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Permalink Reply by Charlie on February 25, 2008 at 10:16pm

Have you taken her for a vet checkup since you got her? I know you've had problems with her not going potty at some points, or going potty other than where you'd like, and now fearful peeing. Although the three issues may be unrelated, a vet checkup would be my first stop. If you're sure she does not have any type of bladder problems, then you can work on the fear responses.

A fearful temperament can be genetically passed on from the dog's parents, or conditioned by some life experience that frighened the puppy. Genetic problems are more difficult to deal with. If she is temperamentally sound, you should be able to desensitize her to the vacuum and the toy.

With a fearful dog, you do not want to acknowledge the fear and peeing. If you coo, pet, and tell her "It's ok.", she'll think you are telling her that she is right to be afraid. If you yell, or tell her "no", or any other correction, she will also feel her fear is justified and will likely become more afrain, not less. So you need to ignore the behavior when it happens. Do not try to force her to "face" her fear.

You can work on desensitization and counterconditioning techniques to get her over the fear. The description of these techniques is too lengthy to try to describe here on the forum, but do a Yahoo or Google search for "dog desensitization counterconditioning", and you'll find lots of detailed articles. It would be helpful if you have a second person available to assist you: one person to calm the dog and the other to work with the "fear object". Hire a dog behaviorist if you need to. The problem can be solved, but it's not something that she is likely to outgrow without some work.

Meanwhile, teaching her basic obedience commands will help build her confidence. You can also play calm games of tug-of-war and with a fearful dog, you let her win the game to make her more confident.

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Permalink Reply by E on February 26, 2008 at 8:54am

She's doing well with the potty now and she's hasn't pooped on the sidewalk in over a week (yay!). She used to shy away from people but now she even approaches them (not all the time), though she'll be in a submissive position (ears pinned back, crouching a little.

Anyhow, her response is definitely a fear/uncertainty response. I did a "shake can" test , where I held a can filled with pennies behind my back and shook it to see her response. She immediately came up to me all excited to check things out. I then threw the shake can away from her and she ran over to it and started playing with it. Thus, she's fearful of certain things,not others.

I'll work on desensitizing her. I've currently got the vacuum cleaner in the middle of the living room and will work on her with this. I'll do the same thing with the ball (the ball will be trickier since she wants to bark at it , run away, and repeat.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Davis on February 26, 2008 at 10:28am

I think /hope she does get over these fears soon. Brynn was afraid of a glow ball we have and got over it in two days .
I'm still working on her being afraid of other dogs , people ,she loves too much .LOL
Good luck !

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Permalink Reply by Kristen on February 26, 2008 at 4:58pm

For a while Fergie would "piddle" when she was over excited or scared by something. It seems to have subsided considerably now. Our older dog Tess doesn't play that often so when she would initiate play with Fergie she would get so excited we would have a little piddle spot. When my daugter chased the dogs with the deer head mount we have in the basement she piddled. Now she just barks when ever she hears the bells jingle around its neck. No more piddle spots. Seems to be something she is growing out of.

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Permalink Reply by Brian Davis on February 27, 2008 at 11:04am

My sisters dog would pee EVERY time i came over and said her name "Jetta ! " . My sister would be so mad at me , she would put Jetta away when i came over .Don't know why , it was only me , and not others ?
Brynn did this once ,when a girlfriend of mine came over when she was just a toddler ,and was very excited to see Brynn saying "oh my god ! " over and over again , Brynn lost it ! i had to restrain my friend ! LOL
Hasn't happened since :)

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Permalink Reply by Sam on February 28, 2008 at 9:58pm

Many fear behaviors are related to early beginnings. Some dogs have a far more difficult adjustment time if these objects were not introduced early on. This is one of the big reasons that I continue to preach about doing your research concerning breeders. Pups that are not raised within a home environment often have little to no exposure to the household items we are surrounded with. This can be most overwhelming to a young dog.
If your pup is a good eater I would have the vacuum cleaner in site of the dinner bowl. I would continue to move it closer and closer as long as she tolerates it. When she becomes solid with this exercise I would move it just a few inches and walk away. Keep increasing the movement of the vacuum until she no longer responds. I would then add leash walking in the home and moving the vacuum. When she becomes comfortable with that consistently I would then try turning it on for a short time.
Work in small steps to increase her comfort level. Remember much of how a dog responds is how we feel at the moment. If you become concerned when you need to vacuum she will sense that right away.
Another option is to crate her with a very special treat. This will help redirect her attentions while you are vacuuming.
You can use a similar process with the ball. May be good to start with a smaller one first and see if she has the chase/retrieve instinct. I have some that love to play soccer and others that wouldnt give a ball a second look.

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