7 mon pup afraid of ac unit? help please!

oreo · 07-09-2010

I've had my puppy since she was 3 months old. She was in bad shape and abandoned behind my work place..the only problem she has had, was being afraid of my boyfriend. He is a really big, loud man lol Anyway, she grew out of that. Now I noticed about 2 weeks ago she is afarid of the noise my ac unit makes when it comes on. We Live in a old trailor, so it's very noticeable when it comes on. Which is like every 20 minutes or so..she hides in other bedrooms, shakes a lot, wants to babied, and even cries alittle. Honestly, it's really annoying. She won't come inside from potty breaks anymore when I call her, she makes me go get her. I have to close off the bedrooms so she will stay in the

livingroom with us. The worst part is when it's time to leave for work and she shakes and cowards when she goes in her crate. Please help, idk why she is so scared all of sudden.

reeskujo · 07-09-2010

For starters don't baby her when she's showing fear to the AC or anything else...In fact don't even pets her...The reason for this is when you do those things you're giving them positive attention which only reinforces the behavior and in their mind it justifies their fear...dogs/puppies that have come from situations like her commonly have certain fears...It's usually from not being exposed to certain things or having a bad experience with them...

As for coming when you call her have you taught her the come command?...it's not something dpogs/puppies intinctively know, it has to be taught...

Try luring her in with a treat but make it something she usually doesn't get like a piece of chicken or cheese...You have to call her in a very happy,excited voice and trhen when she gets to you reward her with the treat and lots of praise...

Never call her with anger or frustration in your voice as she will sense it and not come to you..

oreo · 07-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeskujo

For starters don't baby her when she's showing fear to the AC or anything else...In fact don't even pets her...The reason for this is when you do those things you're giving them positive attention which only reinforces the behavior and in their mind it justifies their fear...dogs/puppies that have come from situations like her commonly have certain fears...It's usually from not being exposed to certain things or having a bad experience with them...

As for coming when you call her have you taught her the come command?...it's not something dpogs/puppies intinctively know, it has to be taught...

Try luring her in with a treat but make it something she usually doesn't get like a piece of chicken or cheese...You have to call her in a very happy,excited voice and trhen when she gets to you reward her with the treat and lots of praise...

Never call her with anger or frustration in your voice as she will sense it and not come to you..

Oo yea, she knows her name, and knows how to come when i call. She knows basic things like, come here, sit, stay, get back. She is house broken and knows not to go out the door before I do too. Even when I first brought her home, getting her to come has nvr been a problem. She is my little buddy :-) It's just when the ac is on, she can here it from the front steps. She looks at me and cowards and won't come inside the house. She doesn't like to be in livingroom anymore, where it's the loudest. All of this is new, i nvr had this problem before. I don't know where she learned this or what I did to make her be that way. I will try harder not baby her. I find my self giving in to her here and there, even tho I try not too.
Her separation anxiety is still not cured tho. Although, it's not nearly as bad as it used to be, I still can't trust her in the house for more than 10 minutes by her self. She used to be so bad I couldn't take a take a shower with her throughing tantrum. Any ideas?

reeskujo · 07-09-2010

If she's food motivated you can try luring her in with a treat...If she's not and she just flat out refuses to come in I would ignore her and just go back inside...If she won't come in the living room even with a treat then I would let her be...Usually once they get used to hearing or seeing something their afraid of and see it's not going to hurt them they tend to be less and less afraid..It's going to take some time the trick is is to remember to not coddle her aand reinforce the behavior and to ignore her when she's acting like that...

As for the seperation anxiety my Husky had it really bad when it came to my husband...The best thing to do is make sure that weather you leaving the house don't make a big deal out of it...No long good byes...Before you leave the house or even go in the shower give her a treat this will help her associate you leaving or going in the shower with something positive..Once you've given her the treat just leave without saying anything...

The other thing you can do is practice going outside,first for just a few minutes and then make it longer and longer and then come back in...This will teach her that you will always come back..

Also when you come home don't make a fuss...You can tell her hi or give her a quick pat on the head and leave it at that...

oreo · 07-09-2010

she is really picky when it comes to food. I did find something she likes tho, chicken jerky. Giving her praise, has been her favorite reward it seems like when it came to teaching her things. You gave me good ideas tho, I will try to teach her not to be scared anymore. Thank you!

reeskujo · 07-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by oreo

she is really picky when it comes to food. I did find something she likes tho, chicken jerky. Giving her praise, has been her favorite reward it seems like when it came to teaching her things. You gave me good ideas tho, I will try to teach her not to be scared anymore. Thank you!

You're very welcome and please let me know how it works out...Praise is find tom use as a reward...

If none of that works let me know...I'm a trainer so I have more ideas up my sleeve but those are the best to start with!

shandwill · 07-09-2010

You've received great advice so far! Just thought I'd add what has worked for me...My 5yo Dane/Shepherd mix has been terrified of fireworks, thunderstorms, gunfire, etc. ever since he turned up on our doorstep four and a half years ago. I've found that if I give him something to do when these sounds are happening, he is MUCH more comfortable. So, rather than pet and soothe him, which reinforces the behavior, we work on basic obedience skills during that time. I ask him to sit, and if he does he gets praise and brief pets. He is then asked to shake or lay down, and if he does, he again gets praise and more affection. Since you've already got a good start on obedience training, maybe this would work for you, too. Best of luck!

reeskujo · 07-09-2010

Quote:

Originally Posted by shandwill

You've received great advice so far! Just thought I'd add what has worked for me...My 5yo Dane/Shepherd mix has been terrified of fireworks, thunderstorms, gunfire, etc. ever since he turned up on our doorstep four and a half years ago. I've found that if I give him something to do when these sounds are happening, he is MUCH more comfortable. So, rather than pet and soothe him, which reinforces the behavior, we work on basic obedience skills during that time. I ask him to sit, and if he does he gets praise and brief pets. He is then asked to shake or lay down, and if he does, he again gets praise and more affection. Since you've already got a good start on obedience training, maybe this would work for you, too. Best of luck!

Great advice Shandwill!!!