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Hi,
I have a 3.5 year old german shepherd/doberman mix dog that I've had for almost 2 years. She was adopted from the SPCA and has been a very typical rescue dog- she was initially afraid of all men, she had separation anxiety, and she is insanely attatched to me. We've worked through each issue with the vet and she is for the most part, an incredibly sweet, well adjusted dog now. HOWEVER...
I live in a house with 3 other girls because I am a college student. We have lived together since June 1, and my dog loves two of the roommates and has always been indifferent to the 3rd. Recently, within the past few weeks- my dog (Billie) has been acting very strange. She cowers in a corner whenever the one roommate comes into the house or makes noises downstairs (she is the only one with a 1st floor bedroom- the other 3 are on the 2nd floor). Also, she never goes downstairs anymore, except for when one of us is going into the kitchen. There have been tensions amongst us humans and we are hoping the one roommate moves out in December, but in the mean time- I don't know what to do with Billie.
As someone who has had rescue dogs before and grown up with dogs- I feel as if she is behaving like a dog who is being abused in some way. I can't imagine the roommate doing anything to her...could Billie be reacting to the tensions in the air? Does it sound more likely that the roommate is actually hitting/yelling/something to my dog? I just don't know what to do...I want to help Billie so she is happy and "normal" again :-/ And the other 2 roommates also want to help- everyone loves my dog, with the exception of the downstairs roommate (she thinks Billie sheds too much)
It could be a repressed behavior coming out in response to the tension. Dogs rescued can be a mystery as I have personally seen with my mother's dog Doogie. Perfectly fine, super shy, but got around the house just fine. They got Sadie as a puppy and a short while after adopting Sadie Marie, he suddenly too a few drastic steps backwards. Basically, he couldn't go thru the doorway of the kitchen into the rest of the house. He'd approach the area, but his legs would freeze and shake. We never forced him to deal with it. We allowed him to address his fear on his own time. He'd whine and cry because he wanted to be with us but couldn't do it. We'd sit in the living room and ask him to join us, but coudln't do it. It took him a year and 1/2 until one day he couldn't take it anymore; he wanted to be with the rest of the family. My mom and I were in my parents' bedroom talking when I saw him turn the corner of the hallway. Like magic, we watched in awe as he troted into the bedroom tail wagging! To this day, the old scary "past shadows" of doorways make him nervous sometimes. He can go about fairly freely except the Jack and Jill bathroom is still hard from him to go through. He has his good days and his bad.
So, I'm not sure if this give you encouragement, but be senstive to the pup's needs and make some adjustments if you can. Something has come up. I honestly don't think the roommate has done anything, though I'm not there. But, sometimes dogs sense something that triggers old fears. Don't push him to do something he is fearful of right now. See if you can make adjustments or always have him supervised for now. Watch his behavior carefully and you might be able to see what the issue is. For Doogie, we think he was hit/abused from behind, like someone was kicking him from the doorway, and in a enclosed areas because you can't touch him from behind when he isn't aware of you. He'll jump when you do.
Let me tell you a funny story. I had a roommate of 3 years, he was OK, he worked and paid rent. Then he got hurt, stayed home, started drinking and take pain drugs.
We've got our GSD (male) who instantly took on disliking my roommate. He would corner him the minute roommate walks in the door, and hold him there untill someone comes home. I told my roommate to move out, right there and then. Reason? Dogs know, there is something wrong with the guy, and possible my roommate would hit the dog while no one is home. Needless to say, he moved out, but he came back to stelal a wallet out of my BF truck. Low-life at it's best. I must say Thank you to my shep for taking care of things and letting me know what this guy was all about.
So, i would do a little research on your roommate, find out what's going on with the dog while you're not home. Dogs don't just become fearful for no reason, especially, if you said your dog liked other roommate. Always trust your dog!!! They have 6th sense that we dont.
Good luck!
I adopted a lab mix almost 2-1/2 years ago. At the time, he was about 1-1/2 years old. He was terribly abused by his first owner and very fearful of strangers, especially men. My tenant upstairs loves dogs, but it took Bailey two years to accept him. I don't know why my lab was especially fearful of my tenant, he would cower, shake and even poo every time Thomas was around.
