|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 25, 2013 20:42:05 GMT
My 6 year old lab is a very anxious little soul and has always been terrified of the Hoover. She literally goes into a blind panic or will sit in the corner and shake. In the last couple of weeks though she has got worse and now the word Hoover sends her running to the back door terrified. Anything that sounds like Hoover or if you say 'I'm going to get' 'I need to...' Just anything that could be related to the Hoover sends her into a panic and I don't know what to do because at the moment she is doing it constantly! I would be so greatful for any advice for her. She is genuinely anxious, she gets anxious around new people, new dogs and is reactive when on a walk.
|
|
|
|
Post by CollieSlave on Oct 25, 2013 21:29:08 GMT
Could I ask if you have had her from when she was a pup? You say she is anxious around new people, new dogs and is reactive when on a walk - are these new behaviour patterns or has she been like this for a long time? You say she has got worse (with the Hoover) over the last few weeks - has anything happened that might have provoked this worsening?
What training methods have you used - do you follow any particular trainer or training techniques? Sorry just to be asking questions but it is useful to know as much background as possible!
|
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 25, 2013 21:38:21 GMT
I've had since she was 17 weeks old. Met her when she was 14 weeks old and she was highly anxious then as she had spent those 14 weeks living in a kennel. I also know the people we got her from and they are known to be reasonably hands on with the dogs if you know what I mean. She was really sociable and loved going for walks but she went into season for the first time around the time we moved house which I think started the reactivity to new dogs. We then lost our old jack Russell the following year which obviously made her worse. I also suffered badly in the past with anxiety and panic attacks which I feel has fed into her. She's very intelligent and has been clicker trained by myself and her old trainer (for 6 months) from a puppy and then after we moved and she became reactive I had a trainer out who said we should do classes with her which we did. But I took her out of them after a year because I felt they were actually making her worse around other dogs. She is fine to meet new dogs at our house or at my grandparents. The Hoover issue has been there from day one and I've done alot of work with her on it, having the Hoover in the room with us during the day so she is exposed to it, and rewarding her when she touched it etc. I genuinely don't know why it has gotten worse in the last couple of weeks. My brother has wound her up in the past by saying Hoover to get her scared reaction as he has found it funny so that is the only thing I could think of making it worse. There has been no change in diet or routine in the last month. Hope that answers your questions  |
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 25, 2013 21:47:06 GMT
I do still clicker train her and try to do so once a day. I also spend a good 20minutes massaging her and doing t-touch on her.
|
|
|
|
Post by orpheous87 on Oct 25, 2013 22:17:00 GMT
Poor girl. I was going to suggest doing the counter conditioning thing by having the hoover in the room and rewarding her for looking at/sniffing/touching it, but obviously you've already done that! Perhaps you could try a noise CD? It could be the noise she associates with whatever it is that has scared her if she's okay with the hoover being in the room and silent.
The other thing I would suggest is to maybe try scullcap & valerian tablets from Dorwest Herbs for her general anxieties. They're all natural tablets which work to calm a dog down. One of my two dogs is taking them at the moment because she has issues with motorbikes i.e. the sound terrifies her after one idiot revved his engine right behind her. They've made a considerable difference to our walks. However, all dogs are different of course, so they may not work as well but could be worth a try?
|
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 25, 2013 22:42:21 GMT
I think I will continue with having the Hoover in the living room so she is slowly exposed to it and will eventually hopefully desensitise! and I'll definitely try the cd with noises on because she is sensitive about noises. Although thunder doesn't bother her!
I think the tablets may be a great help. She is scared of the washing machine ... The fridge ... And the bathroom floor aswell. And last weekend after grooming and bathing her (I am a trainee dog groomer) I spent 40mins desensitising her to the blow drier. She was fine by the end of it! Its just heartbreaking when she is so scared and I can't reassure her she's not in danger.
What are your thoughts on Bach flower remedies? I was thinking of trying them as well.
