Anxious dog - positive stories

[stillherenow]

I've had my anxious big greyhound boy for ten months and his anxiety is just not improving. I've seen a vet behaviourist and he is now 3 weeks into fluoxetine. He doesn't follow me around the house anymore and we are starting to move on the separation anxiety (at 15 mins!) , but I still can't walk him. I gave him a break and now take him to a carpark with a small green space at 6am, but he actually seems more nervous than before , and today he froze AGAIN I have no idea why. No one around.

I'm not finding it enjoyable at all and my anxiety has spiked so badly I'm now on medication as well! I love him to bits but I think the rehoming centre got it wrong as he needs a friend - I can't afford to get another dog. He is lovely and me and dd adore him but it's so hard and I know owning a dog takes work but this is so difficult . My life has shrunk. I can't leave him and I can't walk him.

Could really do with hearing some success stories from people who have had impossibly anxious dogs !!

He’s very young yet, has your behaviourist worked on the relationship between you and your dog. That’s something I’ve done with my boy. Meds didn’t help but chemical castration and age has mellowed him but still issues. Developing a bond with him might help, so you’re the one he’s looking to out and about instead of the scary environment. Mine hates all sorts of outdoor random stuff. Persevere and if walks are stressful ditch them, or use a private field. I find if my boy gets a fright/there is an issue on a walk or even in the house he needs time to decompress so we play games or go into the garden and just spend time together I also him sleep and relax loads to let the bad stuff pass before we venture out again. Def helps as previously he’d be jumpy and upset. Hope that makes sense

Thank he's a retired racer and is 3. Yes I use a field about twice a week when it's cool enough, we both enjoy that actually. I might do day on day off walk, I was trying to keep a routine as he likes a routine but obviously it's not working. I do a lot at home in terms of enrichment. I do need to improve the bond as the medication seems to have loosened it ? Eg he no longer gets on the sofa next to me and is happier being left with others (latter is good though as at least I can now get out!) . He won't do what I say very much now since the treats are less of a draw (unless it's chicken which he used to be intolerant to but weirdly now seems fine !)

He's very afraid of people , so I tend to go super early for walks ! Can leave him with a trusted friend who has a whippet but that's it .

Is he more confident with other greyhounds? If so it might be worth seeing if there are any locally who he could try walking with. I've found lots of good advice on Facebook greyhound groups too - they can be such anxious dogs.

Yes he loves other hounds and we do walk with other sighthounds but it doesn't make any difference to how he is with me on my own.

I’m in the same boat. Pups 10 months now and never had a proper walk. Unfortunately we’re in the middle of a busy city with no garden so not going out isn’t an option, neither are fields.
she just started fluoxetine and has chilled massively indoors within a few days. But is weirdly not taking treats outside now. Not even the beloved cheese! I think maybe her calmness is inside effect rather than the meds working as it’s too soon.
i long to be able to go for a walk but have accepted she’s never going to be a dog I can take everywhere with me. Cafes ect will always be a no no. She is also scared of people. I’m starting to think we’ll never be able to go for a walk just because where we live is so ridiculously noisy and busy.

We've got a rescue, ex breeding girl, she's incredibly shut down, knows nothing about recall, didn't even know what a gate was, she was terrified of it, loud noises scare her too.

I think she was definitely hit at some point, her responses are much more than lack of socialising, but she's getting a bit better day by day. She will go through the gates now, still needs a lot of work on recall, we can't let her off the lead as she doesn't come back!

I think it can take a long time to settle into a New home for a rescue dog. I think I'd take the pressure off myself by relaxing about the walk & instead do some play & games. For now at least then start small with the walking.
Maybe also try walking around the garden on a lead, you will then know if there are issues with being on a lead - this in itself can be traumatic for a dog. You just don't know what had happened to him in his past so I'd start again with him. Start by putting lead on & them give him a treat, take it off & treat him, do that until he knows he's safe then gradually expand the time on the lead & with the walk eventually too

Thank you, I'm doing 'let's go' training in the garden. As it means chicken, the third time I picked up the lead he got very excited ! I'm going to try a local carpark early this morning and do another ten mins of let's go, then practice again at home later. I'm hoping if I do this for a few weeks he will start to learn to focus on me on walks and let me take the lead and control, thereby feeling safer?

He freezes always on the way back on walks especially (and I can't always do a loop), so this training is all about constantly changing direction. He thinks I'm mad but eventually just follows and I think that's the point, I don't want him thinking about anything but me and where he's sniffing !

See how the fluoxetine goes and work with your behaviourist but severe anxiety is not ime something that improves much. It's a serious welfare issue. People with anxiety can read, meditate, pray, phone a friend, engage in all sorts of therapies, use logic and reason to a degree to deal with their fear. Animals cannot.
Not all animals are successful contented pets.