15 month nervous dog, please read!!! please reply im desperate

[katiedeeley]

I have taken on a 15 month white long coat, and he is lovely natured, he has settled in my home with my other bitch, he isnt interested in other dogs in the slightest hes fine. The problem i have is this.....
1.We took him on from a breeder who lived on a farm with no men, so he has had no socialising of any kind, and especially is petrified of men.
He is not food motivated or praise motivated so im finding it hard to condition this behaviour.
2. he is frightened of anything, he doesnt like prams, children, if someone is tall, wearing a big coat, if people get close he cowers, runs away, licks his lips. which i am being very patient with him and doing bits at a time, he heavily is starting to watch and rely on the other dog who is not frightened of anything.
Any suggestions on what i can do for him, and do you really think that this dog will change, i keep thinking he has a chance due to his age, but im not to sure, he freaks out and is such a big dog i dont want anything to happen to him or me.

[gsdlover4ever]

First of all breathe... If you are wound he will be too...

When he is nervous, try your best to relax and ignore him. Don't make a big deal about the thing he is nervous about... if you mother him, he will keep thinking the bad thing is scary...

How long have you had him for?

Is he neutered?

I personally would be socialising him in lots of different areas... but keeping a distance at first and gradually getting closer... over weeks/ months and praise him when he is good...

You could also try him with rescue remedy and/ or DAP de fuser to try and make him relax...

[katiedeeley]

ive had him 2 months now and have gradually introduced him to new situations, he is used to cars now, and comes back to me, but only if he isnt to scared he has ran off one time. which worried me unbelievably. yep got the plug ins and collar not changed a thing. he isnt nuteured, he is fantastic with dogs and the vet told me it wouldnt make any difference to his insecurities.he hates people approaching him, he tries backing off and jumping al over the place which at 38 kilos is not good for me. at home is is the perfect dog but once on the lead total switch of personality.just dont want him to have a sheltered life, we do so much with the other dog and now she is suffering because of it.
yes i ignore everything, he has no reaction from me, i dont even spk to him i carry on walking him throught these situations and praise him when needs be,
very frustrating

[alan]

l had this problem when we got our dog,isnt there a dog school near u,maybe with a behaverst,it takes a bit of time,try and relaxe,and lm sure it will all come together

[Stuart]

The most important thing here is being slow,.. dont rush things, and where possible let him,..[ what is his name? ] deal with things in his own time

When we first got Jazz, she was also scared of men, especialy thin men, [ she was beaten by a slim man ],.. we got her used to people [ men ] by finding suitable `victims` who were willing to come to us, and simply sit close to her, letting her sniff around them,.. or have the guys walk around her,..after they had done that for a short time, they either offered, or more often than not left a treat where they were last at, and left,... leaving Jazz to find the treat, through time she looked forward to the treat,..so of course felt better about the men who brought the treat

In your case there is so much that he is clearly worried about that a training class run by someone who knows what they are doing is probably the best thing you can do,..talk the teacher first, let them know just what the dogs problem is before taking him,.. try and do as much of the journey there in the car, rather than walking ,..as it is the car that he feels better in

Never rush him into anything

[kita]

Two months may seem a long time to us, but it really is only a short time to him. I took on a rescue when she was a year old and I would say it was at least 12 months before she really started to behave like a 'normal' GSD. I could only guarantee her behaviour after about 2 years.

If he is used to cars now, then at least you are getting somewhere.

Whatever you do has to be done slowly, if you rush things too much, or try and force him into situations where he is unhappy you could set him back big time.

He is showing all the signs of stress (cowering, licking his lips etc.) and I would not try to force those situations at all - he is completely shutting down and will learn nothing once he is displaying like that.

Do you know any men that you can set up to walk past him and totally ignore him? They should not even look at him. Then, without making any signs they just drop a treat near him, let him pick it up. You will need to do this quite a few times. Let the dog lead the way.

If he runs off I would only be letting him off lead in secure places, or places where I know nothing could scare him.

Has your bitch been spayed? How old is she?

You say he is not food motivated - what have you tried? Hot dog sausages are good, or pieces of fried liver. Sometimes dogs can seem not to be food motivated, but really it is because they are too stressed out to care about food.

Is he toy motivated? A ball on a rope can be a good thing to carry.

He may not respond to 'praise' because he may not have had much, or maybe he just is not 'tuned' in to you yet. Sometimes you really have to go over the top with rescue dogs (sound like an idiot!).

What do you feed him on?

Sue

[Nanny Ogg]

One of my customers beagles came to them at 10 months old, and he had a lot of the same phobias. He would get spooked at the littlest thing.

The owner is not a behaviouralist so I can't say that his solution would work for all dogs, but used a field with a path at the edge, which is used by cyclists, joggers, kids, the odd moped , mums with prams etc all commuting to work/school or whatever.

The guy sat with his dog in the middle of this field, getting closer and closer to the path as the dog got more confident. Initially he totally ignored everyone, except to ask kids to step back if they came up to stroke the dog.

Once he made it to the path, he gradually got the dog take treats from a few people, and he'd been there for so long the regulars knew him, so the kids would call out "hi Rex" as they walked past.

The dog is pretty well socialised now, he still has some freak outs but is generally a lot happier than he was.

[ianock]

Originally Posted by Stuart

we got her used to people [ men ] by finding suitable `victims` who were willing to come to us, and simply sit close to her, letting her sniff around them,.. or have the guys walk around her,..after they had done that for a short time, they either offered, or more often than not left a treat where they were last at, and left,... leaving Jazz to find the treat, through time she looked forward to the treat,..so of course felt better about the men who brought the treat

This is advice that helped me with sasha (hates men and still will not allow them in the house....handy during elections) and with sasha on lead I would stop and talk to a neighbour eventually sasha would get bored (I talk alot) and sit them lay down. Note this has taken 18 months to achieve this, it's not easy for a abused dog to forget.

p.s. she still runs a mile when a crisp packet blows along the street after her

[katiedeeley]

thank you for all of your replies, really has been so helpfull, I am doing most things right then, i can see he will be a working project, but one that is very much worth it.he is beautiful in all ways to me, and has settled into my life very easily.im not going to give up.
I am feeding him on a mixed raw meat diet and biscuit, he was just on meat when i got him, but i work at a pet store and I have the best foods here for free, ive put him on james wellbeloved. but still gets bones chicken carcoses etc.
Yes my bitch is spayed, she very much is in charge of him, she put him in his place where needs be. We have noticed a huge diofference in his behaviour, he lived in a pack on the farm out doors and was a 'low' member of the pack, he is extremely submissive and non reactant to dogs which is great, just says hello and sits down. since having him in this short space he is now playing with balls/toys and bringing them to me, which is great, and is very much a playful child now, i can see his silly personality.
I will stick to all your advice. il put a pick up so you can see the handsome guy.
thanks again
xx

[katiedeeley]

here he is everyone