A story of a Fearful Dog

When getting a new dog or a puppy, we humans get so overjoyed and excited that we only consider what we see from the outside. How it looks, its color or even its stance. When the dog shakes or surrenders, we attribute the shaking and droopiness to his immediate response to a new environment or human being. We shrug it off and expect that they would just sleep it off. That may be the usual case, but remember that not dogs are the same even if they came from one pack. Some dogs are just so fearful.

Shy dogs are quite different from fearful dogs in my case. For me, I consider all dogs to be generally shy though in varying degrees. Shyness is attributed to interactions. If a dog acts normal in a new environment and hides behind you or hesitates when a stranger comes near, I think he’s just shy. Chivas for instance, my Pomeranian, is shy (snooty) with strangers. If a stranger comes near, he observes and he hesitates. He usually looks for someone he knows for support sometimes he just barks away. But a fearful dog is a bit different. A fearful dog I believe has a worse case. They’re scared of almost everything, a sound, a step, an object or anything new. It’s not only concentrated on humans or strangers. It’s almost with everything they see, hear or smell.

Bruce, my huge Bullmastiff, started off as a very fearful dog, he wouldn’t get out of his cage when I was there to pick him up. He kept his head down and avoided almost anything he might bump into. He walked like a hunch back. He didn’t even try to make eye contact. What he wanted was to find a spot to hide and be left alone. He was shaking. His eyes spelled fear. At home, he wouldn’t leave this particular spot in our kitchen. He kept his head beneath the washing machine for a week. He didn’t like to interact with people no matter how we try to comfort him. Any unfamiliar sound or a door creaking, he would panic and look for a place to hide. I saw him once put a gallant effort in putting his entire body beneath the washing machine. He wouldn’t interact with the rest of the dogs or with any of us. His face would be miserable and he would shake constantly. He wouldn’t leave that space for the entire week and it wasn’t like that with the rest of our dogs. Chivas was shy at first, but at lest he was responsive. Bruce was more of a dog-psychology case.

We tried our best to make him walk around, but he wouldn’t. We pulled him gently in a leash, but he would sit and try to hide his head somewhere. We instead carried him outside to explore, but he ended up just looking for a corner and sit there and eventually bury his head between his front legs. Mitch came by one Saturday and tried to urge him to get out. We tried to entice him with cheese, bone and food, but he wouldn’t move. We did an experiment though, a sort of cruel one for his sake.

It was already lunch time. There was not much improvement from the previous week. He was still hunched and curled up in one corner not making any sound or eye contact. No one would actually know he was there. I had to do something. I’m getting worried. I’ve never had this case before. This was not a shy dog. Any movement, any sound, he would react and shake. So we tried something drastic, we got his dish full of dog food and kept it with us a good few distance away from him. We wanted him to stand up and get his food, to leave his place. It took a while. Eventually he became so hungry. His head went up looking at us. He was trying to weigh things out. Should I move? Should I stay? Then he started to move his feet. He was about to stand when he heard the voice of my brother asking for his cell phone, he immediately sat down and went back on his fetal position. We were back to square one, but we still waited. After a couple of minutes, he began to move his legs and tried to stand up. He was assessing if he would take that first step. His stomach must have been growling. Eventually he did. It was a painful first step. His head was so low it would touch the ground and his movements were so calculated. Mitch and I saved our reactions until he reached the bowl. He assessed again if he would eat in front of us. He must be so hungry cause he did. Mitch and I didn’t move a muscle. We smiled, it was such a huge progress. Then I wasn’t able to fight the urge to go nearer, when I did, he panicked and went back to his old spot. But still I was happy. It took days for him to leave his spot and go from point A to point B, then slowly he started interacting with dogs and he got familiar with us. He must have figured that nothing in the house would hurt him. Point A and B expanded to Point C, D and E. Then he became calm when we petted him. One day he wasn’t shaking anymore. He even wagged his tail and followed us. Soon he was all over the place in our house. Occasional new sounds or sights would still put him on guard, but it wasn’t that bad as before. He learned how to explore the grounds on his own and face his fears for him to operate normally.  When we bought him to his first year of school in Makati, he relied heavily on Harvey for confidence. When we took Harvey out, he immediately lost it and began hiding behind my back. He was again afraid of sounds, new sights and scents. The trainer ruled him as a fearful dog and made extra efforts to give him yummier treats to cooperate. Eventually he did. It entailed more work, but he did. He went to private training instead of with a group because it’s an area he has to develop, group exercises won’t necessarily work immediately with fearful dogs. But he did cooperate. He learned to trust us eventually and worked with the trainer. It was a successful run.

I can say Bruce is still fearful in some things, but slowly he’s trying to learn how to manage it. He would observe and avoid, but he wouldn’t necessarily run to find a hiding spot. He’s not stuck and lost like before, but it does take time and effort…a lot of both. If he sees new dogs, he stops and occasionally hides behind my back, but he would observe and look up to me. I would utter supportive words and urge him to move along and he does. Fearful dogs like Bruce take time to adjust and usually needs someone to remind them to be confident. Half of the work really comes from the owners. Some dogs can sleep on their new environment overnight while some dogs like Bruce need a drastic method to get moving. They need lots of support and time.

Fearful dogs like Bruce are a lot of work. Sometimes there is no distinct past that contributed to that factor and some dogs are just like that. But that work really pays off when you see your dog improve and find comfort albeit in a slow paced way. That’s fine for me, they have all the time and the world and all the love they can receive to keep on trying. Bruce was a first of almost everything I thought I knew in raising a dog. He taught me a lot of things that eventually made me better.

Fearful dogs teach us to be patient and forgiving. We never rush these dogs to do anything. Everything comes in due time. We might need to do that extra push and do something drastic, but sometimes they need that. Fearful dogs remind owners of their responsibility. Not all dogs are the same, dogs still need nurturing and as owners we have to give it to them. They teach us that dogs are still the different. They teach us to be patient and be supportive. They teach us to observe and understand their needs more. They teach us to nurture and be more caring.

Bruce is better, a lot better. He can walk around the house on his own. He can deal with new sounds now and he doesn’t react badly if I introduce him to strangers. I’ve walked him in the park with ease. He sometimes takes walks outside our house. We’ve taken him to High Street and he initiates play with the other dogs. Amongst the three, he is still the more fearful one if I would have to use the term. Harvey doesn’t know the concept of shy or fear. He’s not shy with strangers and he doesn’t fear new sounds, new movements and bigger dogs. In fact, he has a small-dog mentality. I am the one who fears for his safety. Chivas is the snooty-shy type. He’s not fearful but shy with strangers, but he does things his own things anyway. Actually he’s not shy. He’s judgmental. While Bruce is the most charming one, everyday is still a working progress. I think I have elevated him from being a fearful dog to a shy dog. With constant love, care and support any fearful dog could improve. Bruce taught me a lot of things. He taught me never to give up and be more patient. He taught me to be open-minded and be more caring. He’s not perfect, he still has fearful moments from time to time, but with us around, he knows he’ll be okay. Just like any person discovering himself, dogs are like that too, you would be surprised.