MAJOR fear problems

[seraphicia]

Hi, I've posted a few times, but this new dilemma is huge and very troubling. My four year old shepherd /grayhound mix, Isabel, has developed intense fear problems outside of the home. I got her as a puppy, she had been very abused and came to me with an extremely severe submissive urination problem, and fearful anxiety that we dealt with very positively and hasn't been an issue for almost two years. Well, this week, I enrolled her in an 8 week training class mostly for her socialization, but I fear it may not be a good time to attempt it based on what has happened. Three days ago, to start getting her used to being around other dogs and strangers again, I took her to Petsmart. She was very scared, pooped on the floor, and snarled at a ten year old child(she LOVES kids at home). The next day was a little bit better, she pooped outside and was less nervous, but still growled at a lady who was just talking to her. Yesterday I took her to the vet for her yearly checkup, and she TOTALLY flipped out. When the vet tried to ease into touching her she just started screaming like she was being tortured(she was once this way when the vet tried to clip her nails, but now I do it at home and she just whines a little bit). She calmed down a little bit as the exam went on, but still... As a percaution I had a muzzle on her(I used to have to muzzle her to clip her nails but not anymore), which was a good thing. She urinated allover her tail and legs and was just so very fearful. By the end of the appointment my vet(who was talking nicely and gentley the whole time) said that she seemed like she wanted to be good but was just too scared. Yesterday afternoon I took her for a car ride, the rides have gotten better(originally she was very anxious and whiney three days ago), and because she was doing so good, I took her into a relatively empty(people and dog wise) petco, and she was excited. I took her on her gentle leader( which I just got back out, she hasn't worn it for several months. She was SO good comparatively, but no one approached her, so I don't know if she would've growled, but she was attentive to me, listening, and much less anxious overall. After the vet visit, I contemplated not taking her to class at this time, and instead taking another one of my dogs, and just work her up to it by taking her out a lot more, and go to another set of sessions. But she was better on her gentle leader. I just don't know what to do, she was and is improving, and is totally fine at home, with strangers and people. I was more concerned about what her reaction would be to other dogs, because she is very dog dominant, but I'm now more concerned about her reactions to people. Anyway, I'm emailing the trainer now, but would like any hepful advice. Thanks so much.

[DFrost]

<<<She was SO good comparatively, but no one approached her, so I don't know if she would've growled, but she was attentive to me, listening, and much less anxious overall.>>>

The key to helping your dog cope is desensitizing them to thier fears. As you pointed out, when there were few customers or dogs the dog was comparatively less frightened. In a sense you've answered your own question. You just need to work on similar situation, where there are few people present. Continually exposing the dog to this type of situation will help build confidence. You might even arrange it with someones help, to start getting closer to the dog, but be attentive to any signs of stress and automatically back off. Set up a situation where you are going about your business, keeping the dog focused on you and having someone start walking your way. Explain to the person before hand, if the dog appears to start getting nervous, just change directions. As the handler, you shouldn't really pay much attention to this behaivor, other than giving the dog something different to focus thier attention on.

DFrost

[seraphicia]

Well as an update, Iz is already much improved, we've been going out once or twice a day. Today, she actually nosed out to some passersbys, and let one of the people really pet her. I don't know the root behind her sudden fearful behaivor but after talking to our soon to be trainer, I'm confident with the progress she's made in just this few days, that she will settle in and be able to concentrate and feel secure enough after a few classes. Shes calming down every time we're out and edging closer to wanting interactions with dogs and people. She's being very obedient, and putting her in a sit stay and distracting her with toys has helped a lot on our outings. Thanks for the input.