Ever since Kaiju got rejected from the nosework class, I have been obsessively reading online about fearful dogs, trying to find any signs that Kaiju is “not so bad” and that medication is not really necessary. We’ve been struggling with Kaiju’s fear issues throughout the recovery periods after the injuries/surgeries but we always hoped that this was a temporary aftermath, and that as soon as he resumed training in various obedience classes, started exercising more, and felt less and less pain in his legs, he would show noticeable improvements towards becoming a happy active dog. However, in the nosework class, watching other dogs easily and happily perform the tasks, then seeing Kaiju unable to take even one step forward towards the boxes, and being advised to medicate him by the trainer, totally bursted our little wishful-thinking bubbles.
That’s how I found fearfuldogs.com. I bookmarked it and went back to it several times because it seemed to offer relevant suggestions and perspectives for Kaiju. You find a lot of tips on mildly fearful dogs online. Most of those involve treats that help dogs make positive associations with frightening objects. Kaiju, however, snobs treats in a most of those situations. He shuts down and refuses to even glance at a high-value treat right in front of his nose. This site, and the Yahoo mailing list called “shy-k9s” are the only two places I found that discussed severely anxious dog.
