[Dailydrool] Nervous dog training advice

[dpmcquade at verizon.net]

I have a question for those of you who have rehabilitated fearful dogs. But first, let me tell you the backstory that goes with this.

Horton came to us as a foster after being adopted out to a family who turned out to be less than wonderful. After he escaped from them and was hit by a car, he came to us to recover. Horton was fearful of many things. Cars, of course, and loud noises, not surprising after his car experience. He feared everyone but me. But for some reason, within 24 hours of being here, he'd firmly attached to me. He now is never far from my side. When it came time for him to be adopted out, I discovered I could not let him go. So he became ours, even though he's still afraid of my husband.

Over the seven months we've had him, Horton has made many gains. He's less fearful of most cars and many loud noises. He has made good friends with one of our neighbors and her terrier. We took him to a basset picnic that had maybe 10-15 people, and over the course of the day he began to go up to people and look for attention.

We have gone to the park when weather allowed, and he has not freaked out unless someone directly approached him and moved to touch him. Unhappily, just as I was getting started with this program, the weather got hot, and neither Hort nor I enjoy the heat. I've been walking him locally early in the day, but we don't run into a lot of people, and when we do, they tend to go across the street, especially if they have a dog, since Horton barks at other dogs (another thing to work on in his training). I think this is just his way of trying to make sure no one takes advantage of him. He's not at all aggressive.

To help out with his fears, I have thought of doing an obedience class with Horton. I found a trainer who looks very good to me. She has experience with bassets and does what looks like a wide range of training, from regular obedience to training therapy dogs. When I talked to her about having Horton in a class, she was worried that he might freak out, and that would make things worse for him.
I asked the behaviorist who is working with Horton if I should see if the trainer would let me sit in (and I really mean just sit) on one of her ongoing classes for a session to see if Hort would be OK. She seemed to think that would be a good idea. 

Now I'd like to know if the Drool has any advice for me on this subject. I know some of you must have had fearful dogs. Is there a better way to handle this? I know bassets think for themselves, and I don't want to have a mental clash with Horton that will cause more fear. But I'd also like to give him some obedience training, which I put off because when he first came to us, he was fearful of any commands. I think someone had tried to force him into unbassetlike compliance, so it seemed better to defer it.
 
But now he's beginning to have his own mind about many things, and I don't want to miss an opportunity to make the most of that willing compliance fosters tend to have before they get really comfortable and want everything their own way.
Thanks for any advice.
Pam, food slave to the Dashing Bassets