Extreme Fear and Anxiety in Dogs

We are 10 days into our adoption of an 8+ year old rescue who is believed to have suffered a lifetime of abuse and neglect. He was emaciated, broken ribs, ear and eye infections when discovered. He is very happy when in the house with my other dogs, wants to follow me or sleep in a dog bed, but has proven NOT to be trustworthy with my cats, so I cannot safely allow him the run of the house. He becomes totally panic stricken with confinement - crate, room, dog run, or even a large yard. He is climbing out of the 5' fenced yard, only to want back in once he has accomplished the escape. In a dog run this morning, he had nearly dug under the panels in 20 minutes and shredded the dog dish. I don't want to bring on his panic but now sure how to proceed and succeed with this dog. Any comments would be appreciated. I live in a small rural community without animal behavioral experts.

Hello from Indiana! Our eleven year old female boxer bulldog mix has suddenly become extremely anxious and fearful. She constantly tries to hide, knocking things like night stands and shelves over. She trembles and shakes like she's freezing. She has switched ownership from myself to my husband within the past year. She used to only listen to me but now she only listens to him. There has been no changes, such as new pets brought into the home, within the past two years. She is treated for fleas yet constantly digs and have eaten the hair off of her tail leaving behind a horrible wound which needed bandaged. Her actions are worse while my husband is at work and when he returns she greets him like he's been gone forever which she never did before. We've had her since she was 6 months old. She has never been abused nor neglected. The only time she seems like her "old self" is when she's outside in our big fenced backyard in which she often refuses to come back into the house even when it's freezing outside. She has always been an indoor dog, none of our pets are left outside for any extended period of time unless with us. Outside, she enjoys chasing rabbits and squirrels behaving as nothing is wrong yet inside, it's a whole other story. Is she experiencing some type of age related cognitive deterioration? I am extremely concerned. Thank you for any advice.

We have a 6 year old Doberman that has been dealing with extreme anxiety. He will randomly pee in certain places in the house, eats anything he can, shakes and completely ignores any command no matter how gentle or firm you say it. He will nip at people when they stop petting him and he gets too worked up to have around anyone anymore. We are lost on what to do. CBD oil helped only a little for a short time and he’s been on Prozac and it hasn’t helped. Socializing him with other dogs does nothing as he either is terrified or he latches onto one dog and attempts to hump them the entire time. Have no idea what to do.

My sister has a young - 5 year old staffy, who has such extreme anxiety and almost manic behaviour at times. Her name is Crusher.
The vets and behavioral specialists have tried and failed with medications and training. She’s getting worse. She only weighs 17kg but she does eat and drink regularly. Our parents have the litter sister of Crusher and she exhibits none of the same behaviour. When kennelled they need to keep Crusher separated as she is so manic the other dogs collapse from exhaustion from playing with her. She has been socialised and puppy schooled but for the last few years her manner has changed so dramatically that they’re now suggesting to my sister to have her put to sleep. I’m hoping that there may be more options we can try for her. Please help as it is soul destroying to see this beautiful girl so anxious and scared.

I have a 4 month old maltese. Couple of weeks ago, while out in the front yard to go potty, he was doing his usual business, and started barking like he always does when he sees a stray dog. But suddenly he started screaming as if in pain, ran back inside home, peed and pooped all over while running, and wouldn't stop running away from me and my mom. Then proceeded to find a small crevise to hide in and shook for a while. After this, EVERY single day he has a different reason to do this, and always in the same fashion: sudden screams, running away, pee and poo, hide and shake.

He hasn't lost appetite, is drinking water, no vomit, no diarrhea, in a good mood, but after the episodes he tends to be very tired and sleeps a lot. Triggers have been: me putting him in the car (happened only once, now he hasn't done it again), me turning on the shower, barking at a dog from INSIDE my house, taking him out for a walk (3 times, stopped doing it after a while) tried to wash his paws on the sink.

I've realized that he gets calm sooner when I don't let him run away and just hold him at arms reach, but what has me worried is what happens when the episodes are over: one minute he's screaming and struggling, and the next one he suddenly stops everything he's doing, his eyes dilate and drop, and his body becomes completely limp, as if he were having a seizure and it stopped.

He's become a little more grumpy (not aggresive though, he just growls a lot now), and his usual happy and clownish demeanor has started disappearing. It's like he's really tired and stressed all the time, always alert and jumpy.

Took him to the vet and said it wasn't anything physical, so my guess is that he's going into some sort of "panic rush" when he gets really scared of something. Has anyone had this happen? I'm hoping it's something to do with behaviour and not neurological...

