Nervy pound dog - 2009-04-27

Question

Hi. We got a 16 months dog out of a Dog's refuge home two weeks ago. We are lucky. He is a gentle and lovable dog. He has got two problems. He is really nervous and afraid of many things including loud noises and running water. He keeps weeing himself even when we are just playing with him but otherwise he is pretty well house trained. How do we treat his nervousness and his fears??

Answer

Well done – you have taken on a dog with issues (often the reason why the dog is in the pound). The dog is noise sensitive and likely lacking social skills. Leadership, patience, soft voice, and positive reinforcement are a must here. Keep volume of voice down, try and make them inviting with a ‘higher’ pitch. This will take time, and again start with the water slowly, when ok praise, increase volume and noise of water over time. But patience, TLC and lots of praise will get the dog right and avoid molly coddling. YOUR behaviour will bring confidence to the dog. If persist, please get some professional help.