My thoughts were this... the previous abusive owner may have looked like my tenant. Or his voice was similar or even used the same soap, so smelled like him. Then, the other critical factor was that Thomas would walk by, look Bailey deep in his eyes and call his name. After watching an episode of the Dog Whisperer, I asked, then begged my tenant not to look at my lab or even acknowledge his presence. This took months for Thomas to break his habit of greeting Bailey. So... what finally really did the trick was my tenant treating Bailey as invisible. Then two months ago, Thomas got a dog of his own and would throw treats from the porch to my dogs. So now, all is well.
Make sure that your roommate stops staring your GSD in the eye. Tell him to ignore him. If your GSD should walk up to sniff him, he should still ignore him. If he has dog treats in his pocket ahead of time, he can casually give them to your GSD, but all the while not looking at him directly or using the rest of his body to confront your dog.
I adopted a lab mix almost 2-1/2 years ago. At the time, he was about 1-1/2 years old. He was terribly abused by his first owner and very fearful of strangers, especially men. My tenant upstairs loves dogs, but it took Bailey two years to accept him. I don't know why my lab was especially fearful of my tenant, he would cower, shake and even poo every time Thomas was around.
My thoughts were this... the previous abusive owner may have looked like my tenant. Or his voice was similar or even used the same soap, so smelled like him. Then, the other critical factor was that Thomas would walk by, look Bailey deep in his eyes and call his name. After watching an episode of the Dog Whisperer, I asked, then begged my tenant not to look at my lab or even acknowledge his presence. This took months for Thomas to break his habit of greeting Bailey. So... what finally really did the trick was my tenant treating Bailey as invisible. Then two months ago, Thomas got a dog of his own and would throw treats from the porch to my dogs. So now, all is well.
Make sure that your roommate stops staring your GSD in the eye. Tell him to ignore him. If your GSD should walk up to sniff him, he should still ignore him. If he has dog treats in his pocket ahead of time, he can casually give them to your GSD, but all the while not looking at him directly or using the rest of his body to confront your dog.
ooh, I didn't think about that possiblity. Very interesting and makes perfect sense. I bet that's what it is. shepmom has a good point too.
ooh, I didn't think about that possiblity. Very interesting and makes perfect sense. I bet that's what it is. shepmom has a good point too.
After what I went through with Bailey, I wish that when an abused animal is rescued, the animal control people could make a note in the animal's file of what the owner looked like (take a quick Polaroid) and even what soap or cologne they wore. Just so the new owners know what to avoid.
I've met several rescue dogs that were happy in their new lives but still fearful of all men. One such dog was owned by a lesbian couple.
I am so relieved that my lab goes into retreat mode rather than getting aggressive when he sees people that he dislikes or is fearful of. But I always keep an eye on his body language when other people are involved.
After what I went through with Bailey, I wish that when an abused animal is rescued, the animal control people could make a note in the animal's file of what the owner looked like (take a quick Polaroid) and even what soap or cologne they wore. Just so the new owners know what to avoid.
I've met several rescue dogs that were happy in their new lives but still fearful of all men. One such dog was owned by a lesbian couple.
I am so relieved that my lab goes into retreat mode rather than getting aggressive when he sees people that he dislikes or is fearful of. But I always keep an eye on his body language when other people are involved.
What a great thought to have animal control officers keep note of the environment of abused animals keeping tally of small details (picture of owner, smells, etc.),though it might prove to be very difficult to catch every detail.
You know, not to get too sidetracked, but you just sparked a thought in my head about rescue dogs/cats/animals and training. Dog trainers offer basic odedience, puppy training, agility, police work, therapy, seeing eye, one on one and behavior specific classes. I wonder if there's such a topic as Rescue education for owners specializing obedience training with rescue dogs in mind specifically for abused dogs....hmmm, that would be a great opportunity to give owners like the thread started a place to go with sitautions like this. No, not a pet psychic because I don't believe in those. Someone who can teach the owner to learn to read their own pets better maybe??? That could be a whole seperate class. This could be indepth or basic.
I mean, think about it. We are in a culture now that rescues and shelters are more and more in the focus of pet ownership (at least, I'd like to think that way...). We often adopt an animal from severe abuse, but we are never prepped for the possible baggage they come with. Do you think there would be a need for this????
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