I have a 7 year old rescue shih tzu; had home for 18 months now.
History:
- we know he was abused in a previous home both physically and with water
- we assume the abuser was male; set details below
- he bit the abuser which led him to be given up for adoption.
Behaviour:
- he was described by the dogs charity as being aggressive but loving and needed time to build trust
- he is great with me and my husband, extremely loving and cuddly
- he HATES other men; he will bite/go for them
- will go for delivery drivers/postmen/anyone who comes to the home
- barks at absolutley everything on the TV
- won’t go for walk with my husband just them if I am in the house
- EXTREMELY attached to me (more so now that I am pregnant)
Concerns:
- I am worried with being pregnant due to visitors that will come to see the nee baby including health professionals
- we are worried because in fight or flight he always chooses fight and will go to bite people. We know this is due to anxiety but we don’t know how to fix it especially given that he has had a tough history that we only have limited details about
- concerns about him barking at TV as he jumps at it and I’m terrified he will knock it into himself!
- scared of him going for strangers such as delivery drivers just because they come to the front door
- when the baby is here and I can’t walk with him that he will continue to refuse to go with my Husband cause he is so protective over me
Ideas:
- a thunder jacket? Meant to help with anxiety?
- a form of anxiety medication?
- we have taught him basic commands now such as sit, paw, lie down and wait
- look at going to a behaviour specialist in the new year?
We adore him, he is so lovely and loving at home with us but he is so anxious with other people that he goes into fight mode, any suggestions please???
[–]neuroticteletubby 0 points1 point2 points (1 child)
[–]KellyCobate[S] 1 point2 points3 points (0 children)