[larkabuddy]

Good morning my friends... I have a problem... I have an Australian Husky that is currently 7 yrs. old. We got her from someone that was the only person in the house and before that she got her from someone that tried to run her as a sled dog, however she did not like it. Now here is my problem. She is very very skiddish around people. When she goes out side, as soon as she comes in, she runs right into the house and runs right under my computer desk and will sit there until I get her out of there...... I was wondering if there are any homeopathic remedies that will help her out??? Please someone help me out with this issue.. Thanks for all comments beforehand...

Kam

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by larkabuddy

Good morning my friends... I have a problem... I have an Australian Husky that is currently 7 yrs. old. We got her from someone that was the only person in the house and before that she got her from someone that tried to run her as a sled dog, however she did not like it. Now here is my problem. She is very very skiddish around people. When she goes out side, as soon as she comes in, she runs right into the house and runs right under my computer desk and will sit there until I get her out of there...... I was wondering if there are any homeopathic remedies that will help her out??? Please someone help me out with this issue.. Thanks for all comments beforehand...

Kam

A few questions---How does she act with you in general? Does she play/interact with you at all? What is outside when she is out there--live in town or out in the country--people around out there? Do you watch her when she is outside? What does she do? Is it possible that there is something out there that frightens her--other 'creatures?' Is she okay/happy to go outside when you let her out? Do you have a fenced in yard? Do you take her for walks? How is she then? If when you open the door for her to come in--Have you tried offering her her favorite treat and 'being very friendly/play' with fav. toy, etc?

As far as homeopathic remedies---Have you tried putting those words---dogs/homeopathic remedies in your browser and then look for the appropriate one for the problem you are having? I don't know how bad she is----How long have you had her? Have you two bonded at all? To give you an idea of what may help with this problem--My breeds book states this about this breed----Docile and affectionate, they enjoy family life and are dependable around children. Do you have children --older of course--ones that would know how to not do things that would scare her----Be gentle and play with her---Bring her out of her shell so to speak.

There are quite a few members in here that will prob. be able to give you some good advice---ones that have had a similar problem or same breed dog--trainers, etc. Just want to tell you---Be patient and keep checking for answers to your post--Being the weekend, sometimes the forum isn't very busy, and sometimes Mondays can be a little slow too. Middle of week best but the ones most able to help you do usually come in here every day.

Hope things will improve. Please answer all questions as this will give the 'experts' more data to work with! Have to try to get to the root of the problem to be able to find an answer--something to work with.

Your dog has been in at least 3 different homes that you know of (including yours). She is prob. afraid she doesn't have a permanent stable home with you---esp. if you haven't had her very long? Is she affectionate toward you? What does she do when you leave her alone in the house---Does she act up in any way--any separation anxiety? Being one of the traits of this breed---wanting affection and enjoys family life---I am wondering if after being outside---She might just want to get back to a 'safe' place that is her permanent place---under your computer desk! How long does she stay there after coming inside? Hey! If you take her for a walk on the leash--What does she do when you come back in house with her and take off her leash---Does she still run under the computer table? When you bring her in--Can you immediately give her a treat (from your pocket) and be extra affectionate with her----Kind of distract her from running for the 'hiding place.' Depending on the answers you can give---Maybe love, gentleness, bonding, time, and patience may be a lot of the answer! Repetition with things that may be helping until she is content that this is her forever home.

[Taming Rover]

Hello, yes, I would like to hear answers to those questions before making any kind of suggestions. Also though I would add one more question. What is your reaction when she goes under the table? Our dogs are constantly picking up ques from us as to how to behave and often times we unconsciously support unbalanced behaviors in our dogs. If her reaction at first was to run under the table, (it certainly seems that she was trying to find a safe space) and your reaction was one of concern and coddling then it could very well reinforce in her mind that there is in fact something to be nervous about, and then after that it's possible that it just became a habit pattern.

