I posted a topic about my newly-purchased Bitch a few weeks ago and how she seems to have not been really socialised and is not really 'comfortable' in a house with household noises etc...

She has been getting better walking aorund and isn't so weary now e.g when she's on the couch and someone gets up she doesn't dive down and run for somewhere where she can look on anymore! However, she does seem confined to one of 2 corner's of the living room where there is very limited space and she feels as if it's her living quarters and a safe house if u like!

I was considering blocking these corners off so she has no choice but to either come by us and receive the love and attention we SO want to give her or go asleep/lie down in the middle of the room or somewhere less pf a 'hide-out'.

Would this be wrong? As I feel she's going to basically 'live' in these corners forever if I don't try to bring her out and see there's nothing to be worried about in her home!

I can offer my opinion but am no way an expert, I'm sure someone will come along shortly.
I would leave her and hope that in time she will come around herself. If you force things she might lose all the trust in you she has gained.
How long have you had her?

5 weeks

Hopefully someone will come along and advise you shortly.
One thing I can say I've noticed, I have a new rescue dog (2 weeks today) and when out walking him he only ever barks at other dogs when my bf is holding him on the lead, if I have him he doesn't. My bf has only ever known my 2 dogs so isn't too sure. Maybe she is feeling a bit of your tension to get things right.
It's still early days isn't it.
I'm amazed at how quickly charlie has settled in after 2 weeks.
Sorry I can't be of much help.

No you have cheers!

We'll see what some people say over the next few days...

Lee,

From your other posts it would seem that this bitch has just been taken on by yourself, has recently come in to season and has had to warn off your male dog from trying to mate her. Chances are that this combination is not really helping with her socialisation.

I really wouldnt try and push her at this stage, if you do the right things she should start to relax in the end.

Just a word of caution (not particularly wanting to resurrect your breeding debate!), I would seriously hesitate from breeding from a bitch that was naturally nervous, particularly in a breed like an Akita. Possibly this was why she was sold on in the first place?

Best of luck with her.

Yea the breeding debate, haha believe it or not that helped me a lot! It was just annoying, you know having 3 or 4 posts fired at me which were totally misunderstood, and yes it was probably my fault as I was confused myself in replying! , my dogs aren't aggressive, especially this one!!!! My dog however, is food aggressive, only with males, and EVENTUALLY with an old cross breed bitch I had that's all!! Nothing else!

By my analysing of the bitch so far, she seems to be getting better with time, I feel it's because she hasn't been socialised as a pup, she's just scared of people??

What's a normal outcome for a pup like this when it matures, as there's nothing for her to be afraid of, will she eventually learn this and 'come out of that shell'...?

Firstly, although I know at the moment she is separated from your dog as she is in season and will be fed separately from your boy, make sure that you keep feeding her separately if he is as food-aggresive as your previous posts would imply it will do no good to make her defensive - if you do intend to breed from the two of them in the future, you do not want to have a bitch that is so frightened of the stud that she will not stand for him.

Secondly, if she has been accustomed to a crate, I would suggest putting a crate in your lounge (I know they aren't the most elegant of furnishings :D ) and let her use it as her space - throw a cover over it, leave the door open so that she can come and go at will.   If she feels secure in there, she will then venture out as her confidence grows.

HTH

Margot

id not block them off,unless she began guarding the area,
shell come out when she settles down & feels more comftable,i dont think theres a time limit on this,itll just happen when it does

So do you's think that eventually she'll come round, because it has been like 5 or 6 weeks now, and although I'm not going to lose my temper or give up on her, it really is starting to annoy me! Only because I know she's nothing to be frightened of, though I know she doesn't know that, yet!

I just want her to come out and be normal, she's absolutely gorgeous and everything I want in the looks of an Akita, yet this is her personality. On the other hand, although my male has been called 'The Most Handsome Dog I've Ever Seen' by somebody haha, his temperament is FANTASTIC besides the food aggression, and even there it's nothing major, he was simply standing up for himself when being bullied into giving up food!

yes i think she will come out eventually!!!!!!!!!

does she come out if you call her?
is she interested in either toys or titbits?

