[Dailydrool] Fearful dogs

[Val lbrewerzwick via Dailydrool]

We have had two extremely fearful dogs.  The first, Commander Bo, a basset love of the first order,  was born that way, from what we understand. Bo was afraid of absolutely everything as a pup from his earliest days, or so I am told.   when we adopted him at age six months, by this time he would not go outside on a leash at all, mostly hid under things, and quaked.  For no ascertainable reason.  We were his third home.  We took Bo on ignorantly, as a challenge, believing love would conquer all ( and it mostly did, plus a stable, patient, quiet, household). Bo has been gone several years now.

Our second terrified dog, Ipo, notabasset, a pitbull mix abandoned hunting dog with an obvious abuse history, scarred and broken-toothed, came to us almost a year ago, cringing and silent.

what we have learned from them has been--basically patience, I think.  We didn't/haven't coddled either, but neither did we ever speak harshly to either one.  We gently encouraged, with biscuits, and bided our time.  Bo was tremendously helped by the addition of a second dog, his brother Harley, who acted as his emotional guide--testing new dogs, new situations, new people, first, declaring them safe to Bo and  introducing them.  I am suspecting that if the fearfulness is inborn, an emotional guide canine companion is a godsend.  

Ipo, on the other hand, has just needed time and kindness--a lot of it.  Eleven months into her gotcha with us, she is a very happy dog, though she still shies away from my husband when he calls her and he does so in a calm voice (she's ok with women), and she gets a bit agitated if she hears neighbors arguing. ( my husband and I are peaceful, soft, low-key people).

So, my thought would be ' just give it time'.  I know Cesar suggests exposing fearful dogs to uncomfortable situations while maintaining a "calm, assertive" attitude, and this makes good sense.  In our experience, doing this very slowly is key.  My two cents worth. I am not a dog trainer or anything special, just a dog owner and lover.  VAl Brewer. Vlbzwick at yahoo.com. With Mariah the Maraudah, Mila, and Ipo of Hawaii.