I rescued a Heeler mix when he was approximately 6 months old. He was supposedly "shy" and was shy at the meet and greet. I've had him one month and he is not shy, he is severely, severely fearful and anxiety-ridden about everything. People, other dogs, my timid cat, noises.

He spends 23 1/2 hours a day in his crate because he is afraid to come out. I am very calm with him, giving him high value treats, and pet or massage him gently; leaving him alone if he starts licking his lips. I never yell at him, never abuse him.

I purchased a pheromone diffuser, a pheromone collar, and herbal calming drops. They have not helped at all. I hired 2 different behavioral trainers who have suggested similar techniques that I have been using, such as the T-Touch massage.

I could not take him to the vet as he would have melted down. I had a vet come to my house and she prescribed Buspirone 2 weeks ago and has now prescribed Fluoxetine. Just started that.

The vet and one of the behavioral trainers when I asked the severity of his anxiety felt like it was the worst they had ever seen!

I am beside myself. This is no quality of "life" if he stays in his crate 23 1/2 hours a day. I have had medically challenged dogs before and did not hesitate to spend whatever it took; time or money wise to help them, however I just don't know if he can be helped.

My lab mix seems to be afraid of people. He is nine months old and I’ve had him since he was four months. He came from a rescue and a foster home that had four young hyper children. While on the leash he will pull hide and do anything To get away from people. The more people the more severe the interaction. If he is off the leash he will approach and pass at his own leisure and space. It seems that while on the leash his interactions with people are high and anxiety. While off the leash he will approach people at his own leisure. Still not letting people touch them but much closer than on the leash. I’ve trained my dog to do amazing things like ring a bell when he asked to go to the bathroom. But I’m starting to question if I’m doing the right thing. Can somebody please offer advice!

I have a 3 yr old Hound mix. We got him when he was about 8 weeks old from a neighbor who was fostering the mother, who was pregnant. She had 5 puppies. My daughters helped play with the puppies and socialize them. Ozzy was always cuddly and sweet. He is still the sweetest cuddler with us and people he likes. But as he has aged he has become more and more timid and anxious about new situations and seems to have a lot of anxieties about sounds and things he hasn't seen before. The biggest issue is that he is totally afraid of a family who are friends of ours. They are very nice people who have never approached him inappropriately. It started with their 13 yo daughter who is best friends with my 13 yo. I thought it may be because they have birds and Ozzy had never encountered this smell. He hides outside and runs past this girl and her backpack. Then her mom came over and the same thing happened...ditto with the dad and son. This has been going on for a year and half. Nothing we have tried works to alleviate his fear and anxiety around these loving friends. I will also add that Ozzys anxieties and fears seem to have gotten worse after our 8yr old Beagle Lab mix (Odie passed away). Odie was the alpha of our 3 dogs and I think that he helped Ozzy feel more secure. Our other dog is a small Chug, Evy and she only heightens Ozzy's hyperviligance about protecting his "house" against squirrels, the mailman etc. I am at my wits end trying to figure out a way to get Ozzy to understand that our friends are not a threat.

My dog is an 11yr old mixed staff/mastiff I have had him for 5 years he has been mistreated by one of his previous owners. My son suffers from EUPD and gets hungry and has outbursts. My dog started losing his fur. Then he began to shake and fur came back. Now he shakes and loses his fur.he I know he is scared I have petted him told him it's ok but he shakes worse. Not sure what to do. I try n take him out for a walk if my skn gets stressed his escaped over a 6ft fence 3x. I am hoping for the council to find accomadation for my son. Which will sort the problem but not sure what to do .I take him upstairs with me but still anxious . Please help it is heartbreaking for me to watch.

My 2 year old collie shepherd mix is very afraid of gun shots fireworks thunder,etc. She was abused by her previous owner and after the recent firework season she became very paranoid anxious fearful all the time every day! She would hide in the bedroom shake uncontrollably not eat or drink. In a constant state of fear had to be right beside me or on my lap. I don't know what to do I have given her melatonin but I don't like doing this everyday and I feel her quality of life is suffering she's not the same dog.

have a male english bulldog he is 5 years old not fixed i got a female english bulldog puppy and she went into heat
and now my male dog has more anxiety then before can he be jellious ??? He use to be calm and cool now won't take medication won't let you cut his nails give him bath what do i do???