To be honest with you no she doesn't come out when I call her, just my girlfriend she's great with her!

Toys we thought we'd get her which have made her better, but she tends to run around the living room getting the toys, EVERY SINGLE ONE, and puts them, near her, not allowing my male any????

ok,have her favorite toy
intice her out
have a little interactive game,maybe alittle hid & seek with the toy,or guess which hand (has to be a small toy for that!!)
give the toy a name,so you can say "look  (her name) ive got bally (eg),do you want bally"
keep this special toy,for you & her,dont let her have free acsess to it,only when you want to play with her with it!

5 or 6 weeks isn't very long really. If she isn't confident in your home after 5 or 6 months, then I would be seriously worried.

But then what procedures would I follow??

Avoid putting her under unnecessary stress. Being in season is also likely to upset her emotionally (bitches get PMT etc similarly to women) so don't expect her natural behaviour at this time. Being rehomed is very stressful anyway, and if she wasn't properly socialised as a small puppy (she is still a puppy herself still of course) then she has even more to contend with. Try to gradually accustom her to things without putting her in the position where she is scared. As she's not used to household noises, and they scare her rather than startling her but then she shows curiosity about them, you may have to 'desensitise' her towards everything, just as those of us with firework-phobic dogs have to do to prevent Bonfire Night being a torture to them.

How old is she? You say you've had her five weeks but she's in season. What do you know of her history?

Well I agreed to buy her about 2 months ago now?? I've had her I THINK about 5 or 6 weeks but it may be longer.

I know she was born April 2nd, I've seen the parents and a breeder I know in my home town knew this breeder who I got her off and said good things of him! I know she was bought by somebody else (well, deposit put down!) but they then ddecided they could not afford the 550 asking price, so she was inevitably left without her siblings for some time then...

Although she was kept with mother up until I bought her, she must be coming up to 6 months now!

So she is still just a baby! - a big baby, but nevertheless a baby!   If she's been with her mum for 16 weeks or so, she will have bonded more with her than she will with people, and you are going to have to go for it gently, but consistently.

Regards
Margot

i agree,she must be prettey unsettled,bless her.
im sure she will come round,but forcing her to is not the answer as it will just reconfirm that the world is scary.

find out what motivates her & build on this gentley,i take it she will come out to be fed go out for walks etc?
try to be really consistent with what you do ,so she knows where she stands,if you take "little steps" with her,its then easy to take a step or too back if she loses confidence!

But having never experienced this before it's really hard for me and I really to be honest haven't a clue, as she won't come out, not like she's petrified, she just feels more safe and comfortable in her corner. If she's on the couch she's fine, as I said she's really took to my partner and lies on the couch with her, she will then eat treats out of my hand etc and occasssionaly she'll lick my arm or face, but sudden movements make her get going again to the corner!

Anyone have any sort of 'step by step' plan I could follow as it's SO confusing when she comes out and is ok, then say, somebody knocks at the door and she's off again, back to square one! I did block her corners off last night for 1/2 an hr, she seemed scared at first and sat by the door, then lay down, and even when I 'unblocked' the corners, she still was by the door??

Have you discussed the problem with her breeder - they know the dog and may even be able to witness her behaviour and guide you from there. It's very difficult to know exactly what's going on without seeing the behaviour and as you know words are so easily misunderstood :D

Oh god don't remind me! Head was spinning all day yesterday haha!!! Although I still felt insulted YET guilty last night! But I suppose it's good to have 'debates' like that just to see others' views ...??? It helped me anyway so I'm pleased I just hope I didn't upset anyone!

I have spoken to the breeder, he in fact is visiting next week! He simply said it would be because of the 'bond' with mum for so long and she would have 'accepted' me but latched on to my partner ??

It will take time but eventually she will come out! But another breeder I know's seen her and said she may NEVER be the dog she could be??? due to the fear....

