# Fearfulness!?!?!



## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

This is something i've been scratching my head about... It's honestly driving me nuts...

Tobi has been an awesome dog all around, he's smart, funny, potty trained since he was a baby! BUT.... he gets into these modes where he shuts down completely. we've have him since he was about 8-10 weeks he's never been abused or anything but when i don't use the absolute sweetest highest pitch voice that i can muster he sometimes just starts to lay down...:suspicious:

Here's how it starts in a play by play.

i get up with a terrible migraine this morning and i was going to just sleep it off... (he's pretty fantastic about just wanting to sleep all day with me :lol
I open the bedroom door and then see out the front window the horses so i change my mind, nope going to the backdoor i'm not standing there for 45 minutes while you stare at horses.as soon as i open the back door and call him he starts to shut down (mind you i wasn't in the best mood i wasn't raising my voice either)
so i get down to my knees and call him, he raises up and starts to wag his tail furiously with his ears back and head VERY low still as if he thinks he's in trouble.(he's not)
he starts to come to me WOOT, and then he takes a 90degree turn into his kennel /sigh
I tried to coerce him out of his kennel with food as well but couldn't get him out, and by this time it was about 11am HE HAD TO PEE i know it... and i wanted to just lie down again for a bit as i was feeling pretty horrible. after about 5 min of trying to get him out of his kennel i went in and just dragged him out and shuffled him out the back door, the whole time he had his tail down between his legs and head down as if he was in trouble... i just don't get it  it's like being 6'2 and having a deep voice makes him think he's in trouble when i don't sound like an 8yr old?!

anyways, we get outside and he just goes about 20ft form me, pees (3 times) and then stares back at me for about 10 minutes... the sun is killing me at this point and i am getting far less patient "Tobi let's go c'mon buddy" normal call and usualy he comes but again.. he's in his mode... he starts to walk toward me slinking lower and lower with every step until he's completely froglegged in the grass... my patience had run out... I shut the door and just let out a scream of frustration after 30 seconds or so i opened the door and there was Tobi waiting at the door. I greeted him and allowed him in, the whole time tail between the legs...

His kennel door in the bedroom was open and he went in and made his bed (shuffling the doggie bed and his blanket around to his liking) I went back to bed and then about 10 min later the little monster hops up onto the bed and goes to sleep right at my side as if he wasn't afraid of anything...

THE NEW VET

He was also Terrified at the new vet we went to, like extreme tail tucking head down freaking out kinda thing... we had just stopped by to get a feel for the doctors and he wasn't happy at all, i honestly don't want to go there is it's going to be psycho scared dog every time 

He's also terrified of the lawnmower and weed eater... the other dogs i've owned were never afraid of the noise of them but he was playing outside when i started to mow and then he freaked out so now he can't be outside when i mow anymore (usually 2 hrs)

anybody have any insight on where this could be coming from or how to deal with it when it occurs? 


At any rate i love this kid... here is a funny pic of the "box game" gone wrong :lol:


----------



## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

I would put money on him being very sensitive to your mood and energy. You can't fool a dog. Even if your talking in a high pitched voice they can still feel your energy. When you had the headache (I can totally relate) I bet he immediately sensed your mood, your energy and knew immediately that you weren't your normal happy, feeling good self.....and so he reacted to that.

As far as the lawn mower....sounds like you may need to do some desinsitizing with him. Take him out side near the mower, when he is calm reward him. Do this for a while. Slowly moving him closer and closer. If he gets nervous move away and work at that distance until he is comfortable again. Then you start to act like your gonna start it....give treats. Once he doesn't react to that then start the mower, etc. You may have to have someone work with him inside when you first start the mower since it is really loud. Work with the door closed...treat when he stays calm. Then crack open the door so it is a bit louder.....and so on. Eventually moving outside.

Once you find a vet I would just go there at random times. Have the people there give him treats. Make it all positive and leave on a good note. The more you do this the calmer he will be.....if you don't his fear will just intensify.


----------



## Northwoods10 (Nov 22, 2010)

Sara hit it spot on. Dogs are SO good at sensing your mood and energy with out you saying a word. 

Nallah sounds A LOT like Tobi. She shuts right down. I know exactly what you mean by that phrase. And she's never been hit or abused and we got her as a pup as well. 

The best "cure" for that I have found with Nallah is to just give her some space until she comes around. Just let her be. The more I *try* to coax her out of it, the deeper she goes into her mood. And when you're feeling frustrated, (which I know is easy to do, especially when you're not feeling well)...step back and take a deep breath, re-evaluate the situation and try to keep things calm. 

As for the vet, repetition with lots of praise and rewards for good behavior. Work your way up into going inside if you need to. 

Give that boy a big hug, he's such a handsome guy.