I adopted a sweet 6 year old mixed breed dog (did DNA testing she's part Australian Shepherd, German Shepherd, Husky and American Stafford Terrier) named Koko. I volunteer at our shelter and handled her on several adoption events. She was/is playful and has a sweet personality. As I was waiting for her to get chipped before I brought her home, they took her to another room, was bringing in others to help, and grabbing muzzles. I must have waited for 15 to 20 minutes before the brought her out and said they couldn't chip her and good luck, she's a runner and escape artist. I was like oh no.

I took her to my vet the next day (after she took off running and getting out of her collar). The vet took her to the back room and after several minutes, brought her back out said I should take her back, she's a bad dog and will probably bite people. One of the techs said the same thing. I said she was great at home so they decided to have me sedate her and bring her back the next week. I brought her to the vet after giving her the meds and when I got there, she got loose and took off running at the vets. One of the techs opened the door and she went in. They gave her a shot of something to calm her down more and she still was fighting and being aggressive. They did manage to get her rabies shot and again, told me I would do best to get rid of her. I talked to a vet friend of mine who told me to not give up yet, find another vet. I did and this vet was very patient and worked with her as best as he could. He figured out that she is just very fearful and she does not like being held down which I did notice at home. I can say hugs to her and she takes off running knowing I am going to hug her. She tolerates it but shows anxiety when I do but I am trying to show her it is ok. They gave me meds to sedate her but they have failed to work so far. I am taking her back again with new meds (over counter the night before and 2 more meds a few hours before and a half hour before). I am thankful this vet works with us but wish I could do more. I've had her for 2 years now. I nor the vet can clip her nails without her getting overly scared. She has not bitten anyone as of yet which I am thankful for. I try to touch her paws at home and she won't let me touch them. I have to make Saturday morning appointments so I am able to be home to give her the meds to take her to the vet.

I adopted my dog Moose when she was around 3-4 months old from a Humane Society. They told me she was part of a litter given up to get the mother fixed for free and she went straight into foster care right away until she was ready for adoption. Her and one of her male siblings were the only ones left and they were very, very attached to each other. Both very fearful of people but when they are alone they go CRAZY playing like any normal puppies would. When we got them out of the kennel they both ran under a desk and hid there, only to come out when we dragged them out. Obviously with their case I would ideally have taken both of them, but I was not in a position to have two dogs. Since adopting her, it took her almost two weeks to willingly leave her kennel and the entire process has been extremely slow and difficult. I have had her for 3 years now and within the past year she has just become trusting enough with me to come up to me. To this day if anyone even tried to her she would flinch and run away as if they were only trying to hit her, even people she has known almost as long as me. She comes up to people like she really wants them to touch her but as soon as they try to she freaks out and runs away. She regularly has fits of shaking for no reason, so intense it shakes the whole bed or couch. Her tail finally started spending more time untucked than tucked within the past 8 months. But when she is around other animals, she loses almost all her inhibitions about people. She runs and plays and jumps and even barks on occasion. But her anxieties are still so bad she spends all her time alone in my room away from the noise (thats my best guess). Even if I am the only person home she will be upstairs in my room all day long. I cant even think of training her because she runs in fear anytime i give her that much attention (but if there are other animals she gets jealous and will push others out of the way for it). I am in college and have moved into a new house with a roomate who has a cat, Moose and the cat are best friends and play often, but she is extremely fearful of guests and noises. I want to be able to help her but i dont know how, because it seems that having another pets only masks her issues slighltly.

I have a 3 year old female pitbull who is now anxious, temperamental, and needy... she has 2 toys she will carry around every day all day for the last 3 days I had to lure her in with her toy to my bed. Now she will growl at other dogs in the house the minute they come in the room. She follows me everywhere I go needing to be next to me... I have a 2 month old baby girl I just gave birth to July 16th, I wondered if my pit was feeling like being nanny dog is to much also? I'm not really sure but my pit is not the same...

We adopted Lottie as an 8 week old puppy and immediately began kennel/crate training. She has never suffered any "negative" or consequential experiences in her kennel - it is never used as a punishment, she is never yelled at or corrected in her kennel, and we have always given her treats and her dinner in her kennel. We use it as her safe space. Regardless, Lottie is perpetually frightened by the space. At just the command to go she gets low to the ground, shakes, and sometimes runs away leaving a trail of urine behind her. The kennel is in the kitchen and she will not even enter that room of the house. IF she does, she looks as though she is in physical pain.

