# New dog not used to socializing?



## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Hey everyone!

I recently purchased a three year old, long-haired dachshund about four days ago from someone off Craigslist who had to part with her because he was moving, and his new place does not allow pets. Anyway, she was an absolute angel when I went to meet her with a friend, and she did very well on the car ride back to my place, even! However, once we got back, she immediately started having severe separation anxiety. I left her for a very brief period to go retrieve her crate out of the car, and she went absolutely nuts, scratching at the door and barking. Now, whenever I leave the apartment, she still freaks out, but typically when I return, she is settled down. Does any one have any advice as to how I can get her to calm down whenever I leave?

Also, she seems to be incredibly unused to socializing to any extent. Her previous owner's roommate had another dog, so she has interacted with other dogs before. However, whenever I take her on walks or out to do her business, she barks and charges at everything! Dogs, squirrels, birds, people... I try to redirect her before she sees other dogs, but it's almost impossible for me to avoid people all the time. 

Lastly, she seems very on edge all the time. Any time she hears any sort of noise, whether it be people talking outside or a door shutting, she will bark loudly until that noise is no longer there. It doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night or early morning, she will bark her little heart out. 

After all of this, though, I still absolutely adore her! I just really want her to be able to calm down and interact with people without scaring the living daylights out of them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much, everyone!

Edit: to provide a bit more info about her, I would like to add that she is crate trained, but doesn't seem to be leash trained very well. She is overly excited when we go for walks, and will pull on the leash to the point where I am afraid she might choke herself. I live in an apartment complex, so I do not have a backyard for her to go roaming in leash-free, so it is crucial that I get her used to walking on a leash! Also, when I leave the apartment, I typically just let her roam around at her will, since her crate is not very big. 

Thanks again!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

It's only been 4 days and you are a new person to her; it takes a while for dogs to settle in.

For you leaving - I would start to desensitize her by "disappearing" for a few seconds and come back, maybe baby gate the room she is in. Once she gets used to it make it a longer time and continue making it longer.

As far as walking, start with walking on leash in your place, move to a quite place outside and eventually work in distractions. Use a control word - "heel" or "walk nice" or whatever and practice it. There's plenty to read on-line and there's a couple of videos on youtube - kikopup being one of the best. Taking a obedience class may be worth it to get professional help along with your dog being around other dogs in a controlled environment. Since you only had this dog for 4 days I would not bring it to a dog park until you know it's temperament (I know you haven't said you plan to). Some dogs are leash reactive but people do work on it.

She may be on edge because her whole world is turned upside down. You might be able to teach her a hush or settle command to keep her from barking ... I'm still working on this with my dog with limited success.

Hopefully more experienced people will answer and be able to help.


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Thanks very much for your help! I will definitely work on getting her used to my "disappearing." I read a bit online where people would leave their dogs in their crates when they left, but I feel that it may be a bit cruel, as when I do have to leave (~3 days a week), I leave for several hours at a time, so keeping her trapped in a tiny space might make her miserable. I will definitely give your approach a try and see if that makes things a bit easier.

I have no idea why I did not think about trying to teach her to walk around in my place first; that's a great idea. I don't believe she has gotten much interaction with other people aside from her previous owner, so that may explain her behavior when we're out in such a bustling area such as my neighborhood. I actually had planned to enroll her in an obedience class if she didn't start to get used to being around others. 

Thanks for all of your help!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Mr.Binks said:


> Thanks very much for your help! I will definitely work on getting her used to my "disappearing." I read a bit online where people would leave their dogs in their crates when they left, but I feel that it may be a bit cruel, as when I do have to leave (~3 days a week), I leave for several hours at a time, so keeping her trapped in a tiny space might make her miserable. I will definitely give your approach a try and see if that makes things a bit easier.


Crate does not equal cruel unless it is too small for the dog and you don't use it for punishment. My dog sleeps all day long even when we are home. Her crate is her bed, where she brings her toys and goes in there when she wants to be left alone. We made it a special place for her and she always gets treats for going in it when we ask her to go in.

When we go to work we will tell her "Crate" and she trots in; "Bedtime" and she trots in; we put jackets on and she trots in and if I grab ear cleaning stuff she runs in! LOL!!

BTW, we got Zoey as a puppy and she would scream when I was away from her or put into her crate with it locked. I spent the first 3 or 4 days with her 24/7 (luckily I was off from work) and I did desensitize her similar to how I said to you. At one point I did need to leave the house and went out ... I heard her screaming but she eventually settled down. 

I would suggest obedience training; I am taking my dog to obedience training again since it is an adult education course run by the township and relatively cheap. My dog is the opposite of yours ... she wants to play with every dog she sees. So when she is on leash she will forget that she still has to listen, is usually crying to play and will pull. I am trying to get her used to being around other dogs without it meaning it's play time and she is getting better.


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

How big should the crate be relative to the dog to be considered sufficient? The crate that I have for her has plenty of room for her to move about, but it's not exactly huge or anything of the sort. She seems to enjoy going to her crate during bedtime and can do so with typically little to no resistance. 

I spoke with her previous owner, and it may just be that she is trying to get used to the entire situation, as he had her since she was a puppy. 

Thanks for your help so far!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

I read that you want a crate tall enough to stand up in and long enough to stretch out in.

Crates come in standard dimensions, Zoey is the size of a large Beagle about 15 inches tall at her shoulders and her crate is 24 x 36 inches and I would guess about 20 inches tall ... I never measured that. We kept it from our last dog who was slightly larger but came out of it at about a year old. Being a Doxie your dog would have plenty of room in a crate that size but would be OK in a crate smaller. Like I mentioned before, Zoey sleeps all day long and she fits nicely in her crate with the various poses she makes while sleeping.


