also encourages her to continue the behavior b/c you're reinforcing it when you do this. It's SOOO hard - hang in there! Potsie's also worse if I look him directly in the eye when he's having a melt down (his meltdown consists of suddenly stopping, shying away like I'm about to beat him, and trembling violently - even if nothing has precipitated it!). Sometimes, I'll talk to him with my back to him. 

Now that he's going on short walks (around the block is about as much as he can tolerate), success is only having 3-4 short meltdowns along the way, rather than every few feet - lol! When a meltdown is particularly bad, I'll even pick him up (no coddling!) and carry him for just a few feet (saying, "Potsie, you're fine" in a very calm, matter-of-fact voice), then put him down again, waiting for him to take a few steps. I praise him if he starts walking again; if he doesn't, I'll stand there until he takes at least a couple of steps, then praise. Keep your voice low, calm, and not squeaky/high pitched - that can trigger anxiety in many fearful dogs.

I'm not going to lie - you have to have the patience of Job to deal with a dog like this. Again, you may want to check with your vet to see if anti-anxiety meds may be helpful in the SHORT TERM. I haven't gone this route, but I've been tempted many times. Potsie's better after two years in our house, but he'll never be what I call "normal". We love him anyway - he's the perfect, cuddly, lap dog at home. Our house always seems to be the house of the misfit dogs anyway - lol!


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## spotted nikes

Baby steps. Work on teaching her some commands in the house using positive reinforcement. Teach her the "look at me" command. (That'll be usefull when she is in a scary situation). Inside, teach her to heel, sit, come, stay, return to heel. While doing that, randomly go out on your front porch with her, and feed her high value treats, while you sit there with a book. Get her comfortable there. Once she is ok with that, start walking her around your front yard, leashed. If she gets nervous, ask her to look at me, and do some commands, and treat with a high value treat. Gradually start walking further. Whenever she starts getting nervous, do the "look at me" and treat. Teach her to look to you for reassurance. You can even make some little jumps out of household objects, like 2 buckets and a broom, and have her sit, and you go to the other side, and call her so she jumps. Reward her. You want to reward any effort to do what you say even if it isn't perfect. Doing things like tricks, obedience commands, jumping, walking over a tarp, will boost her confidence. If she is ok with other dogs, and you have a friend with a friendly, confident dog, maybe have them come over and go for short walks with you. Many times, having a confident dog with them on walks will build their confidence. If she has a favorite toy, take it on a walk with you. If she gets nervous, play with her with the toy to take her mind off whatever is making her nervous.

Having baby steps, and developing confidence in doing things, even though it may not seem like a big deal to you, will go a long way to getting her to trust that you won't put her in a bad situation, and getting her to look to you for reassurance. For now, I wouldn't take her places that make her really fearful, as you will just overwhlm her.


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## Nuclear_Glitter

I was going to mostly offer the advice georgiapeach offered. 

Just treat and praise her every time she takes a step out of the yard. It will take A LOT of practice. 

Also, I feel like this little piece of information is good for you:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOhpr3NO3TY&feature=plcp


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