# Vizsla Anxiety / Fear. Possible past abuse.



## hosta (Jan 18, 2013)

First, sorry if this is the wrong section. Couldn't decide if it was best here or in the training/behavior section.

Second, sorry this is long, below is the background info. I’m basically looking for suggestions for what to do w/ a dog w/ likely past abuse to help lessen their anxiety and improve behaviors such as hiding in the closet or in the yard. Do meds work at all in a situation like this? Are there actions my family should avoid or institute, or things we can modify in our home environment?

We got our Vizsla Dec 2012 from the local humane society. He was 5 years old at the time. We are his 3rd family. He was first relinquished to the humane society in summer of 2011. At that point he weighed 99 pounds, was drinking water excessively and urinating excessively (medical work-up was normal). I know nothing about that family situation. He was adopted but then relinquished again in Nov 2012. At that point he weighed 43 pounds. The family reported he was jumping the fence and refusing to eat. It appears he was crated a large part of the day. He was fostered for 1 month to improve his health, and then we adopted him. 

He generally does well. His weight is stable in the 65 - 69 pound range. He's great w/ our kids. He is very needy (needs lots of attention and contact), but from what I've read it's very typical for the breed. My husband works from home, so the dog is rarely alone or crated. He doesn't get as much exercise as he should, but does get exercise most days and weekly trips to the local dog park. We have an invisible fence, which he totally obeys. It was clear when we trained him on the invisible fence that he had worn an electronic collar in the past. Whether the prior e-collar was for another invisible fence or was used for training, I have no idea.

Lately he’s been acting very nervous: will stay in the yard under a tree and refuse to come in or stay in a closet by himself. When we go out to pet him and try to get him to come in, he’ll roll over on his back or crouch and tremble and sometimes urinate (in a submissive fashion). Over the last year he will occasionally have a day or 2 where he acts like this. It usually happens after he’s accidentally hit (for instance, you’re pulling on something, the dog is right there, the thing suddenly gives way so your arm flings out and hits the dog, which wasn’t intentional at all but the dog doesn’t know that.) This time the behavior is daily rather than intermittent.

I believe what set him up to be more continuously anxious when we took him to visit family in late May. A young kid there pretended to hit the dog w/ a stick. I got the kid away and kept the kid away, but after that our dog was nervous and wouldn’t eat until we got back home. He was then fine until our summer nanny started last week. He barely barks when she enters the house (which is not at all normal). He avoids her. She took him on a walk and he didn’t pull at all (which is also not at all normal for him). And he now spends most of the day hiding in the yard. It was compounded by the fact we went out of town part of last week so he was boarded for a few days. He has never met this nanny before and acted like this from the moment he saw her, so she has definitely not done anything to the dog. (She has worked for us in the past, but prior to us adopting the dog.)

In any case, I suspect he was abused by one of his previous families and that our summer nanny reminds him of someone. Fortunately, she’s only w/ us this week and for one other week in July. Knowing that her presence is transient, I don’t know if it’s best to just wait it out or if there are things we can do to lessen our dog’s anxiety (such as meds that would be used temporarily or some type of change in the environment).

Thanks for any advice or suggestions.


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## marathonman (Jan 15, 2013)

Sounds like he has a lot of history to deal with. I'll try and keep this short and maybe other people can elaborate further and add things. 
Sounds like your boy has a lot of stress and once it gets going, its hard to break. 
-Firstly, see if you have a trainer near you that specializes in positive reinforcement and stressed dogs. (if they say they follow Caesar Milan, run away) A knowledgeable dog behaviorist/trainer will be able to help you analyze a situation and help you with tools to succeed way more than we can across the internet.
-Start really working on obedience training. Giving him a job to do will help build his confidence and reduce anxiety. Only use positive reinforcement, use lots of treats and praise, and always make it fun. (adjust his meals if you're worried about him eating too many treats) Do lots of small fun training sessions throughout the day.
-You need to make his environment comfortable. He needs a safe spot such as a crate with a bed and a blanket over it. DAP spray/plugins can help with calming. You can use the spray in bed/safe areas and plug ins in rooms. Thundershirts can also help with stress. 
-It also seems like he is having an issue outside. Perhaps he wasn't conditioned correctly to the e-collar and so with the electric fence it's made him fearful of being outside. I'm not an expert, but I'd suggest backing off from using an e-collar. If your yard isn't fenced, that may mean always taking him out on a leash or putting up a fence. Maybe eventually you can properly re-introduce, but that's going to be awhile. 
-As for your nanny, really try and make a positive association with her. Lots of treats and praise. You need to work hard to change his association with her. 
-As for the incident with the kid, I hate hearing that. Our boy was jumped on by a two year old while he was sleeping in his bed. It's taken us quite a while to get him over a lot of his major fear/stress about little girls, but he is still pretty stressed out by them. We have to continually monitor and pay attention to our boy. (and avoid situations where there could be a problem. We always want to set him up for success)


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## Vizsla Baby (Nov 4, 2011)

Try involving his nose when he gets nervous. If you see the behavior popping up, hold a small piece of string cheese near him and then reward him with it plus more when he pulls out of it. 

Nervous behaviors are tough, I feel for you . When they happen, they just don't make sense to humans, that's why they are so tough to deal with.


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## hosta (Jan 18, 2013)

Thanks for the suggestions. I got a Thundershirt last night and bought a DAP plug-in that I put next to his crate. (We don't usually crate him -- as in put him in the crate and shut the door -- but he has one that he sleeps in off and on during the day.)

Makes me feel bad to think of someone in the past being cruel to our dog.


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

I came across the link on another vizsla group, and thought it may have some information to help out other form members.

https://www.avma.org/News/Journals/Collections/Pages/AVMA-Collections-Canine-Anxiety-Disorders.aspx


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