Looking for help...

[lucieluv]

I was at the vet in early December last year, when a mother and her teenage son came in with a small bundle wrapped in a towel. I saw a bit of black fur sticking out but didn't think much about it. Ellie, one of my dogs, and myself were put in a room next to the mother and son, and I got an earful. The mother was yelling at her son, telling him everything was always his fault and he always caused problems, and she didn't have any money for whatever this was going to cost. The vet came into their room and I heard her say that the puppy's leg was badly broken and if they could not afford to care for the puppy, the right thing to do would be to put the puppy down. The mother began yelling at the son again and said she was just going to go home and shoot the dog.

 

The mother and son left the vets office with the puppy.

 

I left the vet's office with the address of the mother and son and puppy.

 

Four mouths later...I now have a healthy Border Collie puppy. She shattered her hock joint on her back left leg and I had been advised to have her leg removed. I said no and she is just fine now. She has two speeds, fast and faster. For the most part she gets along great with my other dogs, except Lucie, who wants to eat her. Lucie is special.

 

The story I was given when I took Mattie was that she had been hit by a car. However, when I took her to the specialtist, they pointed out bite marks on her leg. But, she gets along great with my other dogs, which are labs. She even tries to play with Lucie, who tries to eat her or sit on her. Remember, Lucie is special.

 

This is my problem. She is scared of everything. My parents came to visit last weekend. They had not met Mattie and had not seen my dogs since last October. Mattie got scared when she saw them, cried, and ran under the deck. When she finally came in the house, she would back away from my parents if they tried to approach her. She flinches anytime someone tries to touch her. She'll flinch if I pet her from behind where she can't see me. She runs away if you try to pick her up. (She had to be carried a lot when she had her cast on) Noises that she has never heard before send her over the top. Strong winds blowing the trees causes her to get scared. One day she was chasing Pepper, another one of my Labs, and they knocked over a patio chair and I thought she was going to get scared out of her fur. She came running back to me, ran behind me, and then barked at it for ten minutes. Then, she slowly walked back up to the chair and barked some more at it.

 

These are just a few examples. I've always raised Black Labs. We have just recently figured out the Mattie is a Border Collie. She is solid black, but she is certainly all Border Collie. I take her places to help socialize her, but I'm afraid I'll put her into shock if I enroll her in puppy classes.

 

I just don't know how to help her!

 

***Lucie is special because she has an autoimmune disorder and the medication she is on makes her grumpy***

[Lunar]

Hi! Wow, what a story. What a horrible lady. I'm so glad you got that pup.

 

I have a super-shy pup as well... sheltie mix. Terrified of everything. Sounds, sights, smells... anything strange sends her over the edge. But she's really good at home now, she's really gained confidence and she trusts me pretty implicitly. I had to teach her that it was okay to play with me.

 

In any case, I enrolled her in puppy classes. I was really worried it was going to traumatize her for life. I did this for a few reasons: one, because I HAVE to start taking her out in public, or she's never going to get over this. And two, most importantly, a class is a controlled environment where I dont' have to worry about bad mannered dogs accosting us, where I can let her acclimate without thrusting her out into the general (not always understanding) public. No kids running over to pet her, no people acting badly around her.

 

The key is to find a really GOOD trainer/training center. I looked for specific things: a trainer who knows a lot about dogs, who has control of the class (people and dogs!), and a class that is structured enough that the dogs are controlled and away from each other. The one I chose has boxes marked out on the floor, and for the entire class, unless told otherwise, you keep your dog inside that box. No boistrous labs running over to terrify my pup. We just sit there and listen and let Zoe get used to it.

 

You can read my thread, I recently posted it, called Obedience Class Update. I wrote a lot about our experience in class.

 

I'm sure other people will be around to give you lots of great advice for your pup. I know there are several books out there that speak to the shy dog, but I can't remember the names of them off the top of my head.

 

Welcome to the board!

[airbear]

Originally posted by lucieluv:

...This is my problem. She is scared of everything. ...She flinches anytime someone tries to touch her. She'll flinch if I pet her from behind where she can't see me. She runs away if you try to pick her up. (She had to be carried a lot when she had her cast on) ...I take her places to help socialize her, but I'm afraid I'll put her into shock if I enroll her in puppy classes.

 

I just don't know how to help her!

You've pretty much described my Wick! I've had her 4 years now, and while she is certainly better, she's not ever going to be as happy-go-lucky as Bear or Lou. But she is who she is, and I just tell people to leave her be, that when she's comfortable, she'll interact (bit of a lie, but it prevents them from hovering over her).

 

Wick survived obedience class, though she didn't like all the commotion, and then she started agility. She sure didn't like how all the other dogs chased her, but I put a stop to the chasing pretty quick and now she loves her agility. You wouldn't know that screaming, flying dog in the agility ring is the same one that cowers behind me outside the ring if someone reaches over to pet her.

 

I think that, so long as you don't overwhelm Mattie, continuing to socialize her is a good thing. Small doses, reward the little victories. Accept her for who she is, and feel good about knowing that, despite her little quirks, you saved her from a much worse fate.