Thanks for the helps!
|
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 25, 2013 22:45:10 GMT
www.facebook.com/zltphotography She is the black labrador in all of the photos on my photography page. I couldn't share a photo from my phone so if you search the above link my gorgeous girl is on there.
|
|
|
|
Post by BorderTerrier on Oct 26, 2013 8:14:37 GMT
Maybe you could start off not talking when you get the hoover out, to break the habit of her linking hoover and those words together. Then pretend to hoover in a separate room to her, but with the hoover turned off. Then move closer to her space and turn it on for short periods at a time. Then move the hoover into her space, turned off and still. Then feed her her meals, play a game, feed her treats, do some training, near the hoover and decrease the distance between you (& her) and the hoover. She should hopefully get used to the idea that it is harmless to her.
|
|
|
|
Post by puppypal on Oct 26, 2013 8:15:22 GMT
What are your thoughts on Bach flower remedies? I was thinking of trying them as well. I would definitely give them a go, i have got a book on bach flower remedies for animals, and we almost started using them on our dog until we had a breakthrough so they were not needed any more. My friend uses them on her dogs, she has got 3 dogs and one of them is very dog aggressive to strange dogs especially little ones, and she has been adding bach flower remedies to there water and he is a lot calmer now. |
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 26, 2013 9:48:25 GMT
Okay thank you, I shall give it all a go and get back to you! Might invest in a bach flower book as well to give me better understanding on them!
|
|
|
|
Post by orpheous87 on Oct 26, 2013 20:52:28 GMT
I think I will continue with having the Hoover in the living room so she is slowly exposed to it and will eventually hopefully desensitise! and I'll definitely try the cd with noises on because she is sensitive about noises. Although thunder doesn't bother her! I think the tablets may be a great help. She is scared of the washing machine ... The fridge ... And the bathroom floor aswell. And last weekend after grooming and bathing her (I am a trainee dog groomer) I spent 40mins desensitising her to the blow drier. She was fine by the end of it! Its just heartbreaking when she is so scared and I can't reassure her she's not in danger. What are your thoughts on Bach flower remedies? I was thinking of trying them as well. Thanks for the helps! Good idea, I would continue with what you're doing too. It may just need a bit longer to work with her. How does she cope with fireworks? We are swearing by the tablets now as they've made such a difference. Ellie is back to her normal self on walks as opposed to walking with her tail down, constantly looking round. Dorwest also do a liquid valerian compound which is faster acting, so if she gets especially scared at certain times i.e. when you're hoovering, you could give her a dose of that and see if that helps. I would definitely recommend trying the Bach flower remedies. I haven't used them on either of my dogs, but they're something I've been considering. I did a natural pet health care course and learnt about the Bach remedies. I think they're definitely worth trying. Like PP said, you can add them to the water, but I think the recommended method of offering the Bach remedies is to put them on a treat so that the dog has a choice of whether to take it or not (although as you have a Lab, that might be pointless!). Getting a book would probably be a good idea, to help you understand which remedies will be more effective as you can pretty much make up your own custom remedy by mixing the ones you want to use. Or, there's Rescue Remedy which I think is the most common one that people use. |
|
|
|
Post by zoeelouisee on Oct 26, 2013 22:24:47 GMT
She's fine with fireworks surprisingly but due to an accident I had I used to be scared of them and she used to look after me haha also when she was a pup we had an 11 year old jack Russell who was as deaf as a door post so wasn't bothered by fireworks in the slightest so casey was fine with them aswell.
Yes I think I will invest in both! the drops might help for walking aswell it would be good to see if they make a difference to how she reacts to situations out on walks and to other dogs!
I will also invest in a Bach book, Bach worked wonders on me when I was suffering badly with anxiety etc due to my accident so I have no doubt about it working for dogs. It's worked for horses I have worked with in the past aswell.
|
|
|
|
Post by orpheous87 on Oct 26, 2013 22:52:21 GMT
Haha, bless her. Ellie is fine with fireworks too, which I'm glad about.
Dorwest have an offer on at the minute if you buy direct from their site and you can save 20% if you buy both, in case you weren't aware. I think the drops will last a lot longer than the tablets too, which makes them worth the money.
Good luck and let us know how you get on if you do try the Bach essences. I think, if the Dorwest tablets hadn't worked for Ellie, the Bach would have been my next step. It's not nice seeing them so scared of something.
|
|
|
|
Post by zahada on Oct 27, 2013 17:06:13 GMT
Maybe you could start off not talking when you get the hoover out, to break the habit of her linking hoover and those words together. Then pretend to hoover in a separate room to her, but with the hoover turned off. Then move closer to her space and turn it on for short periods at a time. Then move the hoover into her space, turned off and still. Then feed her her meals, play a game, feed her treats, do some training, near the hoover and decrease the distance between you (& her) and the hoover. She should hopefully get used to the idea that it is harmless to her. Nice post BT. |
|
|
|
Post by zahada on Oct 27, 2013 17:07:36 GMT
I do still clicker train her and try to do so once a day. I also spend a good 20minutes massaging her and doing t-touch on her. Do you clicker train around the hoover? |
|
