We have a MinPin that we adopted on Labor Day weekend as a companion for our Daschund/terrior. The background we have on him is, an old lady bought him as a companion for a Yorkie. Turns out the woman couldn't take care of herself let alone the dogs. She'd forget to feed them, let them out of crate, etc. The woman's family stepped in and put her in a home. During the process the family tried to care for the dogs, but eventually put them in a high kill shelter in Tenn. A rescue group got them, and eventually our little boy ended up with a rescue group close to us in NC.

When we met Slick, he was afraid of everyone and everything. It broke our hearts to see this little guy. We weren't going to take him, but Heidi our daschund/terrier made the decision for us. The people fostering him had had him for almost a month and weren't getting far with him. But in an hour at our house he actually came out of his shell. The first thing we learned was that for almost all of his 6 1/2 months he had been kept in crates, carriers and kennels. His back legs were showing signs of atrophying. He was malnourished as well.

Slick has made leaps and bounds since that Friday night of Labor Day weekend. He finally learned what grass and toys and food and love (oh my) were.

Now here's our problem.

Every so often, it's like he reverts back in his behaviors. He does have little doggy nightmares which usually precedes the behavior. It's not bad behavior (like doing his business around the house or anything), but he acts afraid, of us, of Heidi, of anything!

We recently changed his canned food to Merrick (which looks like our table food). Now he acts like some one is going to beat him everytime he eats! (we suspect that during his time with the old lady and her forgetting to feed him, he may have 'stolen' food from her because he was hungry and was hit for it). When he does this, one or both of us will sit on the floor with him and reassure him it's okay, and even let him eat out of our fingers. But it's very disturbing to see him do this. As of this morning he was worse then ever and we could see his normal energetic in your face self, has reverted back to hiding in his bed, like he's trying for us to not notice him and he isn't even interacting with Heidi.

Anyone have any suggestions as to why this is happening and what we can do about it?

Originally Posted by gfbowers

Every so often, it's like he reverts back in his behaviors. He does have little doggy nightmares which usually precedes the behavior. It's not bad behavior (like doing his business around the house or anything), but he acts afraid, of us, of Heidi, of anything!

We recently changed his canned food to Merrick (which looks like our table food). Now he acts like some one is going to beat him everytime he eats! (we suspect that during his time with the old lady and her forgetting to feed him, he may have 'stolen' food from her because he was hungry and was hit for it). When he does this, one or both of us will sit on the floor with him and reassure him it's okay, and even let him eat out of our fingers. But it's very disturbing to see him do this. As of this morning he was worse then ever and we could see his normal energetic in your face self, has reverted back to hiding in his bed, like he's trying for us to not notice him and he isn't even interacting with Heidi.

Anyone have any suggestions as to why this is happening and what we can do about it?

I know that your heart breaks for this little guy and so does mine. Unfortunately, sitting and stroking him and hand feeding him when he is in a fearful state is not sending the message you think you are sending. What the dog hears is "you are right to be afraid, this is a fearful situation and your fear is justified" which perpetuates his fear. As hard as it is, you must ignore fearful behavior. Place the food bowl on the floor, tell him calmly to eat, and walk away. Actually, you might not want to walk away. Stand calmly nearby and watch. If the dog makes any movement toward the food, praise him. If he makes another move toward the food, praise again. Your tone of voice during these praises should be a happy "oh, you are so brave" tone without any pity in it. If he moves away from the bowl or stands/sits frozen, just ignore him.

I know it is hard. I had a cattle dog that I adopted when she was 3 months old and she was literally afraid of her own shadow. I, like you, wanted to comfort her and tell her there wasn't any need to be afraid. But, that would only intensify her fears. By do as I have outlined above, my dog was able to overcome many of her fears -- though she was never fully "not shy".

Dogs can suffer from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder). It sounds like your dog is dealing with this--having nightmares and regressions.

Here's our catch. He suffers from hypoglycemia. So we can't afford to let him not eat (unlike Heidi), which will make him very sick. Unfortunately, he won't eat the Alpo anymore, which is amazing since he does suffer from starving dog syndrom. Yes he is, spoiled.

What food does he eat? You might try mixing the new with the old until he gets accustomed to it. OR, if he is uncomfortable with the food looking like people food, how about pureeing it?

Another idea to toss out there: make up some healthy treats and begin doing trick training. By teaching him tricks you can build his confidence AND provide the opportunity to reward him with healthy food that contributes not only calories but nutrients in the process. Giving food rewards for good behavior isn't the same as handfeeding because it occures in a different context and emotional state.

We switched them to 'people looking' food about a month ago. He was perfectly fine until last night. In fact last night when we tried to feed him the Alpo instead, he acted like, what's this crap - ate around it, leaving it and eating all his kibbles instead.

The only real change I can think of is, up until yesterday we've been expanding from just the kitchen/dining area, to the livingroom as well, in small amounts of time (started with a half hour and kept adding to their time until they hit 6 hours). Yesterday for the first time, we let them have the livingroom/kitchen/diningroom area all day while we were at work (about 10 hours). Could this be what set him off?

Okay, so it isn't really the food or it's appearance that is the problem. Something triggered a flashback or fear response. If you can figure out what the trigger is, that could really help but it may be impossible to really know. It might be the change in routine (longer time in larger area) or something less obvious. You might need to have a trainer come observe and evaluate the situation.