[Kyrasmom]

Puppy class may be too much for her if she is that fearful, yes, you need to help her get over her fears but it's also not really fair to overwhelm her. I had a similar situation with my Joy, he's a 23 lbs Border Collie wannabe. Very high energy, thrown out of a car and then poisoned to boot. He was terrified of everything and everyone, the only reason he let me touch him was that he was more dead than alive, literally limp in my arms after the poison. Once he was healthy, I was the only person he would allow into his "circle of trust", everyone else he shied away from, growled at, or hid from.

 

I didn't overexpose him by taking him to places that would overwhelm him, but I more or less ignored his fears and took him with me on my daily errands, work (at the time I worked in an office that allowed me to take him) stable etc.

 

I didn't coddle him through his fears, if he wanted to hide under the desk, I let him, but I gave him no choice in coming into the office and then I more or less ignored him. Same with the other environments, I ignored his fears but also didn't make him go to a doggy party...or a people party.

 

It took a long time, he was about 11 months at the time, had been abused a lot, I suspect, but he slowly blossomed. He trusted one more person, than another, and now (he's 14) he is the leader of the welcome wagon, does tricks, jumps into anyone's lap, and more or less has everyone convinced that he should be a "breed" all his own because he's virtually perfect.

 

Just be patient, expose her, but don't overexpose her, and most importantly, don't make her fears seem important. That would be my best advice. If you want to do puppy class, talk to the trainer and see about matching her with a quiet puppy with a quiet person instead of being run over or ohh'd and ahh'd over when she's terrified.

 

Good luck!

Maria

[lrayburn]

Lucieluv,

Everyone has given you good advice about socialization and exposure. Start small, keep everything positive and upbeat, don't baby her when she's scared. I ignore the behavior of my scaredy-dog when she gets nervous - no picking up, hugging or trying to reassure her. Reward every positive behavior - not reacting to something that you expected her to react to, making progress on her phobias, etc.

 

Expose her to lots of new places, people and things but do it in little bites. Introduce new things one at a time. Take her to new places but don't let people touch her or crowd around her. Introduce new people, one at a time, at home. Give her a safe place to hide when new people come to the house or crate her in another room. Figure out what she loves more than anything else and associate it with new places and people.

 

If you are used to labs, a shy/nervous border collie is going to be a HUGE change for you. Learn as much as you can about border collies because even a well socialized, outgoing BC isn't going to behave like a lab. As a general rule, BCs are much more sound sensitive and motion reactive. BCs are much easier to correct but it's also easier to overwhelm or scare them.

 

You might want to start with some individual puppy classes to get your puppy used to a new place with a new person and then work up to joining a group class. Or take her to observe several classes before asking her to perform in a group setting. Good obedience training will make her more confident because she can look to you for leadership instead of trying to control her environment herself.

 

Good luck! With your love and dedication, she should be able to make big strides towards becoming a more confident, happier dog.

 

Lisa

[KrisK]

I can't add much to what has already been said. Cricket is my fearful BC...and alot of what you described is/was her. She had severe hip dysplasia so I think her pain compounded her fears. She has had surgery and now almost 2 years later, she's getting much better.

Reward the good positive things Mattie does and ignore the bad. She's young and it sounds like you're very committed to her As the others have said, she may never be the 'social butterfly' but I'm sure she will be a happy dog!

[lucieluv]

Here's a little bit more information on Mattie, as it was late when I found this site last night.

 

I have raised and trained labs. I know almost nothing about Border Collies, other than they are wonderful dogs.

 

When I brought Mattie home from the emergency vet the first day, she slept on my bed. She did this for several nights, slept through the night as well with no accidents. (I considered myself lucky since I figured she was only 8-10 weeks old but she was also on pain medication.) After about a week she began sleeping under the bed, with her small little puppy tail sticking out from under the bed. This went on for a few weeks until she began sleeping next to the bed on one of many dogs beds in my bedroom. Then, she decided she wanted on the bed but she wasn't big enough to get up there and her cast prevented her from trying to jump. So, she let me pick her up and put her on the bed. She slept at the very end of the bed, far away from me. This also went on for a few weeks.

 

Now, at bed time, she dives under the covers and snuggles with me. So, progress has been made there!!!

 

Its pretty much the same story with the couch, she now will get on the couch if I'm sitting on the couch. I put a dog bed in my computer room for her and whenever I'm on the computer, she's in the bed next to the computer. When she's not chewing on Pepper's ears or back legs, she follows me around the house. Just recently she started coming up to me and letting me put my arm around her and she'll sit down (briefly).

 

So, in four months, Mattie and I have made lots of progress!!!

 

Today, she picked up her first frisbee and gleefully ran around the house with the frisbee. I have no idea how to teach Mattie how to play frisbee. My labs were born with tennis balls in their mouths!!!

 

Liz

[smileyzookie]

liz I am the same way with my dog Riven. She has no clue that she's supposed to get a ball and bring it back, or what a frisbee is for... I dunno how to teach it either.