Before you got her, did she live in a kennel or in the house? If in a kennel I think part of the problem might be due to her lack of early socialisation with household noises. The main 'learning window' for pups (when they need to become accustomed to as much as possible - cars, trains, cattle, shops, crowds, people with hats, umbrellas, wheelchairs, children, horses etc etc etc) closes at about 15 or 16 weeks, and new experiences after that are more likely to be viewed with fear and take much longer to become acceptable. Forcing the issue only reinforces the fear.

Of course if she was raised in a house this is not likely to be her problem!

I feel this is EXACTLY her problem! She's not necessarily scared of us, just the surroundings we're in! As you'll know Akitas have the curled tail, in the house she's permanently down, unless she's running upstairs or to the yard! When she's in the yard or outside on the grass she's up! ???? So I feel she's much more comfortable outside, the breeder said she was fine in the house where he lived, but they were in the countryside, where I live is constant noise of people & cars & lorrys etc......

Am I confusing you with somebody else - but don't you have a male dog as well???

Yea I have a male too....

As she is such a baby and having to deal with her hormones with her first season I really wouldn't worry too much.  

Definately don't push her or make an issue out of this while she is in season, most bitches act a bit funny then and often for a while afterwards.  I forget any training with my bitch during her season as she just can't get her head in gear and gets all worried.

One of my dogs lays in the centre of the room and is always in the way, the other finds a corner for herself and doesn't approach us all evening.  Dogs will act differently when they settle, maybe you are just used to your dogs behaving in a different way.

Good Luck
Sandra

What you could do (it's something I've tried in the past) is to keep her on a lead at all times in the house, so that when you go through to the kitchen, she comes through to the kitchen, when you go to the front door, she comes to the front door.    It can be difficult, trying to make a cup of tea, with a dog on a lead, but you can always attach the lead to your belt!    I found it helped with our Vinnie, when I thought she was bonding too much to Mum, and not to us.   Talk to her all the time, and it might do the trick!

Margot

ok,when she comes up onthe sofa,give her a titbit,tell what a good girl she is etc,
then you could have a few titbits (really tasty ones,sausage or cheese etc),& put one alittle further away,so she has to move slightly to get it,what you want to build up to is when you throw a titbit on to the floor she will go & get it..ie so she moves away from you,then say her name excitedly & when she looks at you say "yes"
and show her another titbit that she will come back to you for,then throw another one out & repeat,try to  build up to about 6 throws ,then have a toy play (with the special toy i mentioned before),then leave her, later do it again,
hopefully when she settles she will realise its more exciting to come out & be with you,but youll have to make it exciting,if shes just coming out to lie down she may well prefer her own space

This sounds great I'll print this off and try it over the next few days! It's just so annoying and confusing and so tempting to just give up as it seems to be going nowhere but I REALLY want to get this pup going, she's absolutely beautiful and EVERYTHING I've ever wanted with regards to looks, just not like this! I want to show her off and get her trained etc...

no dont give up!!!!
please dont ,imagine how confused that will make her!!!!

No there's no way I'm going to give up! In a way this is a great experience for me, as I'm so young it's another experience which can only help me in the future, in the understanding of body language etc....

I won't give up it just seems when u think about it the easier option! I won't though, I wouldn't want any animal being scared in their own home!!!

That's what I'm really trying to make her understand this is HER home....

im sure she will ,really,just be patient with her,shes only a baby!
you could try a few drops of rescue remedy ,onto her tongue? might help her relax abit!!!!

What's that, never heard of it??

rescue remedy is a "bach flower" remedy,flower essances mixed up to help different problems, rescue remedy is the most widley used /known & is said to "comfort & reassure" you can buy it at health food shops/chemists costs about £3.99, you just pipette a few dprops on the tongue when needed! it does work (on me & my dogs!)

So it's not just a pet thing it can be bought in chemists or health shops?? Rescue Remedy?? That wht it's called?

yes its for every body!!!!!!
ask for "rescue remedy"
thats it easy peasy,dogs that need it,love it,

if you do a search on here,its been discussed alot!