The last few months she has gotten worse and this behavior has even spread into other parts of her life. If you say the word "toy" she will immediately cringe, get low, and run to a safe space. I have a lot of experience in training dogs and I have never seen such an aversion to the idea of play. We used to play with her all the time, and it was as if one day she had decided that she would get in trouble at just the word.

The only "BIG" change in Lottie's life that I can recall is moving her from our bed to her own bed (right next to us). She was kennel trained from the beginning, but would cry and cry all night. Occasionally, we would opt to put her in bed with us and she loved that. We don't let her in the bed anymore ever and she seems to think that this separation from the pack is punishment that has spilled over to her worthiness. We try everything. This fear/anxiety is effecting her life and it is sad to see.

I am fostering a dog with some issues, she was in a shelter, adopted and then surrendered to a rescue. She lunges and barks at people, cars and other dogs, she has even snapped as me when trying to correct her behavior. She is currently seeing a Behavior Specialist, who has her on medication (which doesn't seem to be working very well). She gets along with the people in the house and my personal after spending 3 months being crated. Is there another option to help getting her to be happier and friendlier dog. She has always been a frequently bathroom dog, she will urinate 2-3 times on a small walk and BM 2-3 depending the area.

I recently moved out of my parent's home and took my dog with me. My parent's house in the only home he's known prior to this. He is having a difficult time adjusting. He will follow me around and shake uncontrollably. He will hide in small places around the apartment. He has also become increasingly stubborn, not listening to us when we call him (even if we're making direct eye-contact with him). He's even refused to eat from time to time. These symptoms seems to intensify at night. We visit my parent's place often and the behaviors have started happening there as well. He's always been a fearful dog but happy and comfortable in the home. It has been two months since we moved and his anxiety seems to be getting worse.

I have had my rescue dog (from abroad) for just over four months. She was originally found on the street, having been hit by a car. She is a fearful little dog but gaining confidence in quite a few areas. I can now walk down the road to the park with her as cars go by which at first she was terrified to do. She no longer runs away when I get the lead. She enjoys walks and other dogs and she is responding to reward based commands. Even her caution of people is a little better.

The big problem is her fear of the car. Although she is good about being left alone, I need to be able to just put her in the car and take her with me when I visit people etc. She is sick after five minutes. I stopped all rides and started from scratch, just sitting in the car with the engine on and rewarding with a piece of chicken (kept exclusively for the car - her favourite.) I have now managed drives of 5 minutes to the sea and once we arrive at the destination, she loves her walk. But she HATES the car and drools and looks utterly miserable.
I have tried various places and today she sat on the seat beside me and I could stroke her for a lot of the time which helped a bit. Still afraid though and drooling and retched a bit.

If I persevere, is there any possibility she will get used to it if I continue every day? She has improved in other things. I do not want to give her tablets every day though I wouldn't mind for a long distance. I have ordered herbal travel sickness tablets as if they work, it might be a good alternative. We do have very bumpy roads here. I do not know if she is afraid because she has been sick or if the fear brought on the sickness.

I don't want to give her back but feel that if we cannot beat this, she would be better with someone who never uses a car. Yet she is so attached to me it would feel like betrayal. I feel she has been through a lot in her (estimated) three years of life.

Thanks for any thoughts you may have.

Brutus has always had separation anxiety and would normally destroy whatever he could. In the beginning years it was lilies, remotes, and shoes. We would then block him to only one room that seemed to work for a while. We moved in August of 2017. Since then he has become much more destructive when left alone. He would open doors, get stuck in a room and then eat the Sheetrock to try and get out. We started leaving him in the garage which worked for a while. As of the last three-four weeks he has tried to get back into the house, chew on door handles, (when someone forgets to lock the door to the house) gets locked in the laundry room and ears the Sheetrock and whatever else he can get access to. While in the garage (it’s 2 1/2 car garage) it’s full access. He has food and water. Toys, windows, bed. We really aren’t sure what else to do for him (or us) at this point.

My 9 year old chocolate lab has developed a fear of floors especially if they are shiny. He refuses to walk on them without help and if he go through doorways he turns around and walks backwards. He is well socialized we take him with us as much as we can and he loves to ride in the car, yesterday he began to refuse to get out of the car. He sat in the car shaking and refusing to move. I had to pull him out. After that he was fine.