----------



## RCTRIPLEFRESH5 (Feb 11, 2010)

Tobi said:


> This is something i've been scratching my head about... It's honestly driving me nuts...
> 
> Tobi has been an awesome dog all around, he's smart, funny, potty trained since he was a baby! BUT.... he gets into these modes where he shuts down completely. we've have him since he was about 8-10 weeks he's never been abused or anything but when i don't use the absolute sweetest highest pitch voice that i can muster he sometimes just starts to lay down...:suspicious:
> 
> ...


how do you not know for sure if you've had him from 8 or 10 week? didn't yo uget him from a breeder?

i dont mean that in a rude way just genuinely curious.


----------



## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Thanks guys,
I've done some work desensitizing him with the lawnmower since i noticed it start happening, i'm not quite sure that i will go that that vet so i don't want to just stop by every once in a while :lol:

He and I may be very in tune with each other... i can usualy tell how he's feeling i just really didn't believe that maybe they could sense how i was feeling and the type of mood that i was in.


Rc- He was born June 25th 2010 at about 8am. I don't recall when i picked him up hence, i don't remember exactly how old he was.


----------



## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Tobi said:


> Rc- He was born June 25th 2010 at about 8am. I don't recall when i picked him up hence, i don't remember exactly how old he was.


That's when Bishop was born, too. The exact day :smile:

He is a GORGEOUS boy!!

I agree with Sarah, desensitizing him using treats and calming yourself will probably work wonders. I am currently working at desensitizing Tess to other dogs and it's a long process but she has made a lot of progress so far!


----------



## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Tobi said:


> This is something i've been scratching my head about... It's honestly driving me nuts...
> 
> Tobi has been an awesome dog all around, he's smart, funny, potty trained since he was a baby! BUT.... he gets into these modes where he shuts down completely. we've have him since he was about 8-10 weeks he's never been abused or anything but when i don't use the absolute sweetest highest pitch voice that i can muster he sometimes just starts to lay down...:suspicious:
> 
> ...


he has bionic ears.....i'd bet on his hearing being more than good....so what you think is a nice friendly tone of voice, maybe he hears the nuances of the headache coming through...

i know i have a dog whose ears are straight up like that. she can hear for miles and is scared of certain things with no apparent reason, including tones of voice, the vet, thunder and fireworks and believe it or not, wind.


----------



## stajbs (Jun 5, 2010)

Yeah, sounds to me like your boy is very sensitive to your emotions/mood. We've got Silva who is the same. If we are frustrated about something(like BIL calling and inviting self for visit) she picks up on it and gets clingy. She's more clingy with me when this happens. My husband has a bit more trouble not managing his emotions on occasion and she has issues when he gets frustrated as well. I've actually found if I know a day is going to be a high tension day, I give her 4 drops of Rescue Remedy in her food and she seems to feel like wonder woman. Not much bothers her, and it's all natural. She was this way when hubby started babysitting the grandson, and especially when he started walking. There is always tight supervision when our grandson is here but so she doesn't stress she gets the Rescue Remedy twice a day the one or two days per week he is here When he arrives in the morning now, she greets him with kisses and he is being taught how to behave around dogs and it's actually delightful to watch. So, in our hyper sensitive case we go with rescue remedy. There are other Bach remedies that may be more effective, but you can research them online.


----------



## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

All my Bullies are very sensitive to noise, lawnmower, vacuum etc. Could be because of the way their ears are always perched in the upright position making them have no barrier to noise. They also are very in tune to my moods, not necessarily my husbands moods, but I am the one who feeds, and punishes them and does most of the grooming, walking etc. (he does most of my raw food pickups though, lol)

B.T's are not normal, I tried to tell you from the beginning David, they are just different!


----------



## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

lol i know!! and i love their "craziness" and stuff, it's just little things like this that i look at him and scratch my head sometimes!!!! but i love my wacky bully, and i think it is quite possible that we could be in tune with each other, i do everything with this kid (feeding,play, discipline), i even know when he has to poop and stuff like... i suppose... it's the same way with him and me maybe he could feel my irritation this morning...

<3 you guys!!!

and ya... he may have bionic ears Re (very selective though :lol the wierd thing is though.... he sprawls out when i get the vacuum out and EXPECTS a nice vacuuming off :lol: though he went from attacking it to playing with it to now loving it so maybe i'll just make more time with the lawnmower so he's not so fearful!!


----------



## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

I see where you're coming from, sometimes I get the same thing with my dogs, mainly Patchie, it's like they just KNOW I'm in a bad mood even though I try to hide it and don't direct anything at them. The only that has worked for me is to back off for a bit and relax. Go figure, guessing some dogs are just really good at sensing your mood like the others have said.

But, but then there's time when Popi wants to be clingy and lay on my lap, I'l tell her "no, go to your bed" and kinda stare at her, but the little brat knows I'm in a good mood and keeps coming back.


----------



## lucky (Jan 8, 2011)

Lucky is terrified of the strimmer, not bothered about the lawnmower but she HATES the strimmer ... I'd also go with him picking up on your mood, lucky knows when I'm in a bad mood, I never direct it at her but she still slinks past me in the house as if I beat her  

Lucky is almost exactly 3 months older than Tobi, her birthday is 29th March 2010

He is a gorgeous boy, I love him, so squishable


----------

