Will he get better?

[FishWithoutABike]

Our 13 week old spaniel is very anxious. The only time he seems relaxed is on my knee. He barks cries and howls of left for a second and is petrified of people and dogs. He will growl and bark if the get too close.
We are getting advice from a trainer and I’m confident we are doing the right things but I’m worried it’s just his personality.
Will we ever be able to leave the house or even go to the toilet alone again? Have other people had a nervous pup who grew up okay?

We have a nervous cockapoo. He was ok as a puppy but it came on as an adolescent. He’s 3 now and it’s a lot better, but he will never be the stereotype bouncy friendly dog that loves all attention.

With barking at other dogs, we were told to feed him treats throughout any encounter with other dogs so he sees it as a good thing. We have a word ‘nice’ when we see other dogs and he automatically looks for a treat now. We rarely do sniffs with unknown dogs because he’s still unpredictable.

Sorry that the adaptil didn’t work, @FishWithoutABike - I was thinking about your poor wee dog last night, and wondered if you had tried a thundershirt?

No we haven’t. I will look into that now.

My puppy was like this at 13 weeks and caused me much anxiety at having to leave the house. At nearly 6 months she has suddenly turned a corner. Happy to leave the house to go on a walk, more interested in playing with dogs and alright when I go to the toilet and shower. It’s just suddenly happened. We found leaving a treat ball every time we go out or in the shower has really helped, so us going is now a positive experience. She is always going to be nervous but has got better. She sleeps in our room as she hates being downstairs on her own, but at least now is in her bed.

I forgot to add, I tried to expose her to everything out on walks. Water, school run, diggers, bin lorries etc. I deliberately went out to find these experiences.

She is a nervous dog, but walked past a pneumatic drill with barely a head turn. You can do it too!

We adopted our dog at nine months so I don't know his history very well but his old owners did say when they took him to a puppy play session he was terrified and timid and hid under a chair. He got sent home as not ready. He was generally a very stressy dog. However, he came out of his shell and felt more secure by about 18 months x

@Goneroundthetwist @JGACC
Thank you so much for these updates.
You give me hope! We are prepared to do whatever it takes. I don’t care if he’s not perfect around other dogs or the friendliest pup in the world. I just want him to be happy and that means being more relaxed around people and dogs.
I phoned the breeder today and she said that non of his brothers and sisters have had any problems so I’m hoping it will get better with time.

I have a dog who was that puppy.
I took her to a puppy play and stay..OMG she freaked.
Took her puppy classes and she coped but barely.
NEVER wanted strangers to touch her or come near ..backed away as hard as she could. Barked at every scary thing from men, men in hats, plastic bags..you name it.
Oh and velcro-d to me... you bet.

She'll be 2 in May. She has improved a great deal. She is never going to go to strangers (but I don't see that as bad..thieves would have a job grabbing her and she is not at risk of knocking over kids or old ladies!) and she does sound scary when someone knocks at the door or comes in.
BUT she has learned to settle and cope. When she became ULTRA reactive during her first season I joined the Reactive Dogs group (FB) and started following there CARE protocol (basically have your pup far enough from a scary thing that she is calm..evenif its 200m away or more... and when she sees the THING (human, dog, bag, whatever) rapid feed the best treat ever til it's out of sight..then stop. So gradually scary thing is associated with good thing. It takes time and error, and perhaps a friend with a stooge dog, but it really helps.

I am still cautious with my girl.. she now likes certain dogs..and will even play. Others get her fear reaction and we duck away, hide, change direction.. the aim is for her not to be scared... reactivity is 99% time being scared . And for her it's a slow process.. she trusts her family, her dog walker ( that was a big gamble and introduction were slow but worth it) and one friend who we introduced when she was 12 weeks old. ..that's it. But she tolerates others as long as they don't try and fuss her. And she will even settle with them in the house..after a bark fest first, and is MUCH better if we walk in with them rather than them coming in.

She sounds dreadful but she really is the most loving, funny gorgeous girl.. and CAN now run off lead with the right dogs, CAN cope with most people... she'll never be the dog that goes to strangers for a belly rub, but it's ok :)

Sorry, that was long, but intended to give you encouragement!

Went out to walk with a friend and her dog this morning. It went well. He barked to start with but played with the other dog after a while. He approached my friend and didn’t bark or growl. He’s not really for strokes yet but he was loads better.

@StillMedusa thank you for sharing your experiences. Im pleased to hear that progress can be made. I also thought that about the dog thief’s. FishPup is a golden spaniel puppy so would be highly desirable by a dog thief. Good luck to them trying. The noise he makes of someone just tries to stroke him.