My Plott hound/Bluetick coonhound mix is just over a year old. We rescued her when she was 9 weeks old from an uncertain past. Three months ago she all of a sudden decided she did NOT want to go for walks, where previously she'd loved going for long walks around our neighborhood and playing with other dogs in the off-leash area at the dog park. We live in a small apartment building in a residential part of a large city, and three months ago, our neighbors, whom we're friendly with, adopted a dog. We worked with the neighbors to make the dogs comfortable around each other, but they always barked and seemed mutually afraid of each other. Eventually, the neighbors re-homed their dog for unrelated reasons, so she's no longer in the building. However, the fear of going for walks in our girl has stayed! I lure her out with treats and give her lots and lots of praise, have worked with a trainer, and have even put her on medication. It seems to only be giving her moderate relief. She barely sets foot outside of our front yard, and is barely getting any exercise, despite being a breed that needs lots and lots of exercise. I really want her to be able to enjoy her old life of going for long, fun walks and enjoying adventuring in the outdoors. I've researched adolescent fear periods, and I'm starting to fear that the trauma of the upstairs dog may be permanent. Any advice? Thank you!

I have a 19 month old gsd. He has extreme anxiety. He gets scared to even come outside the house, scared of everything. If we try to take him outside he starts pooping and peeing out of fear.

Our rescue, Banjo, had severe anxiety when we first got him 7 years ago. After time he got better and things were pretty normal. For the past 6 months banjo, who is now 12, will bark constantly when left alone. It has gotten to the point where we need someone to come and stay with him whenever we're all going to be out of the house. He also has pulmonary hypertension that he developed before he was rescued by the shelter. We're at our wits end was trying to have someone home all of the time which is difficult for our busy family. We're going on a week's vacation in 4 weeks and he is staying at my son-in-law's house. I'm very concerned with how that's going to go. He barks, pants and paces when anxious.

Ok a week ago we were on vacation. Our dog stayed in our home with a dog sitter who he knows well from the daycare he attends. All was well with our one year old lab until we came home.

I have a server in my home office and I had to change the backup battery (looks like a small car battery) before I left town. I left the old battery one on the floor and figured I would dispose of it upon my return home. When we returned home the battery was on the floor and we were installing a window air conditioning unit. My dog, who has an invisible fence collar got next to the battery with his invisible fence collar on and unfortunately got the shock of his life; at least that is all we can assume because he ran tail between legs, shaking, and threw up his meal. He is doing fine, looks like no lasting effects from the shock, he is eating playing walking twice a day, etc. My problem is that he has always stayed in my office with me throughout the day since we got him and now he is terrified of my office and wont come near it. He associates the window air conditioner as what hurt him. How do I get him past this very tramatic event.

Our dog was adopted from the street (overseas), where she survived for about 4 months on her own. Since then, she's lived with us in various style homes. She's developed an extreme fear of the air conditioner or heater - to the point where she fears us leaving or even coming back in the house if she knows it's running. She leaves the bed at night to hide underneath it and trembles when it turns on. Otherwise, she's a fairly well adjusted pup - pretty alpha and a little food-aggressive at times, but this is her only true fear. And it changes her personality 180 degrees. We don't want to medicate her for something she is constantly exposed to, but she isn't getting any better, despite us giving her treats in the middle of the night, or tucking her under the covers with us. Inevitably, she crawls out from under the bed in the morning, breaking our hearts. I've read about long-term exposure and desensitization, but it runs on and off during the day, so how can we best show her that it won't hurt her? Or is this a case for a behaviorist?

We took in a foster Yorkie about 2 weeks ago. Her owner had to go onto a nursing home and the dog was left alone in an apartment for a month, with only someone coming in to feed. She is extremely aggressive but her bites are not intended to draw blood, just to make us leave her alone. She shakes and has tremors when we pick her up. I know her elderly owner could not lift her. She yelps and squeals to object to being touched or lifted. Her owner did not train her or demand anything from her. She will not walk on a leash although that has improved. We take her down the street and have her walk back home just to drain some energy. She also doesn't play with toys at all.

Our dog has become anxious around other people and dogs and it got the point today when he tried to bite the vet giving him his vaccine. About 8 months ago, he ate something and had to have it removed, and this was about the time we wanted him in puppy school. After his surgery we were told to keep him away while he recovered, and now he barks, pants, snaps, growls non-stop any time he sees another person. Any time he gets hurt, he seems to blame my husband and becomes aggressive towards him too. I'm not sure how to handle it anymore, as I've tried relaxation massages, calming tablets (he doesn't seem to do well with grains, so we had to stop), and I've tried just ignoring him when he gets nervous and starts barking. I've just found out I am pregnant and we're in the middle of trying to pool together enough money to see a specialist. Any advice?

