When Soft if Too Soft

[rottnelmo]

Elmo, my three year old rott (neutered, TDI, CD) seems to be getting softer and softer.

I am starting to get concerned with Elmo because he just seems to be getting softer. We rescued him at eight months old and after two months, he developed seperation anxiety and almost flipped himself down a set of stairs in a crate. We worked through the seperation anxiety, and now he is fine being home alone.

When we rescued him two years ago, we were told that he was submissive and I knew to keep an eye on it and to build his confidence, which I have always done.

I have enrolled him in obedience and in agility (which he loves), he is confident around other dogs and other people. Lately he is getting more and more wary of men, although he NEVER has snapped, snarled or even offers to bite. He just drops his head and slicks his ears back.

At home is when I notice he is the softest. He is afraid of ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! If we tape up a box with a tape gun and it makes that loud shreiking noise, he splits. If I drop a pan or make a loud noise, he hits the deck and splits. The vacuum comes out, he splits...

I am very careful not to coddle him. If something happens, I either ignore it or say something like "What happened to you" in a postive voice. I am also careful not to be overly agressive with him, though he does know that I am the boss. I NEVER strike him and dont allow others to strike him.

We do let him sleep on our bed, but at our feet and is never allowed to lay on top of us or stand over us. If he wants to come say hi, he has to lay down first and crawl up to us.

I just want him to be confident and happy....wondering what others think...what direction should I be taking with him? What can I be doing to boost his confidence?

Thanks and sorry for the length of the message.

Beth

[DNeff]

Have you had a FULL thyroid panel done and sent to Jean Dodds? I would strongly suggest it. Thyroid problems can cause a wide variety of personality changes and issues. Be sure if you do get a thyroid done you get the full panel, they need to check everything to get a true reading.

You are doing the right thing by not coddling, but I would also try introducing novel noises and objects to him at home in a quiet or non threatening method. Any interaction or interest earns him a cookie. I use clicker shaping to turn it in to almost a game. See if the dog will offer me an engaging behavior towards the item or noise. Sometimes even staying calm is worth rewarding.

Be sure you stay calm, cool and upbeat throughout.

About being scared of men you need to work on actively seeking out men to help him get over this issue. Get volunteers at your club to stand nearby and act happy (in a calm manner) and offer cookies if he is behaving appropriately. It will not get better on it's own you need to counter condition him in to liking men. The more you can get exposed to men in a positive manner and making the experience very positive for him the better.

If I think of anything else I will post it.

Dawn
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld

[DNeff]

Thought of a couple more things. Turid Rugaas book "Calming Signals" should be a must read. Learning to read subtle stress signs can help you better determine more specific triggers.

Also teach a highly rewarding or engaging game to help "snap" your dog out of his fear mode. Tugging or something similar can be developed over time to be a very reinforcing behavior that you can use to pull your dog out of a fear mode, it takes time and effort and may not work for extreme stress, but it will help with the borderline situations. Get this on a heavy reinforcement history and build it in to a great game (it can be any trick or game your dog adores). As long as it throughly engages your dog and your dog really enjoys it. At first your dog may not play or tug during stress but keep working it, it will build over time.

Dawn
U-CD Cammcastle's Mystic Riven CDX OAC OJC OGC OAJ NA TT CGC
http://members.aol.com/dplantier
http://members.aol.com/rottweilerworld