Doodle Anxiety, Fear , and Mental Health Issues

Comment

Comment by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on May 22, 2011 at 10:33am

Patti, 32% protein is NOT a high-protein food, and it is not at all like giving them caffeine. This is the second time today I have heard this kind of information from a trainer, and it is wrong. There must be some kind of post on some trainer's forum that has them all jumping on this new bandwagon, but unfortunately, they are misunderstanding what they are reading or hearing. It is based on a small study at Tufts in which dogs with aggression issues were given low protein diets combined with tryptophan supplements, and some of them responded to this with lower aggression. It is an issue involving neurotransmitters in the brain and amino acid transport, and is a lot more complicated than the protein percentage in a well-balanced diet. Please believe me that the difference between a food containing 25% protein VS 32% protein is not going to make any difference at all in your dog's behavior, and a 20% protein diet would not be a good idea, especially for a growing puppy.

Unless the trainers have studied biochemistry or a related field on a college level, I really think they should stick to training. I have heard of trainers advising people on health issues, too. In fact my vet jokes that when it comes to a dog's health, many people put the vet's advice third behind the groomer and the trainer's.

I promise you that the protein levels in Willow's food have absolutely nothing to do with her fear issues.

Comment by Ricki and Tara (doodle) on May 22, 2011 at 10:29am

Tara is the first dog that we have had that has some insecurity issues, too. Her's are not to the degree of Willow's but like you, we have never had a shy dog before either. Instead of running from people Tara would just jump back and not let them touch her. She was curious but a little fearful.  We had to take a very strong but kind leadership role with her and she has learned to trust us and look to us for her confidence. She watches us very closely to see how we are responding in any new situation and takes her queue from us. So I would suggest that you watch your own behavior and try to not get upset when you see her starting to become fearful. They really can feed off of our emotions.

Tara is 2 now and pretty comfortable in most situations but still watches us closely.

Comment by Ginny Nightingale on May 22, 2011 at 10:23am

When I got Lyric at the age of 8 months, she was afraid of most things and had not been socialized as much as she needed to be. She was afraid to pass a big rock along the side of the road! I worked with her in obedience classes and took her out a lot to meet people and it did help. If possible, I asked people to greet her quietly, let her come to them slowly and then they should put their hand out under her chin not over her head. She still has a problem with it, but it has improved a lot. 

You can acclimate her to noise at home too--unless it is never a problem at home? You can try playing loud music gradually increasing volume, dropping pans, etc, just to help her adjust to louder noise.

Comment by Patti on May 22, 2011 at 10:06am

Ricki & Tara, thank you so much for the info. this gives us hope and we sure needed some.  We will pray that this is just a stage, as we take our dogs everywhere with us, vacations etc. and will Willow reacting like this, well, it would be impossible.

 

However with all the pet's we have had, we have never experienced this stage at this level before. 

Comment by Ricki and Tara (doodle) on May 22, 2011 at 9:50am

Patti, I'm sorry to hear of Willow's fear issues. It would be a big concern for me too. Have you heard of or read about the different fear stages that puppies can go through and how to handle them? Here is a link to some info about them. It seems that Willow is of the age when the second fear stage occurs.This link discusses the stages and suggests how to best handle each one.

http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/developmentalstages.html

 

Hopefully you can help her through this and she can return to being your brave little Willow again!

Comment by Patti on May 22, 2011 at 9:21am

So Willow is a very fearful dog when out in public. She at 5 months was well socialized as a pup, and then this fearful behavior came from out of the blue.

 

She wants to run when she sees people, or anything that makes noise. At home she is totally content and happy unless there is "Stranger Danger" and then she goes into flight mode. 

 

OK, so one thing Willow's trainer said during Willow's first visit with her was to put Willow on a low protein food, to stay between 20% to 25% protein.

Taste of the Wild Salmon  has a high protein of 32%, the Lamb formula has 25% so Lamb would be OK.  She said a high protein food was like giving them coffee.

Also she has worked with many dogs that were very fearful, and the Anxiety Wrap helped tremendously and in most cased cured the dog completely.

So I ordered one for Willow.  We are hopeful this will help, as we love Willow so much and this behavior was the last thing we expected.  

 

We are close to 60 in age and have had dogs of many breeds over our lifetime who were always well adjusted and happy to be taken everywhere. For the life- of-us, we can't think of anything we did to contribute to Willow's fear. 

Comment by Joanne ~ Spud* on May 21, 2011 at 6:13pm

Lauria,

So glad to see you back.  Sorry I missed this post.  I don't get messages from this group for some reason.

Glad to hear your post.  Welcome back.

Comment by Lauria Orr on April 17, 2011 at 8:12pm

I have not been on DK for awhile and am just checking in again.  Lots going on for me...  :o(

I have a neighbor who is a Vet tech and Administrator at a Vet Hospital.  She has adopted a dog who was found in a park with a band tied around her mouth.  This dog is also part poodle and has thrived under her care.  She does have a lot of anxiety, however, and that has actually spilled over to one of my neighbor's other dogs.  There is a behaviorist who is associated with the Vet Hospital and that person has been working with this adopted pet.  Her anxiety is extreme enough that the stress reaction on the system is just too much.  In their case, he does recommend some medication and it has made the world of difference.  I  know they are working with the dog and her behavior, and the dog is less stressed now and can actually function in her training. She is able to make strides now.  She is a barker and we still hear her in the yard, but it is not as it was. They do not work with treats...the training does not include that.  I think her background was pretty tough...she has had surgeries to repair the areas where the dog was abused.  She seems happier and is quite the character. I think medication has it's place and is worth considering, in cases where other means are just not enough.  

Comment by Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie on March 30, 2011 at 7:27pm

Shelly, barking can be a problem with our guys too.  I think if I had only one I might be able to address it better - uh, that is my excuse anyway for both barking and door bad manners. But it doesn't get anything solved, so I will be watching what you do and if you make any progress.  I am just not enamored with too many treats.  Ned will do things for treats but actually he gets overly excited by them (maybe because they are so rarely given) for a behavior.

Comment by shelly on March 30, 2011 at 5:27am

I'm not thrilled with the thundershirt... not really sure it helps tori, although, she doesn't poop IN the car anymore... just as soon as she gets out - lol... BUT I am now using my DH's car it's a Santa Fe, mine is an Odyssey.. maybe she feel more secure... BUT the issue with people coming here and the barking at them when they come and go??? THAT really needs my dedicated attention this summer.. not sure if it's ALL my fault... maybe I really should have sought 'help' a while back, but now... (yeah - I admit it... my fault then... had a trainer, but all she did was feed her treats and she'd get diarrhea after)

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