My friend dog has been scared of men since he was a puppy 8 weeks old. This dog has been around my husband his whole life but still doesn't like him. The owner has been in the hospital for 3 months and dog still not coming around. He barks all the time to the point he is hoarse. He becomes aggressive at times. We have tried medication without change. Had a behaviorist work with him for a short time. If I am home he is so close to me and won't have anything to do with my husband, but if I am gone he might allow my husband to pet him. We have tried having only my husband giving him food and water, me ignoring him. I am at my wits end with this dog. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

I have a 5 year old Malshi who has always been self assured and calm. Suddenly she has developed acute anxiety - shaking, hiding under the bed, running away when let outside, loss of appetite, reluctance to drink water, etc. Had the vet do a blood panel and all was good. She gave us Trazodone, but the poor thing just sleeps all day with that. Not a great way to live, I'd say.
We have no idea what the trigger is. It's been going on for a couple of weeks. Sometimes it starts in the house, sometimes outside, all different times of day. It usually lasts for several hours before she'll venture out from under the bed.
Her favorite thing is going for a ride on my scooter. I have a pouch she rides in and she is in heaven during our rides. The other day she freaked out in the middle of our ride and I had to rush her home she was shaking so hard. Today it happened twice. No sooner did she get over the first attack, than she started all over again. We have no idea what might be causing it. Help?!?!

My dog does this thing whenever she’s crowded with a lot of noise around her. For example, my other dog got stuck under something while trying to reach the bone the two of them had been chewing on and started whining loudly while Archer (the pup this is about) kept chewing on the part of the bone she had. I went to help Aspen out and Archer barked and did something that looked like she was attacking Aspen but she didn’t seem to bite her (that I know of it was all very quick) and she didn’t back off of her until I pulled her away, she was fine after that. But I’m not sure what this is. Is it an anxiety or budding aggression? I also don’t know if it’s the crowding or noise that triggers her or if it’s both. When I walk the two together, I use a leash coupler to walk them both usually, we walk past dogs that will bark at them and she does something similar to what she did in the precious story. This happens pretty rarely but when it does I get worried.

Is it possible for a dog to have separation anxiety after not seeing a specific child, to lead to her being scared of kids? I have a 6 month old lab who was fine with kids, happy and playful including to my nephew, until about 2 months ago. Nothing has happened to traumatize her that I know of, other than her not seeing my nephew in about 2 months. When kids are around she will run and try to stay away from them, showing signs of being scared. Until my nephew came around again and she was ok, he would play and she would just randomly go lick him and walk near him showing no signs of fear.

I volunteer at a rescue and currently have a Great Pyrenees that has the most severe anxiety that any of us have ever seen. She is only calm outside. Inside, regardless of the weather, she paces, drools, tries to chew on the metal pin and cries. She is on trazadone. We have tried thundershirts (she chews them off), pheromone collar, diffuser and calming treats. Exercise hasn’t improved her behavior either.

My 2 yr old Beagle/Blu Tic mix, Aiva, suddenly developed several phobias about 8 months ago. These include fears of hardwood/tile floors, jumping on the couch/bed, and riding in the car (specifically when the back windows are up). Aiva was literally born in my home, is loved fiercely, and has never been abused or neglected. She spent her first 16 months before the onset of the phobias immersed in hardwood floors, couches, and car rides. She was born to an older, pregnant rescue dog I found, and was an only puppy. Because she was a singleton, I was worried about her early socialization so her mom stayed with us for 4 months and I made sure to introduce her to other dogs, people and places. After her mom was adopted and she had all rounds of her vaccinations, I started seriously working on socialization her. I put her in puppy training & daycare several days a week, and took her for rides constantly to stores, dog parks, friend’s houses, hiking, etc. to expose her to as many experiences as possible. We spent most of our time at home cuddling on the couch in my hardwood floor living room, or sitting together on a loveseat in my screened in porch. But at around 16 months, Aiva suddenly developed the phobias. There were several changes in the environment at that time, including a new foster dog with potty problems (who was adopted 3 months later), a large rug being removed from the living room due to those potty problems (2 even larger rugs were later added), and a member of the household leaving (who returned 2 months later). But despite the resolutions to the changes above, at 2 years Aiva now refuses to walk in a room with most types of hard flooring, and shakes and pants if she is forced to when we go to friends’ homes. She sits at the threshold of my hardwood living room while I watch TV and sadly whines, but refuses to walk in the room (I have tried every incentive/reward imaginable). She will no longer jump on a bed/couch with me (or at all), although she will jump up with her front paws on me and whine and paw as if she wants to. Anytime I encourage her to do any of the things she is afraid of, she acts frightened of me and runs/walks away, only to come back minutes later and whine again. And while she still loves and desperately wants to go for rides and hang her head out the window, as soon as I have to put the windows up, the shaking, fear and panting begins. I’ve spent hours trying to figure out how all of these triggers are related, and I’ve tried everything I can think of to alter the environment or desensitize her from them. But nothing has worked. At this point I fear my dog and I will never cuddle together again, and that is devastating. Any advice would be appreciated :)

