Hi

Well the good news is that I now own Dottie Dog. Strange how things turn out.

Band news, she is skinny, even for a Koolie. She is extremley timid especially around men. She will come and she will sit but she makes it look like a death sentance. She is about 9 months old and has lived her life in a cage with occasional forays into the paddock where she failed to perform. I believe this failure is training not instinct as all her brothers & sisters from 3 litters have been great working dogs.

I have never had a timid dog before. How can I ake her want to come sit and stay without cowering.

Any opinions would be great

regards

Lockie

I know they are not koolies, but one of my best dogs is really timid. He is fine at home, but taken out of his enviroment he is really bad.

I have never been able to do anything to improve this, so good luck with it. my boy is only a 2 year old, i am just hoping that as he matures he will improve.

i hope you can do better with yours than i have with mine, as its a shame to see a timid dog.

Hi

Thanks for the input

I am amazed. Dotties owner complained that he couldnt get her to do anything. I am no great shakes in the dog training department but in the 3 hours I have had with Dottie she comes willingly and sits. She has learnt that she must not jump. She is as smart as a whip! I think there is hope for her timidity (is that a word?)yet.

regards

Lockie

Hi Lockie
Sounds like you are doing the best thing, giving her time. Also lots of positives, pats and confidence boosting will all gradually sink in to her that life has just improved greatly. A lot of koolies if handled badly at a young age will revert to this behaviour because their instinct is so strong to please you, but if they can't get positive input they are just confused and will withdraw.

Good luck, I'm sure it won't take long at all.

Hi & Thanks

She shows little desire to be "with" us she will accept the pat with a wagging tail then wander off. I know she just got here but I did expect that she would seek out contact with humans a little. She isnt doing that yet.

I must confess the thing I am worried about is that on the weekend I will be picking up our new pup and MoJo, the pups father, and I dont want anything to detract from quality time with them or that they learn any of her bad habits.

Perhaps they should be housed separatly for a wile?

regards

Lockie:dogwalk:

Oh Lockie,
such a shame she was let get like that, I would put it down 100% to treatment/training as no young dog would show promise in those conditions.

I have had many many timid dogs, I would suggest making her place into a 'refuge' of sorts, somewhere where she can escape until she settles in without too much distraction & she can feel secure. A covered crate would be a good idea in an area that is quiet then bring her closer to the household happenings, & let her out in an area where she has room to stretch legs but not have ample places to get away & hide, except her crate or what you use, you can then offer her food & try to make regular contact throughout the day just with a little soft pat at her level & proceed from there.

Moving home with her history I'd say the next 2wks will just be a whirlwind for her so I wouldn't push much as there will be too much going on. It is amamzing how much faster dogs come around when given their own hideaway safety net & crating her in the loungeroom etc. while everyone is watching TV & ignoring her will also help immensely.


Just a suggestion.

Hi

Dotties trusting us a lot more but disappears when visitors come. This is where she goes when someone comes; with her face to the wall. Its hard not to laugh.

Oooh poor Dotty, don't let her become know as Dunny Dotty LOL. Great advice from Mushoz and it seems that Dotty is just as clever, if you can't handle the situation, just go somewhere quiet and let it all pass. You may find that Mojo and the pup (if well adjusted themselves) may be just the thing for her and give her some cofidence and show her how to interact with you. You have a gentle soul there, who with patience will be a fantastic mate. Look forward to hearing how she develops. I think I remember Danny our new president saying when his guys get upset in storms etc they curl up around the toilet bowl....

Such a pretty little girl.

Behaviour is a complex mix, and it's often not possible to identify what 'caused' a dog to display a particular type of behaviour. That said, its *always* a mix of experience and genetics and current context, you just can't usually identify what aspects of which have caused it. Lots of dogs raised by tough owners are not particularly timid, although they are probably stressed alot, they seem to have more bouce back. My personal feeling about it is that most fearfulness in dogs is due to genetics, or we wouldn't see such strong patterns of timidity within breeds, although that does not mean that it won't be affected for good or ill by how a dog is trained or managed. Of course it could be that a timid dog had an bad experience during a sensitive stage of their development, which a more confident dog did not. But again, some dogs seem to bounce back from these, others don't.

