Hi i have a 21 month old rough collie. He is the biggest chicken ever!!!! Ok well here some examples of how crazy he is...

- ill take him to a friends house and he will sit in a corner shaking because he is scared of new places. if any one of my friends try to pet him he will bark hystarically at them and he wont SHUT UP!!

- he scared to go into pet stores

-hes scared to go to the washroom in front of me

-hes scared of loud noises

-hes scared to play fetch with me

well i think you get the point he is a big chicken.

i really am thinking of getting rid of him because i cant deal with this any more but if u have any suggestions on what to do please help!

thanks

sarah

Poor dog, it sounds as if he's really unhappy. What do you do when he shows his fear like this? Can you give us more details - when this started, how you responded etc.

Well when he first started doing this i didnt care much but now its worse. I took him to my friends apartment when i was visiting her and the minute i brought him in the place he started barking at everything. It was very late and i didnt want him to disturb the neighbors so i just told him firmly to be quiet he was for a while but i had to keep saying that. I took him out to go bathroom and he didnt so i took him back inside and he went on the floor now i got really mad at him for this.

When he first got scared, why didn't you care much? You should have been at least a little concerned. He's a sensitive breed, you take him to a strange place, he's unsettled so you get cross!! Why? The best thing to do with nerves is ignore them. You have taught him that if you take him to a strange place you're going to get cross with him.

And you reckon that's not bullying?

If he likes you, why are you rejecting him?

OMG this poor dog he needs help & you want to"get rid of him"

Has he always been nervous ?

Has he recently had a trauma ?

Have you ever trained him ?

Have you spoken to his breeder ?

Hi he has been to puppy class, basic obedience, agility , flyball, tracking.

he hasnt always been nervous though he started this when he was a year old i think.

And no he hasnt recently had a trauma.

I only have talked to his breeder when we got him and all she said was dont get mean with this breed or else they will become stubborn.

Collies are very sensitive intelligent dogs - and to turn around a 21 month old dog whose got this bad is going to take a long commitment..... Have you got the time (2 or 3 sessions of 10 - 15 minutes a day, 4, 5 or more days a week) and the dedication to do it?

If not, then trying to rehome him through a breed rescue may be the sensible way to go and best for all concerned.

Poor little begger :(

Hey i do have the time to train himi just dont know how to get started.

Perhaps your dog just doesn't like YOU. Go get him a proper home, he deserves it.

edit - for what its worth - you sound like a bully.

That's a bit harsh Chloe,

JMHO

liberty

I make no apologies Liberty - I'm not going to beat around the bush for someone who is clearly completely ignorant of a dogs needs, and worse, thinks its the dogs fault.

Fair point Chloe, I hope I didn't give you the impression that I felt the dog was at fault; I just hoped the owner could resolve the problem.

liberty

To be honest, liberty, and I apologise if I'm wrong, but this owner gives the impression of not wanting to go to the effort of helping the dog. After all, s/he hasn't tried to help so far, but has only got angry.

I suppose I assumed that as h/she had posted, they were intersted in helping, what is obviously a disturbed dog, but the references to'chicken dog' make me wonder.

liberty :)

If this person really despises the dog as much as s/he seems to, it would be better off being rehomed to someone who cares.

Hey you no nothing about my dog so before u go saying he dosent like me think again missy!!

He likes me he likes me alot i know this for a fact.

i aint no bully either its just gets annoying to have such a chicken dog.

I'm sure your dog likes you, but refering (sp) to him as a chicken dog, is not the most endearing of terms. He's obviously upset/disturbed by something, and that's what you need to find out.

Good luck

liberty

I rest my case. "It gets annoying to have a chicken dog" It must be annoying to have such an ignorant owner.

Add callous and uncaring to that, Chloe.

indeed - if he likes you so much - why is he scared of you?

Helllo ,

YOU refer to your dog being a CHICKEN.

IF YOU wanted a guard dog , you shouldnt have brought a Collie !

Or any kind of dog PERIOD !

And i think your dog will be grateful to get RID of you.

And you refer to your dog as being SKINNY in another post I WONDER WHY??

HELEN.

helen, a dog thats skittish and living on its nerves will often be skinny, ---although i feel sorry for the dog, it might not be anything the owner did, -some dogs are wimpy by nature, although the owner doesnt seem too sympathetic, at least theyve asked for advice---sadly i think most are right that for all concerned the dog should be rehomed to someone used to dealing with an over sensitive dog,-he obviously is going to aggrevate his current owner with his wimpy ways,

Okay Sarah,
I think you've guessed that you have a real problem here! However, it is one that can be cured, but you will have to be prepared to put in a lot of time and effort into doing it. It could take months of work to turn your poor dog around - he will probably never be bold and confident, but you should be able to stop him being as terrified as he is at the moment.
If you are happy to do this, please contact us. If not, then Rough Collie Rescue (I can give you details if your are in the UK) or your dog's breeder would be the logical step.

Hi Luka88

Sorry to hear you have a problem with your collie and also that you're not getting much support from the board so far!

To everyone out there who have maybe jumped in a bit quick and critisized, haven't any if not all of you never, ever made a mistake with any dog you have ever had? I don't get the impression Luka88 has no feeling for his/her dog just totally out of their depth in knowing what to do about it.

One of the worst things you can do to a dog who is feeling afraid is to force it to face that which is it scared of. You need help in building up your dogs confidence in itself, and trust in you, so that he believes that between you you can deal with anything that life throws at you.

As you say you have the time to put in some training but don't know where to start I'd ask you vet for details of a behaviourist first and a good, sympathetic trainer second. Please don't go to a trainer who uses the old jerk,yank, pop method or your dog will have even more reason to be afraid of new experiences.

You may never have an exhuberant, outgoing dog but I'm sure you can make vast improvement in increasing confidence.

Good Luck

You should look into t touch massage for him here's a link

http://www.lindatellingtonjones.com/

it really does work

Yes I've made mistakes with my dogs but I wouldn't get rid of them because of it!

Jesse

Quite right, Jesse. yes, we've all made mistakes, but we admit it and blame ourselves. We want to cure our dogs' problems for their benefit, not ours.

Hey thanx for understanding at least now i have one friend

you could have your dog as a friend if you stopped being so harsh on him.

i have e-mailed you