My dog is very relaxed, great with kids, likes to sleep a lot and is otherwise a good dog. But, when he's alone in the kennel he'll poop, and pee, and injure himself trying to break free. This last time he ate his poop as well. He is an older dog who was given to us by his previous owner. I'm trying not to have to give him up but according to the humane society he is unadoptable.

Rescue dog suddenly attacked me. He doesn't have enough teeth to cause any real damage. It startled me, but I wasn't really frightened. I don't want to give up on this dog. He doesn't show any of the symptoms of anxiety that are listed, other than he wants to be in my lap when he is inside, smiling the entire time. He is not an all weather dog and doesn't like to be outside when the weather is bad, but the second attack occurred when it was raining and he was the one who initiated going inside. I have owned dogs all my life and have never run into this problem. I cannot stress enough, I WANT TO HELP THIS DOG.

I rescued a dorkie when she was 5 months old. She is so anxious, she won’t come to anyone except my one daughter. She barks at everyone when they move, talk, etc. She barely eats. She growls at anyone who goes near her, she has been like this since we got her, she is now 7 months old. She also rolls over and pees on herself. I tried the thunder shirt and it did not work. Please help, we love her and want her to feel better.

I just had my second baby and when I nurse my male dog sits next to me and trembles. Lately he has taken to licking and chewing on the end of his tail. It has gotten so bad that he has to wear a cone 24/7 as he has nearly chewed the end of his tail off. I have given him canibus/CBD ok as well as canibus treats but the behavior is continuing,

Hello, I just rescued a 10 month old Pitbull/German Shepard from the shelter. She's extremely intelligent and full of energy, needless to say very loving with everyone that comes into our home as well. The issue is that when I adopted her, she was in the medical area of the shelter due to wounds they believed were caused by being a victim of a hit and run. Everything was fine until I tried taking her out for a walk the first time. As soon as she would see a passing car she completely freaked out and refused to walk. She pulled really hard to go back and wasn't calm until I let her back in the house.i tried the same several times day and night but nothing. To top it off she has so much energy that she has completed destroyed much or the garden areas in our house as well as random objects she can get to. She digs a lot too. Then I took her to the vet for her first visit. High anxiety again without seeing any dogs and then when she did see one she almost lunged over it but not in an attacking mode. The dog was a small breed so it seemed scared of my 46 pound girl. After that there was no calming her until I got home. I'm feeling trapped because I would love to have her take walks and have fun with other dogs and just make her as happy as I can, but I have no idea where to even begin. My family is already leaning toward returning her to the shelter but I feel she has potential with the right guidance. I'm just afraid she'll never be able to leave the house because of her fears. Any advice would be appreciated :(

Hello: i have a 9yr old blk&tan coon dog. just all of the sudden out of the blue, she is very scared constantly shaking and panting wont lay down or sleep and is always trying to get as close as possible to me when ever i move she is right there. she was never like this, she was shaking her head alot then she stopped. could a parasite have gotten into her brain? to cause all this fear?

I reacued a lab mix 10 yrs ago from an abusive home. I allowed my older Springer to pick his companion and he picked Izzy. They were inseparable for 9 years until we lost Trey 8 months ago. Since then Izzy has been left to socialize with my other Springer who is not as friendly as Trey was. But now Izzy has to be right beside me at all times. She shakes and tucks her tail. She will push her way between me and the kitchen cabinet while I’m cooking. But yet the slightest touch if she’s not looking just sends her running for her life. She is always yawning and shedding like crazy. I tried the xanax which made her act much worse like she was drugged and high as a kite! I’m really worried she will jusy drop over dead from a heart attack one day. She is also scared to death of cell phones which is weird.

