Hi All, I'm new to this forum. Thanks for letting me be a part of it. We adopted an 8 month old yellow lab 3 weeks ago. He was very fearful of everything when we got him home. Before he came to us, he lived in a dog run with another dog and was not socialized or exposed to much. It took a while to even get him in the house. He has come a long way in the past few weeks. It's amazing. However, when we try to go on walks, he goes down a few houses and then stops and turns around with his tail tucked between his legs. We don't want to force him, but I would like to take walks with him. We took him to a park over the weekend, he was on a 50' rope and he had a blast! So, it's just walking in the neighborhood. I've been taking him out in front every day to just wander in the front yard to get used to the cars, etc. Just wondering if anyone had experienced anything like this. THANKS!
Hi Janel and welcome to the forum. You're not alone in having a scared Lab, there are a couple on here, although they're not the norm. My Willow gets scared of things easily, and there are areas where she has been scared where she acts like your boy, tail between her legs and refusal to move. I try to overcome it by changing her association with those areas to positive ones - I take her bowl out and feed her breakfast there, bit by bit, for example. It's not a quick fix, though, and you have to have endless patience and not try to force things. If you do, it will just make him more stressed. It's good you can take him elsewhere, so keep doing that, taking him out to fun places in the car and work on your bond. The more you gain his trust, the more he'll look to you for guidance when he's uncertain. Just take it super slowly in your neighbourhood walks, really get it out of your head that it's something you should be doing. But go and sit just outside your gate (or whatever) for a few minutes, feeding treats. If he's happy with that, then next time take a little walk maybe ten metres in one direction, turn and come back. Then ten metres in the other direction. It may seem like tiny progress, but you want to work within his boundaries, rather than pushing his limits of fear. Try to avoid getting him to the point where he's stressed, so you're completing every little outing on a high. Do this a few times a day and keep your body language relaxed and confident. The second you spot any discomfort, turn and head back home, so he learns to trust you to take him away from danger (even if it is only in his head). Good luck and please let us know how you get on.
I will suggest Patience. Our own rescue girl was a bit like that, not as fearful, had been in a house and was socialized with people and other dogs but roughly treated before we got her and also kept in an outdoor run with another dog. It took Whisper about a year to really settle in. It helped us she was trained to hunt, was mad to hunt and we live in a rural area where it was easy to go out hunting and not meet other people or dogs. Three weeks is a very short time. He needs time to bond with you before exposure to lots of new things. A training class may help the bonding. Even though our girl was fully trained I did a class with her (the dog knew the words and I didn't LOL) but it also helped her learn to look to me for direction.
Hi Janel and welcome to the Labrador Forum! You will get lots of help and support on here. Well done for taking on a rescue lab. I echo Snowshoe and Snowbunny, just take it slowly and give your boy time to come to trust you. I am sure, with time and patience, he will overcome his fears and will be your constant companion on lots of happy walks. Just give it time, and be prepared to take tiny steps rather than trying to rush anything.
Hi Janel and pupster! I am no expert, but when we adopted Jessie at 9 months old, 3.5 years ago, she wouldn't wag her tail, she used to cower at any sound and if you lifted your hand . We were fortunate to an extent that we had Layla and after the initial " right I've had enough of this intruder, send her back" she led they way and Jess followed. But as Snowshoe has suggested, patience and lots of it along with encouragement and fun. Look forward to hearing about your positive progress
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the input. Yes, patience it the word for sure! It's been a good learning for me as well as him. I am so surprised and thankful for the progress he has made so far. We are just going to keep doing what we are doing. I appreciate your time and kind words!
Ah what a lucky boy to have found a home with you...he's got a lot to get used to if he was an outside dog before .It's great you've seen progress already though ,it must be so rewarding to see him relaxing and starting to enjoy his new life x
We've had fear problems with Homer. Mostly related to noise, he'll refuse to go anywhere where a noise has frightened him. We took him to a vet behaviourist. Homer is now on a course of medication especially to help him through the fireworks season. What the vet said was not to trick him into going past where he's scared. You are right not to force him. Have fun with him in your front garden. Drive him to the park so he has a good time with you. little by little take him out along the road as far as he is happy. As my mother in law would say "slowly, slowly catch a monkey"
Patience, love, space and time. 3 weeks isn't long. Try some gentle training with yummy treats, this will help build your bond. It's great you have taken a rescue, they especially need us.
I love all of the support. I have been doing clicker training with him and he's doing well. I feel like we were meant to be together