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Ah, those are more-or-less the dimensions of Bella's crate as well! Also, great news! I put her in her crate before I left today--as opposed to letting her roam around my apartment while I was gone--and she didn't have any separation anxiety! I even stood by the door for a brief period to see if she would start barking or anything of the sort, and she didn't! Whoo!

Baby steps... Haha.


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

If you don't have one, you should get a harness for walks. You don't want to put undue strain on a dachshund's back. I have a dachshund mix, and he wants to chase after any squirrel/rabbit/chipmunk we see on walks. Going after small animals is what they're designed to do! The dogs and people part will need some work. My dog is fine meeting other dogs, though he is aloof with people he doesn't know. Maybe find a training class you could take together? It would give you a positive activity, and would give her some safe exposure to other people and dogs. (Make sure it's with a positive methods ONLY trainer!)

Dachshunds are very devoted to their people, and can be wary about strangers. If I rehomed my guy, he'd lose his mind. I once left him at my parents house with my parents for about 2 hours, and he shrieked incessantly the entire time I was gone. My parents tried giving him every special toy and treat I'd left him with, my dad took him out to walk around in the yard which occupied him for a bit, but then he freaked out again when they came back inside. As soon as I returned, he acted like nothing had happened and was happy as a clam, went and grabbed his treat my parents had given him, and settled right down. I imagine your new friend is confused as heck about what's going on! I bet she'll settle down eventually, but I'd give her a lot of time to get comfortable.


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Thanks very much for the information; I actually planned on getting her a harness due to how much she tugged during walks, and I'm afraid that she will inadvertently hurt herself. Someone told me that this was very effective in keeping dogs from lunging (for some reason), and I was wondering if anyone had any input on it: http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Gentle-Leader-Headcollar-Black/dp/B00074L4W2

I have admittedly not looked very much into these leashes, so any information regarding it would be very helpful! 

Thanks again, guys! 

P.S. Hambonez, I am very glad Bella is fairing better than your little guy would with me! She actually seems to be pretty fond of me for the most part; it's just the other people that I'm concerned with!


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## Dog Person (Sep 14, 2012)

Mr.Binks said:


> Thanks very much for the information; I actually planned on getting her a harness due to how much she tugged during walks, and I'm afraid that she will inadvertently hurt herself. Someone told me that this was very effective in keeping dogs from lunging (for some reason), and I was wondering if anyone had any input on it: http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Gentle-Leader-Headcollar-Black/dp/B00074L4W2
> 
> I have admittedly not looked very much into these leashes, so any information regarding it would be very helpful!
> 
> ...


Someone has a puppy at our obedience class with that harness, I had to do a double take because at first glance I thought it was a muzzle. The people claim it works for their dog and they were using it for training heel and loose leash walking so I would imagine it should work. Some people have good luck with this as well: http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-Harne...=1382476210&sr=1-1&keywords=easy+walk+harness


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Ah, I will probably opt for the harness instead, as I'm very afraid that my little girl will lunge forcefully and then injure herself...

I don't want to get overly excited here, but today, we went on a walk and she didn't lunge or bark at anyone or anything except pigeons! 

Thanks very much for the help. I think it just took a bit of getting used to the leash and whatnot, since it's largely unfamiliar to her... 

Now if only we could do something about that barking....


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

We have an Easywalk harness, and it didn't work well for Hamilton. He could still pull just fine, and it was hard to fit him correctly, and it dug under his armpits and left red marks. We use a vest harness.


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## Mr.Binks (Oct 21, 2013)

Okay, so instead of starting a new thread, I figured I would just continue on this one with my questions--I hope that's okay. 

Anyway, I've noticed that Bella seems to drink a pretty significant amount of water in comparison to my previous doxie. Also, she has been licking the floor in my apartment pretty frequently (I have all tile floors). Obviously, this doesn't bother me, but I am just trying to make sure it's not indicative of anything wrong...


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## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I'd recommend taking any new dog to the vet for a once over. Did you get the dog's vet records from the previous vet? Could you ask the previous owner if the dog drank a lot? I've only ever had this one dog, so I don't have anything to compare his water consumption to. I do have three cats, however, and one of them will sit and pound a bowl of water. I've known him since he was 5 wks old, and had him living with me since he was about 8 wks old, and he has always consumed tons of water. Normal varies! My dog does lick all sorts of weird things. As we say around here "It has a flavor..."


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## roxpup (Feb 2, 2013)

Mr.Binks said:


> Thanks very much for the information; I actually planned on getting her a harness due to how much she tugged during walks, and I'm afraid that she will inadvertently hurt herself. Someone told me that this was very effective in keeping dogs from lunging (for some reason), and I was wondering if anyone had any input on it: http://www.amazon.com/Premier-Gentle-Leader-Headcollar-Black/dp/B00074L4W2
> 
> I have admittedly not looked very much into these leashes, so any information regarding it would be very helpful!
> 
> ...


I know you decided on the easy walk harness but if you want to try a gentle leader (linked above), I highly recommend it. I got my dog at 9 months and she wasn't leash trained either. I tried both the harness and gentle leader while doing loose leash training with her and I found that the g.l. gave me more control and in turn made her feel more secure. If you decide to try it, be sure to watch the instruction dvd that comes with it or ask a trainer. It's important to fit it properly (she should be able to fully open her mouth) and to keep the leash loose obviously for her safety but also to prevent her from getting used to the feeling of tension on her face. My girl was also leash reactive. I used B.A.T. training to desensitize her to other dogs on walks. There are great articles and videos online- maybe even a sticky in the training forum. As long as you're consistent, this method will work. Good luck!


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