# Behavior regression?



## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Okay so a lot of you have heard me gloat time and time again about how awesome Minnie is, but lately I'm a little concerned. People with rescue dogs please help!

Minnie came from a bad situation....we suspected abuse and it was confirmed to me shortly after we got her. She'd cower and quiver around certain men...sometimes even growling. While she is extremely sensitive, I don't believe just shouting at her would elicit this fearful of a response...I don't know the people who had her first, but I'd put MONEY on her being beaten at some point (mind you, she will be 2 years old in November -- she was surrendered at a little over a year -- so a VERY critical time!). In any case, her fear around men is something I've worked REALLLLY hard on...and she has come so far.

But lately, she seems to be regressing somewhat. We certainly NEVER hit her and never even raise our voices at her....she simply doesn't need it. Like I have mentioned before, a stern and firm "NO" usually stops anything naughty, otherwise we try to re-direct her and reward her for something that is good instead. 

I've noticed it on walks mostly. She'll start pulling (she was walking beautifully before) and I'd go to reel her in a little....and she'd cower from me. Even in the house, if I move too fast she might flinch. At the dog park the other day she was being VERY naughty (bullying another dog into playing...it clearly did not want to play) and not coming when called (also strange because she was really developing a solid recall), so I just grabbed her by the collar and clipped her leash on to take her away...but as I grabbed her by the collar, she flattened like a pancake and was quivering.

She has never displayed this kind of fear towards me or anyone else she knows well ever before. What is going on?? I realize my body language could have been seen as intimidating but I've grabbed her collar or pulled her back on the leash plenty of times before without incident. 

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? We WERE gone for roughly a week recently (she was in stellar hands and I know she was treated like a princess -- no hitting or yelling or anything of the sort).... but I just feel SOOO bad. It makes me so sad to see her flinch...at people she loves! Who would never hurt her ever! 

Have any of you ever experienced this kind of regression? Could she be feeling a little insecure from our separation?? I just wish I could get rid of those memories for her and tell her she'll never have to deal with that again....


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm so sorry - i don't have any advice, but I'm sure others will. Snorkels doesn't cringe, but when she's feeling intimidated she flops over on her back. it makes me feel bad because I know I've come at her too fast, or put my face too close, or something I have no clue of. 

It's so hard to know what's going on when they can't talk.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I have 2 rescues who were abused and I know that if you take away the bad for a period of time, the reaction does go away. However, my Leo still does not like young boys, and I don't think that will ever change.

Are you with her 24 hrs. a day? It sounds like to me that something has happened recently, either while you were gone or something you personally didn't see happen. Who handles her besides you?


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

Duke does it sometimes too, and it breaks my heart to think he could be scared of me  he's been very naughty lately, completely ignoring all of our previous training, and getting real anxious and what not on walks (calms down pretty quickly, but if we see another dog he goes NUTS, ever since we were living at my mums and two dogs down the street would bark VERY viciously at him - they're made him not trust any dog he sees). I don't really know what to do, I have raised my voice a few times because no matter what I say or do, he flat out ignores me. Then I stand up or something and he flinches a bit, and I feel so bad for raising my voice! I'm taking him to a training class when the new semester starts in a few weeks, I'm hoping he'll learn how to properly socialise with new dogs again and start listening to me again, but I've never had to work as hard with him as I've had to since we moved - those stupid angry dogs really upset him


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> I have 2 rescues who were abused and I know that if you take away the bad for a period of time, the reaction does go away. However, my Leo still does not like young boys, and I don't think that will ever change.
> 
> Are you with her 24 hrs. a day? It sounds like to me that something has happened recently, either while you were gone or something you personally didn't see happen. Who handles her besides you?



Yep...I actually am with her 24 hrs a day since I'm unemployed atm. My boyfriend handles her too but has the same mindset as I do and treats her very gently -- no hitting, yelling, etc. When we were gone, she stayed with a couple we know. Minnie does great with them... she did go for long walks with the man every day (him and his golden retriever) and he mentioned that when he pulled her back she would often flinch or cower. I sincerely don't believe he would hit her or even raise his voice at her (she wouldn't stay with him if I thought he might even lay a hand on her) -- he is a great guy, but I'm wondering if his body language or whatever caused her to think back to those times...