You can get it in Boots! (Bach's Rescue Remedy, I mean) - on the "alternative medication " dept

Margot

I would also suggest a DAP diffuser, which can be bought from vets and online. (Don't know specific addresses.) It is a plug in that is left on in the room that the dog spends most time in. It mimics the pheromones of a lactating bitch and makes the dog feel secure and calm.
I'm probably way off, but is her eye sight or hearing ok? You mentioned she jumps at sounds so hearing is probably fine, but i do wonder if her sight is not so good that she feels unsafe? But as i say i am probably way off track and just guessing at things. YOu would have noticed something before if that was the case.
Bach rescue remedy is good, as is mimulus and aspen flower remedies which are for fears.

Lee,
'Reading between the lines' of your posts I can sense that you are getting quite frustrated with her. I get the feeling that you are perhaps trying a little too hard.

Dogs can sense frustration so easily, however hard the owner tries to hide it. I would imagine that the more relaxed that you are about the issue, the quicker she will come round.

hahaha you know you're exactly right!! Last night and this morning I thought 'Right I'll give myself a bit of a rest for the next couple of days, let her get over her stress of season or whatever first' and wada u know she's been strolling round like she owns the place......not quite in an over confident manner but still, she is better!

I had the breeder of her down last night as well, he told me it'd be a puppy phase until she's accepted the noises, people, movements etc NOT to be a threat, and the fact she'd bonded with mum for so long has left her sort of 'Fending for herself?'

If she doesn't improve, I personally would consider a behaviourist. These people are used to dealing with these problems and could perhaps give you some guidance as to where you could improve things. Remember, she is in an alien enviroment and so are you to a certain extent.

My GSD that I have now, she is nearly 7 yrs old and I got her at nearly 1 yr, she too had been left with her mother with no human interaction and we also took the mother on, they were very close and didn't want to interact with us at all but time and patience won the day :) Her mother sadly died 2 yrs ago which put her back tremendously but she is now a very well adjusted dog, but it did take time, hope this helps, good luck :)

Yea thanks it's just re-assuring to hear that time ACTUALLY is a good healer! When you're witnessing it for yourself for weeks on end it seems as if they'll never be normal and will always be hiding doesn't it??

I do think that time will bring her around, it's just hard to picture!

You could also try the T Touch method with her

Hi Akita Lee

Please don't get frustrated with your dog just yet.  Unfortunately, a lot of dogs that have been re-homed come with baggage, fears and phobias a lot of which we don't know the reason for and they can't tell us.  But, just like people respond differently to unsettling or disturbing events in their lives so do dogs.  She will come around in her own time and not when you or anyone else thinks she should.  The best you can do is allow her the comfort zones in the short term but watch that they don't become a means of coping in the long term.

Build her confidence up by praising her everytime she ventures out or approaches a situation she may have backed away from before.  Encourage but don't force her to meet new situations/people etc but allow her to keep her distance if she chooses.    

Be patient, most dogs come round in time and 5 weeks isn't long really.

Cheers for the advice it's much appreciated! How about going out on walks? What should I do there? Should I wait until she has settled indoors before out? Or do it both at once??

This is a part that's really confusing me! Although, she has been out many times, she just seems a lot better outdoors than in! But I find if she's doing ok indoors and I take her out, when she comes in she's stricken with fear or something again and goes for her corner for a while!

Even though she's out with her tail up and tongue wagging on the lead????

It could be whatever has affected her happened indoors & all her good exepriences have been away from home

I trained a GSD bitch who had been sent away to be trained & she came back a broken dog terrified of the lead & of collars. that was back in the 60's & I had to get her confidence up & she was the first dog I ev er totally trained off lead & she was the first of quite a long line of obedience trained dogs I have had all trained off lead

Have you had a look at the T Touch team site. T Touch is used a lot with dogs, cats & horses that need confidence boosts

T Touch website? What's the web address?