Anxiety

Hi
I rescued Poppy my staffy x in May 14. We have no history for her as she was a stray. She joined myself and my Labrador Dexter who i have had since 8 weeks. I am struggling to figure out how to work with her through her anxiety she has about going outside. When she knows its time to go out she will sit by the door keen to go but tremble and shake, i did wonder if she was scared of the car but over time it appears it is not the car as she has traveled fine for 6 hours. She hops into the car and starts to shake however once we get to the fields (4 minute drive) she has stopped shaking. She knows the route we take and is fine but if i try to deviate even slightly she shuts down and lays on the ground refusing to move i feel her tummy and she is trembling. She is also the same at the park near to us. When walking there if i attempt a slightly different path she stops and lays down. I have tried to take out high value rewards but she is too stressed to take them. We have stood for ages looking around and i then attempt to move a few feet but she wont budge. It is really difficult to walk the 2 separately at the moment as i work full time and its dark so early so its a quick walk at lunchtime. She is also not very good with other dogs and we try to keep our distance and its on lead walking for her. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Hmm hard one to advise on for me. Flo is very much a routine dog in that she will only cross the road at certain places and if we deviate she will sit down and it's like trying to move a rock.

We have also had times where she simply will not go for a walk so we occasionally change the route. She's fine if she doesn't do the usual route though Sounds like Poppy is similar in some ways.

How is she if you take her somewhere completely different ?

When Flo has refused we've tried different things. Different routes sometimes work, running and getting all excited has worked but never treats. Another thing you could try on walks is to take her fave toy and make things as fun as possible so that it distracts her.

When at the park, do you have her on a short lead or a long training lead ?... I ask as it can make a difference. On a short lead she can feel tension from you through it so make sure your as relaxed as possible.

How is her recall ?.. If you can work on this and get it going well you will increase poppies confidence as well as your own. My experience with my Flo is that it took time for her to trust me and me to trust her, it took a good 18 months because she's deaf but we got there and now she loves her walks but still has her odd routines

When you get a min, pop along here and say Hi:-
https://staffy-bull-terrier.niceboard.com/f7-new-member-introductions

Never had this problem either as i always changed mias routes so she didnt become more stubborn than she already is

Hi Ian thanks for your reply. I think this is quite a complex problem and have emailed a behaviourist today for a consultation. I have taken her different places but she just shuts down and refuses to walk and then i have to force her to do so which is not good! i haven't really seen any improvement in the 9 months i have had her so think i need some one to one guidance.

I think your doing the right thing with the behaviourist. It's one thing being stubborn like my Flo can be but to not want to explore somewhere new is clearly not ok.

Do let us know how you get on, I'll be interested to know what they say.

Hi Sallie901

I have the same problem with my 4 year old rescue staff. She won't go outside and just trembles. Did you get anywhere with the behavourist? We have one but don't seem to be much further on. Would love to hear how you are getting on.

there was a similar case on 'dogs their secret lives'
( i think .. unless it were another similar programme )
fairly sure .. but not certain .. the dog were a staffy ..
that were afraid to go outside the house ..

the issue was solved after a while with some pro. help ..

try series 1 .. episode 3 ..
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dogs-their-secret-lives

( or .. it may be in 1 of the other 'series 1' episodes )

Exactly what I was thinking of, kozmos! It was a while back so I don't know if it'll still be there. And yes it was a staffie girl.

In essence, what they did was played with her favourite toy, a ball, near the doorway until she was quite relaxed about that whole idea. They then rolled the ball for her to fetch nearer and nearer the door, never going too far too soon, until she was able to take a step or two outside to get her ball. Then they played with her in that area, so just immediately outside the house until that was ok, and it think (if I remember rightly) after that she was ok.

That little staffie was adorable - hopefully you could find the episode online! Behaviourist would probably be very useful too.

In essence, what they did was played with her favourite toy, a ball, near the doorway until she was quite relaxed about that whole idea. They then rolled the ball for her to fetch nearer and nearer the door, never going too far too soon, until she was able to take a step or two outside to get her ball. Then they played with her in that area, so just immediately outside the house until that was ok, and it think (if I remember rightly) after that she was ok

yeah .. that encapsulates how it were solved ..
( as i remember it as well :-)

sure hope something can be worked out for 'Poppy' ..