I'm really at a loss...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Sometimes dogs, just being walked different can trigger something from their past. It's possible that he is too overbearing for her right now, or maybe something happened between the two dogs, and it wasn't really anything to bring up to you when you got home but it triggered something in her. She is newly rescued from a bad situation, it has taken Leo 3 years to almost be normal, or what we would consider to be normal.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks for putting things in perspective... I have only had her for 3 months after all. Even though it feels like forever, I'm sure to her those memories aren't all too distant!


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## Tahlz (Sep 15, 2011)

I wish you the best with Minnie, I really do. Just keep pushing forward and I'm sure you'll get there. I have a fearful dog so I know how it feels. I have to be careful in certain situations or she'll become fearful, she's fearful of dogs/people/objects. It's so sad.. I am working with her and she is slowly improving.

Kudo's to you!


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## schtuffy (May 17, 2010)

Sorry I don't have any advice :frown: but I can imagine how bad you must feel when you see her react like that. If you're sure your friend treated her like a princess, then I'm sure it's the truth. Poor girl...dogs in general are so sensitive, let alone one like Minnie. Who knows what she's been through...abuse, neglect, loneliness etc. etc. My thought is that you being away for that short period caused her insecurities to surface again. How long has it been since you've been back? And was this the first time you've been away from her?

ETA: I didn't know you only had her for 3 months. She must have all sorts of emotions running through her head...it could just be a temporary thing until she gathers more reassurance. Sometimes I wish we could talk to them!


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## hmbutler (Aug 4, 2011)

minnieme said:


> Thanks for putting things in perspective... I have only had her for 3 months after all. Even though it feels like forever, I'm sure to her those memories aren't all too distant!


Only 3 months? Wow I just assumed you'd had her for ages haha. I think in 3 months she is already doing very well, settling in to a new home and learning to trust people again could take a very long time. Perhaps your friend who took care of her reminded her (maybe in voice, stature, anything) of some bad memories, and made her jittery again. Or maybe even just being away from you made her think she was going to another new home that she'd have to adjust to. I'm sure she'll get better, there probably isn't much you can do aside from what you are already doing. Honestly from what I've heard, she has a very loving home and she will settle in perfectly once she's ready  fingers crossed for you that it's sooner rather than later!


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

hmbutler said:


> Only 3 months? Wow I just assumed you'd had her for ages haha.


It feels like it!!! I've mentioned she's pretty much my soulmate dog....we just click so well, so it was really hard when she cowered from me! She is asleep on my lap right now (well a quarter of her body is!) so I think she still likes me. ;-) 

Everyone always thinks that I've had her forever just because of the bond we have... and it is indeed there -- she has come so far in 3 months...I'm so proud of her!


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

We've had Shade for over a year now. We don't know his history except he was tied up in a yard for 3 years and he was terrified of noise, movement and paper. He will STILL flinch and cower if my husband or son makes any sudden movements or loud noises. It's taken almost the whole year for him not to run from the room whenever my husband picked up the TV remote control! He's gotten to the point now where I personally can do almost anything around him and he's pretty calm around me even during thunderstorms (as long as he can be on my feet). 

So if you've only had her for 3 months then I think she's doing pretty good. With you being away for a week, she may have just had a minor setback. Extra time and cuddles should help. I spend a LOT of time touching Shade, combing him, stroking him, and talking to him, just to try and get him calm and desensitized to a lot of this stuff. It seems to help.


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## angelbears (Jun 9, 2011)

Love, love, love and more love. Keep reenforcing love and acceptance. I think with rescues you have to keep letting them know that you not going to throw them away or hurt them, even years later. Leaving her may have triggered something and left her feeling insecure. She will be fine, just help her realize that your back and nothing has changed.


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