Does Rescue Remedy work on a fear biter?

[Suzyann13]

Mickey will be one year old Monday. He is sweet, obedient, learns well, is good with my other dog (a pug named Cindy Lou), and loves everyone he knows. But is scared of everyone he doesn't know. I have taken him on walks in the neighborhood, at the park, in the woods, and other places, and according to advice on this list, I have kept him pretty much in his comfort zone and not near strangers. I ask people to not look into his eyes so he won't be scared, and I have successfully kept him from having any incidents that would give him bad memories of a stranger, no problems, yelling, dogs that were aggressive, or such like. But still, he is afraid. He has tried to bite my father in law, who comes over once a week to help my husband work around the house, twice.

 

Today I gave him some Rescue Remedy, which I heard about on the internet, before my father-in-law came over. He growled a minute when dad got here, but didn't bark and raise his hackles as he usually has. I had dad sit and pet the other dog, Cindy Lou, in the living room, with a baby gate between them and Mickey, who was in the kitchen, so he could watch Cindy Lou love on dad. Dad came in and out three or four times, but never walked next to Mickey, and there was not outburst of barking or growls. So is it from the Rescue Remedy, do you think? Can I use it to keep training him when we go on walks, or was it just because we were careful to keep dad away from him?

 

Mickey is a dear, and I don't want him to bite someone and have to be put down. Any other advice would be great.

 

--Suzanne

[geonni banner]

Mickey will be one year old Monday. He is sweet, obedient, learns well, is good with my other dog (a pug named Cindy Lou), and loves everyone he knows. But is scared of everyone he doesn't know. I have taken him on walks in the neighborhood, at the park, in the woods, and other places, and according to advice on this list, I have kept him pretty much in his comfort zone and not near strangers. I ask people to not look into his eyes so he won't be scared, and I have successfully kept him from having any incidents that would give him bad memories of a stranger, no problems, yelling, dogs that were aggressive, or such like. But still, he is afraid. He has tried to bite my father in law, who comes over once a week to help my husband work around the house, twice.

 

Today I gave him some Rescue Remedy, which I heard about on the internet, before my father-in-law came over. He growled a minute when dad got here, but didn't bark and raise his hackles as he usually has. I had dad sit and pet the other dog, Cindy Lou, in the living room, with a baby gate between them and Mickey, who was in the kitchen, so he could watch Cindy Lou love on dad. Dad came in and out three or four times, but never walked next to Mickey, and there was not outburst of barking or growls. So is it from the Rescue Remedy, do you think? Can I use it to keep training him when we go on walks, or was it just because we were careful to keep dad away from him?

 

Mickey is a dear, and I don't want him to bite someone and have to be put down. Any other advice would be great.

 

--Suzanne

 

I use Rescue Remedy for my dog, who has some lingering fear issues, and it seems to help her. But she has never offered to bite, snap or even show teeth to anyone. I don't see how it could hurt anything, but I would want to get professional help for your dog if I were you. Either a veterinary behaviorist workup or time with a trainer who has lots of experience with fear-biters.

 

I also recommend that you do a search for other threads on this topic, as there is a wealth of information on the subject. There are also a number of very helpful books on the subject including:

 

The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell

Dogs Are From Neptune by Jean Donaldson

Scaredy Dog by Ali Brown

 

These have been very helpful to me, and I'm sure others can suggest more good ones.

[rushdoggie]

I am frankly, not a big believer in flower essences (like Rescue Remedy) but even if they do work I wouldn't use that as a sole solution. She needs some behavior modification to fix this problem. Can you find a behaviorist in your area to help you work through her issues?

 

Geonni Banner has posted some great resources, and there are many out there.

[njnovice]

I am frankly, not a big believer in flower essences (like Rescue Remedy) but even if they do work I wouldn't use that as a sole solution. She needs some behavior modification to fix this problem. Can you find a behaviorist in your area to help you work through her issues?

 

Geonni Banner has posted some great resources, and there are many out there.

 

I used it very successfully on a dog with anxiety-induced carsickness, but I wouldn't bother with it on a fear biter. I'd go with behavior modification on that.

[Suzyann13]

Thank you for the ideas. I will try getting one of the books. Which of those is the most complete? My husband just lost his job and we are moving to Idaho with no income as yet, so I can't get all of them.

 

Thanks again.

