Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nearly a year ago I got a small maltese cross rescue dog. I don't know much of his history but this is what I do know.

He was 4.5 years, had 8 previous owners, had been at the pound for a while, and had been abused. He is desexed.

As you would guess, he had many serious issues. With hard work, most are sorted out

The big problem is other dogs. He gets on well with my other dog and follows her around happily, but out on the street, its a different matter. The second he sees another dog, he starts to bark a very high pitched bark, not his normal bark. If the dog then starts to approach, he either starts to scream like hes being slaughtered and shake, backing away and running forward, or otherwise he starts acting extremly aggresivly with little screams in the middlle. (The bigger the dog, the worse the behaiour. He also panics if the dog is offlead and is inconsolable, and nervous for hours afterwards. My other dog then reacts by running forward and trying to protect him by growling and snapping at the dog. This doesn't help poor Maui in the least.

I have tried socialising him, but unless my other dog is friendly, he panics, and shes not friendly. She does have friends, and i reguarly take them to play with friends, but Maui, though ok, is still nervous even then. He sees one dog every fortnight, and has since I got him, but even with this dog, he won't play, and keeps his distance by hiding under the table.

Taking them out for a walk has become an exhausting and embarrasing task.

Im desperate. Please help.

Thankz

Ohhh, you are not in a fun situation at all.

My first recommendation would be to walk the two dogs seperately for the time being. I know it's inconvenient and both dogs won't get nearly the length of walk they would normally, but you can really only handle one dog at a time when extensive training is required.

Now, a professional behaviorist might be your best bet on dealing with this behavior successfully, but you can start working today towards making life just a bit easier. First, do NOT let any dog near you scared dog. Period. At least not right now. Assess the distance at which your dog starts to react towards other dogs and maintain a distance further than that whenever possible. When your dog can calmly see another dog from whatever distance away that is and not react, you have already made progress. Praise that dog extensively and give really good treats for NOT reacting to a dog. It takes a lot of effort and observation on your part to do this, but it will pay off in the end.

If by some chance the unwanted dog gets closer and your dog starts to react, stop praising and do your best to grab your dog's attention and reduce the reaction and adrenalin rush. Realize that you are probably done training for that session and just do "damage control" and salvage what you can and still do NOT let the unwanted dog any closer to your dog than necessary.

From now on it's your job to keep your dog comfortable around other dogs. Respect your dog's personal space needs and do your best to reduce/eliminate the reactions. With enough successes at helping your dog see that you aren't forcing it to meet unwanted dogs, in a long while your dog will start to reduce the excessive reaction and eventually minimally calm down and know it's not going to have to deal wit hthe intruder, you will deal with the situation for him.

That's the best you can do right now. A behaviorist can help you progress further if you desire it.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

Thanks. Will give that a try. The only problem I can see in advance is that the other dog will bite him if I take him out without her, and will be very angry with me. (Shes top dog).

Any ideas on that one. Should be able to keep it under control though.

Not to be rude sounding, but your other dog will just need to learn to live with it. Take her out on her outing first so she gets the energy out of her system. Then take your other dog out after. To me it sounds like the seperate attention to both of them will do a lot of good overall.
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PHReign
Email me: HReign@pethobbyist.com" target="_blank">PHReign@pethobbyist.com
Dear dog,
I can not buy anything larger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think that I will continue to sleep on the couch to ensure your comfort. Look at videos of dogs sleeping, they can actually curl up in a ball. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to your fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails straigt out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space used is nothing more than doggy sarcasm.

I agree that you need to stop exposing this maltease to other dogs/extreme stress.

If possible just take the dog out to a certain area where there are no dogs at all. In most cases, if you are training a dog to get used to any distractions/fear-triggers, etc. you want to remain calm & send the message that this (whatever situation)is no big deal, & go though small steps to desensitize, but

in your case, your poor baby is beyond 'normal' training & would need a behaviorist intervention & possibly medication.

I'd also make certain that there is no physical problem - thyroid, endocrine type etc. even an x-ray series could let you know if there was any scar tissue/old injuries, etc. or there could be vision problems that trigger this panic.

If you are walking this dog for potty, you might consider litter training.

If & when you do get him around any other dogs, I'd not have him like outside where other dogs are approaching/running about. It would be nteresting to carry him in your arms toward a group of folks sitting in chairs with their calm dogs sitting beside them inside.
let us hear

Carrying him in my arms under control didin't work. Screamed his lungs out.

Did have one large improvement today though. We came across a labrador on our walk today. I took the dogs out the way so they wouldn't see it as a threat. My mother, stopped and spoke to the owner for a bit and patted the dog. Maui saw this and started the usual behaviour but the owner told me to bring him in anyway if I wanted. I had to leave the other dog back and she was growling etc, but I slowly took Maui up to the dog, and my mother. He screamed but came willingly. Once we got close, he was worried, but stopped his noises, approached the dog, and had lovely sniffs and nuzzles with it (friendly). This lasted about 30 seconds, and Maui suddenly freaked out, threated to bite it, and then was ok, but kept his distance. I don't know what this behavouir was about, but was still pleased.

Saw this same behaviour from him earlier in the week at the vet. A man came in (no animal on him), and Maui went into panic, shaking and hiding behind the counter. He absolutly loves strangers, and will go up to anyone happily. This is the second time I have seen him do this, (both men looked similar).

I know he has been abused quite badly before, and due to the similarities in the behaviour to these 'terrifying' people, and the dogs, I am thinking something has happened previously with dogs.

Hes scared of newspapers, thunder, loud voices, fast movement, feet (always ducks and runs away), sticks, etc

I think there is a chance to help him without medication.

As for potty. He loves his walks so much I couldn't make him miss out. It is his favourite part of the day, (followed by meal times). Plus, hes prone to putting on weight, so a walk or run daily on a new track each time, keeps him happy, and healthy.