I recently took in a dog from a home that was terribly neglectful and was planning to her down. She is a 1 year old half husky half german shepherd. She was not spayed nor given any shots at all. I have had her now for 2 weeks with shots and has been on her period since I got her. I notice she is a bit anxious around other dogs and having a terrible case of separation anxiety with me. I can't leave her at all without her howling and barking like mad. The last time I left her in a kennel she injured herself trying to break free. What is the likely hood of this being due to her being in heat or is this something that would remain after being spayed and if not how do I go about trying to get her to calm down with me not being home with her? It doesn't matter if my husband is home with her she still cries for me.

Wiley is a three year old huskey/english boxer mix, extremely social with people and other dogs. He wants to lick whomever he's with to death. He has has separation anxiety disorder since he was young and has destroyed doors, door knobs and molding in several apartments while my daughter and boyfriend are away working. In the past he has undergone professional dog training and has even been on a doggie prozac regimine for a while. I'm trying to convince my daughter to find a better home for him with no confines. Would a large kennel/cage be right for Wiley? That type of confinement seems worse than free reign in an appartment. We love Wiley. He's almost human. What do we do?

My 7 year old Yorkie, has extreme anxiety, he high pitch squeals and whines constantly, pees in the house, excessively licks everything, tremors and has a lot of seizures, he has to always be lying on my chest. I have only had him 2 years and he has gotten worse and worse. He is jealous if I touch my other dog and pushes him out of the way. Am currently pregnant and need help before the baby arrives What can I do to make life a little easier.

My 3 year old pitbul mix has had car anxiety for about a year, ever since we were in a fender bender together. I've ignored his panting and shaking while we drive, hoping it would just go away if I didn't encourage it. It didn't; in fact it has gotten much worse.

The car situation I can kind of deal with though, but what's happening now is much worse. We moved into a new house with a friend and her dog two weeks ago and since a couple days ago he's been an anxious mess. Tail between his legs, panting, shaking, cowering near me, trying to get outside, etc.

I've tried ignoring it, again, hoping it will go away, but it is driving me crazy. He eats and drinks but is constantly lips his lips and panting. What do I do?

My 5 year old neutered male pitbull-Boston terrier mix has suddenly developed an extreme fear/anxiety! His tail between legs and hiding under beds. He wants outside and will not come back inside for hours, hides in flowerbeds. We have had blood work, urine tests and x-rays. We tried fluoxetine but he wouldn't eat. Thunder shirt causes him to stand frozen in fear. He is happy when we are riding in car and going on walks. He has floor surface issues. He gets along with other dogs and we have a 13 yr old german short haired point that exhibits none of these issues. Don't know what else to do.

Hi,
I have an eleven month old Labrador bitch.She is extremely nervous of strangers
and avoids contact at all costs.I have just been to take her for a trial day at a kennels as I have to go away for a few days in Ocober.It was just awful.She slipped her lead when taken by one of the staff.And ran round in terror until I managed to get her back.I did eventually manage to leave her.She has been taken out among lots of people and to noisy places since 8 weeks of age when I carried her until she had her jabs.I tried her in puppy classes but she was too frightened to participate.I am at my wits end.Do you have any advice on this.
Is there any medication she could try to cal. Her down?
Thanks
Monica

Hello, my jack russell is 8 years and has always enjoyed exercise on the park off leash. She has developed a phobia of motor bike noise and will run in a panic if she hears one. I've tried adaptil plug in, collar, thunder shirt but without real success. Also fireworks are a trigger. I've tried neutracalm also. I think we are at the point of medicating as she is endangering herself when she runs away often towards the road. Are there any medication that have been proven to help without sedation? I've also tried cognitive therapy but nothing helps. Kind regards Jane

I have a 6 year old Boston Terrier that I adopted from an animal shelter when he was about 6 months old. He has always been friendly and outgoing and has been socialized well. He was our shelter's mascot for a long time while I worked there. Suddenly he has developed a behavior where he looks like he is scared. He has always been afraid of thunderstorms, but usually he would just sit on my lap and be fine. The last couple of storms he trembles severe and doesn't settle down. This is how he is acting a lot now. It seems random. We will be watching tv and all of a sudden he starts trembling. Sitting on my lap doesn't seem to help him. He will stare at my son or my husband like he is afraid of them, but then will go to them and kiss them. It takes him a long time to come out of it. Generally I go put him in our bedroom for quiet time. I understand him acting this way during thunderstorms, but now he can't even enjoy family time. Nothing has changed as far as that goes. The same people living in the house. We are kind of loud, but it usually laughing. He has never been yelled at or hit. He is a very well behaved dog. Today he got into the trash and when we got home he was trembling in the bathroom. This is something he has never done. Not sure what to do.