 

--Suzanne

[njnovice]

Thank you for the ideas. I will try getting one of the books. Which of those is the most complete? My husband just lost his job and we are moving to Idaho with no income as yet, so I can't get all of them.

 

Thanks again.

 

--Suzanne

 

Your local library may have an ILL (inter library loan system). Even if they don't have a book in stock, they may be able to get it from another library. I know that mine can get books from any library in the state. It make take awhile to get them in, but they can get them. You might want to look into that.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I am frankly, not a big believer in flower essences (like Rescue Remedy) but even if they do work I wouldn't use that as a sole solution. She needs some behavior modification to fix this problem. Can you find a behaviorist in your area to help you work through her issues?

 

Geonni Banner has posted some great resources, and there are many out there.

 

I agree. While Rescue Remedy has been known to help with anxiety, I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket. I've seen it work on people who were anxious about flying and decrease the severity of a seizure (in a dog), but it did not help my own reactive dog on any level. As with people each dog is different, so because it's worked on one dog, that does not mean it will work on the next.

 

Obviously, you're not going to be able to afford a behaviourist at this point, but you should keep that option on the back burner definitely. If you want to get the biggest bang for your buck, book wise, I'd either go with Scaredy Dog as already mentioned or "How to right a dog gone wrong" by Pamela Dennison. But one book is not going to hold the key to all your problems. Yes, a lot of the common information is quite repetitive through all the books, but each writer has had different life experiences and they do cover different things.

 

You are doing the right thing by keeping him under threshold but that in and of its self is not going to solve the problem. While you are keeping him under threshold, what are you doing to desensitize him to his triggers? You have to teach him that "scary things" are not that bad. The easiest way to do this is with food and lots of it. There is a good chance that Mick felt calmer because of the Rescue Remedy, but you also kept FIL away from him, at a safe distance. The next time FIL comes over, do the same thing, but sit with Mick and feed him his favorite treats. Once your FIL can enter with zero outburst, then I would find a safe distance (to the dog) and have FIL sit within that distance while you feed him. Once you get zero outburst, have FIL move closer. Continue on until FIL can feed him the food. It's serious baby steps, but that's the basics.

 

Here is a link to a yahoo group that has a wealth of information and a ton of experienced members. There is a bunch of info on counter conditioning and desensitization in the files section, so it would be very valuable to you, I think. You should join.

 

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pos-4-ReactiveDogs/

[in2adventure]

Where are you moving to in ID? I know of a couple behavioralists that I would highly recommend. They are awesome with herding dogs and I can PM you the names and locations if your interested.

[Suzyann13]

Hi, and thank you for the ideas. Father-in-law has started coming over every day to help us get the house ready to sell, so Mickey is seeing him more often. He comes in the living room and Mickey is in the kitchen with a baby gate between. He pets Cindy Lou while I feed Mickey treats and tell him good boy. Today Mickey played fetch with me after he saw dad, and he only made one tiny growl at the start of the first trip dad made inside, after that he was fine, but of course, dad never came up to him. I did ask him to call out Mickey's name a couple times when I was giving him treats and playing fetch. Mickey looked over at him but did not growl, raise hackles, or bark, all which he had done three days ago when dad started coming over every day. I did give Mickey Rescue Remedy as well, as I want him to feel calm when dad is here. I have a friend coming to visit in a few days who will be in the house for a few hours a day for two or three days while we visit, so I hope to do the same thing with her. I am hopeful. I will also get at least one book, maybe more, to help. So thank you all for the ideas.

 

I am moving to Old Town, Idaho, which is about 30 miles from Sandpoint, and we'll be WAY out in the country, so we won't have many guests. I hope that I can still get him used to people, as you never know when a new stranger will come over.

 

I'll give updates when I can...so much packing and working on the house to do as well...

 

--Suzanne

[in2adventure]

I LOVE the Sand point area. Best part of ID IMO. There are some great trainers in the Spokain area. A bit far, but may be worth checking out for an eval. I suggest the book Control Unleashed. Great guide for the reactive dog. I have both the DVD's and the book. Very informative.

[Suzyann13]

Hi again. I just ordered The Cautious Canine and Scaredy Dog from Amazon for $21.00 for both, so I hope those will do. I read all the reviews, and those two sounded like they had help specifically for what Mickey needs. I think they will help, and I plan to research the links provided as well. I think he will get better after lots of work, because he seems to be much better with dad now. I just have to keep it up. Thanks!