Sorry to get on my hobby horse lol



So, I would try not to worry too much about why the behaviour is occuring, but rather get into reward-based training and classical conditioning asap with Dotty (probably not a class, though, for a while), learn to recognise body language that tells you she's stressed (if you haven't had a sensitive dog before maybe you haven't noticed how tiny subtle movements can tell you things about how she's feeling before things get too bad), above all don't force her to do things that frighten her. If she doesn't progress at a rate she's comfortable with, there's a risk she will become more fearful as a result.



Having lived with a sensitive dog, I can vouce for their ability to teach you much more about dog behaviour than a more confident dog.

All the best, Libby

Hi

Thanks again for the input.

Libby I think you are spot on. Interestingly enough, I was cleaning out my shed this arvo and Dotty was quite happy watching everything I did. I picked up a piece of black PVC pipe and she took off. Scared out of her wits. Speaks volumes dont you think.
She is as smart as a whip and willing to please. She has no idea of "play" She just dosnt know how. I think MoJo will be great for her. He is such a great dog, happy, well adjusted and sure of his place in things.
If love & time can heal she will be fine.

regards

Lockie

Oh I just love the support and the input, send her to me the poor lost love.
That's what I say, but I know she must be shaking with shear relief at the positive turn in her life.
I know she is going to wow the socks off you Lockie you just keep following your gut, give her time and she is going to be wonderful.
Rescue send lots of crushed ones to us, yet their spirit to come back, to trust again, it just fills we with wonder.
Mushoz is on the track give Dot her own space, the toilet is no place for a lady.
Introduce her to Mo-Jo alone with out the kids who might overwhelm her, she will respond well to a male and it will be on her level of understanding.
He will be a good roll model for her and she will see how he responds around you and do like wise.
Vitrate is a terrific tonic to boost her immune system and give extra goodies which in turn help to balance out how she feels both physically and mentally, you can get it though the Vets, best thing I found for Koolies in all sort of situations.
We will all send her positive thoughts and best wishes and she will thrive and you won’t believe the transformation you will see in her.
Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need more support, that’s what we are here for.

Hui

Everyone has been so great. This is terrific. We hadnt planned on so many new dogs all at once but Im not compalining. At least she trusts us now and that shows that she is no dill. Tracey is in the kitchen as I write explaining that she must not jump up on the stove. Especially when it is on. I dont think she will do that again!

Thanks again

Lockie

Hi,
Good luck with Dotty, she will soon learn that she is in safe hands with you. My mum has a dog (a ACD X, not koolie) that we got from the pound. When we first got her all she did was hide under the bed for the first week. So we just left her to do her own thing and she come out from under the bed after she felt ready. She was also terrified of men to the point of hackles up and growling so I understand how it feels. Give her time and with a new dog to she her how good us nice humans can be I am sure she will be a differant dog. Good luck with her, you have done the right thing by giving her a new, happier home!!!!

Best of luck with Dotty Dog, it just breaks your heart to see what people can do to dogs, and much the same advise as they others, one of my best ACD's I got when a friends neighbour who was going to shoot his dog because she was so aggressive and timid couldn't get her to do anything.

I had been trying to get a pup from him out of her for a while so I told him I would take her. She was so "aggressive" becuase she was terrified and was lashing out!! she would slink up to get her food on her belly.

That was four years ago and she is the most outgoing and happy dog... I take her to the monthly markets and she quite often has children cuddling her and everything and not much makes her loose her smile!! lots of patience and encouragement and plenty of rewards... ps she still won't work but that's ok, they don't have to do much at my place.