It's really hard for us not to treat our dogs the same way we would our children, after all we care for them and love them and feel in many ways that they are like children to us. But when we act as we would with a human child toward a dog, the language we use doesn't compute the same way to them. Our best intentions of love and nurturing get lost in translation!
I would suggest to really stand back and watch what you are doing, thinking, feeling and what your body language could be saying to your dog as she is going into a nervous state.

I'm sure you can get this problem resolved with some time and careful observation of yourself, and a little help from friends ;o)
Take care and good luck!

[larkabuddy]

Okay here it is... I have no problem with answering questions... As a matter of them all, as i have no clue as to what to do.. So here are all the answers....fact, I welcome

As far as her acting with me, she is very skittish at times, then at other times she is fine. We live in the country and on a piece of land that has an underground fence that she does not like at all, so we put her on a 200' runner. She loves that thing.. ????? There really isnt all that many people where we live with the exception of those living with us. She loves to be outside. She will sit out there for hours on end if you just let her.. When the kids, which by the way are 13 and 15 and 2.5 play with her, outside she loves it.. She loves to run. She goes right to the door when we tell her that she is going out and is fine with coming in.. When she comes in after getting her treat she runs right under the desk. She loves to go for walks, but we have to use a halter type of harness to walk her as she will run circles around you...

I have not tried to google the homeopathic meds solution as of yet, i wanted to see what i got here first. We have had her for about 5 weeks now with no changes. I would like to think that we have bonded as she will come out of her hiding spot when i call her or take her out, however she will not come out to eat unless i stand right by her food and water with her.

As far as seperation anxiety she does not seem to have that, as she does not destroy my house at all, as a matter of fact, she just stays in the same place till we get home.. She will stay under the computer desk the whole day if allowed to..

Now I tried something the other day and that was to take the leash and tie her somewhere, that somewhere being in my living room on the couch end and she did great there, didnt freak out or anything, just layed there and watched everything that was going on..


I do need to let you all know, something that i should have had put in my other post, she does have seizures, however the last people decided not to medicated due to reactions that she had to meds, so i have a homeopathic med for that that seems to work really well. To the point that she seemed to become more social with it..???? Not really sure what to do.... Please help.. I hope that this helps and i truly appreciate all the help that i can get on this matter..

Kam

[CorkyMax]

Originally Posted by Taming Rover

Hello, yes, I would like to hear answers to those questions before making any kind of suggestions. Also though I would add one more question. What is your reaction when she goes under the table? Our dogs are constantly picking up ques from us as to how to behave and often times we unconsciously support unbalanced behaviors in our dogs. If her reaction at first was to run under the table, (it certainly seems that she was trying to find a safe space) and your reaction was one of concern and coddling then it could very well reinforce in her mind that there is in fact something to be nervous about, and then after that it's possible that it just became a habit pattern.

It's really hard for us not to treat our dogs the same way we would our children, after all we care for them and love them and feel in many ways that they are like children to us. But when we act as we would with a human child toward a dog, the language we use doesn't compute the same way to them. Our best intentions of love and nurturing get lost in translation!
I would suggest to really stand back and watch what you are doing, thinking, feeling and what your body language could be saying to your dog as she is going into a nervous state.

I'm sure you can get this problem resolved with some time and careful observation of yourself, and a little help from friends ;o)
Take care and good luck!

You make very good points! I am giving a link for you larkabuddy that talks about how to treat her with this: Small Dog Syndrome - Small Dogs vs. Medium and Large Dogs This link wouldn't let me just copy the paragraph(s) on your particular problem --so --unless you want to read the entire link---scroll to the heading: The Nervous Trait.

Just had a thought---I wonder if she has been crate trained----If so --she might be treating your computer desk as one--like a den---Some dogs like this! If she was crated before---the owners might of had her in one most of the time and when they let her out to go outside ---She might associate that with --when the owner let her back in--She prob. was put back in the crate! So maybe this is a habit-like thing with her.

[lange]

Hi. If this is her only problem could it be that she just see's the desk as her den? My dogs usually look for a comfy place to eat their treats.

[Lunareclipse]

Put a crate next to your desk so your dog runs in there instead of under your desk. Put a blanket over the crate so it feels more like a den and throw toys in there covered in peanut butter.