My rescue has had a serious problem with flinching since we got him nearly nine months ago. Without a doubt, it has certainly got better but it's still there and he does occasionally sink to the ground when you go to stroke him.

I was just wondering what experience people have with their flinching rescue dogs and whether it ever stopped!

My late X breed bitch did this until I discovered T Touch massage. She so frightened before I started using T T that not only did she flinch & shy away she wet herself as well.

I do know she had been kicked in the ribs & head(she had healed broken ribs & skull & eye problems)so it was not surprising.

When she started to respond to TT she gradually stopped flinching & cowering & ended up actively seeking physical contact & would drift blissfully off to sleep during the massage

As you dont his history? if you do- tell us.

but to help him i would only touch when he comes to you, when he's ready to be touched.

try to offer him some of his fave treats, put them in front of nose and while hes nibbling them, gently talk and stroke him. this will get him to associate stroking with a pleasurable experience, not something bad.

As he's a rescue try to let himcontrol how much love he gets, you dont want to over pet him if he's not used to it, he will soon learn to love being loved!

magsx

Thanks for the help. I've never heard of T touch massage...would love to know more and try it out!

As for the history, there's not much I can tell you at all. It's obvious that something inhumane happened to him at some point but I cannot tell what it is exactly. The petting is absolutely fine, he loves being stroked by people when out and about and as I've mentioned, he's got remarkably better than how he was when we first got him.

I'm going to try the treat method but whether he will "nibble" them is another thing. (Currently training him out of snatching treats and taking fingers with him!)

Once again, thanks!

with the treats- use them as a distraction, at work when a pup is being vaccinated i hold a schmacko in front of their mouths and dont let them have all of it, i expose a little bit at a time for them to find & nibble off so they dont think about the injection! you could try that- but dont get your fingers nibbled too!
goodluck

I'll try! A lot of people have said to me that he will grow out of it as he's young (2 years) but the main point is, will it ever stop?!

T Touch

I notice in your other thread that you are castrating both your dogs.  I think it is a very bad idea with a dog that is timid and lacking confidence as the testosterone has a major effect on canine confidence, and without it he may be worse.

Other than rendering him sterile what is your reason for castrating, as you can easily prevent him fathering litters by normal management unless you have an entire bitch on the premises.

He's not as timid as everybody thinks! I don't think I've quite stressed my point enough.

Alpha WAS a very bad flincher but now he is not as bad at all. He does occasionally flinch but has become amazingly better. He flinches rarely now.

My question was, will the flinching that he does occasionaly do ever stop or will there always be that in him.

I'm getting both dogs neutered as a safety precaution. My vet has assured me that with such an outgoing, highly strung, confident (of recent times anyway) rescue dog it will not affect his confidence levels.

Hi, KAB

I don't know why you always get such dire warnings about neutering on this site (ruins coats, temperaments, weight etc.). 
Our rescue GSD was not a confident or 'bold' dog and after settling with us was starting to show signs of fear aggression with unknown dogs and people.  We had him castrated and this calmed him down.  Our next rescue dog, a very assertive little whippet X bitch, taught him some canine manners which stood him in excellent stead with others dogs, which in turn seemed to give him more confidence. He is now very well socialised but retains his GSD protective trait. 

I have most of my dogs (bar two) castrated and my bitches spayed.  As most were mongrels there is no breed standard but they were all well, fit dogs until a ripe old age.  And as for managing entire dogs - we had a recue BC that broke his leg trying to jump a barbed wire fence to get at a bitch (that was two fields away) and later, when 'anchored' in the garden with his leg in plaster up to the hip, cleared a six-foot fence trying to get at a nieghbour's bitch. It was only the dog-anchor catching on the top of the fence that stopped him - and nearly strangled him.  My motto is:If you're not a breeder, neuter.

Thank you Muttsinbrum, i'm glad someone finally understands what I mean! Your post was very helpful, thanks for that. I see what you mean about the warnings you get for neutering and it seems that even more people have gone beserk that I'm having both dogs done on the same day.

I agree entirely with your motto: Not a breeder, then neuter - because surely it has a worse effect than just males chasing bitches, it can also lead to serious health problems when older - testicular cancer being the major - have you ever heard of that in a neutered dog? - i think not lol.

Thanks again Muttsinbrum - let's just hope the op goes well for both my dogs tomorrow!

I think its a good idea you are getting both done at same time aswell. Didnt realise what you meant with alpha, over time he'll get better, as he has done already!
Im a vet nurse, and i think they will keep each other company tomorrow-, ask them if the kennels big enough to put both in , before their op. Obviously when they are coming round from the anaesthetic they will be separate, but then can be reunited again!
Remember dont feed them after 8 pm tonight, sure they'll be fine-
mags

I have recently taken on a rescue who has been beaten and who lived in a shed.  When I got him he flinched real bad and he wouldn't sleep on blankets - he would go onto the hard kitchen floor :(
I am a BIG fan of clicker training.  While I dont want him to be an obedience champion (he is 9 years old by the way) I did want to be able to tell him that something was OK/rewardable.  So I quickily introduced the clicker using very strong treats (they had to be for him to take them out of your hand!!) A tickle under the chin was obviously less threatening then a reach over his head so that is where I started.  He was clicked and rewarded for allowing me to touch him, he was also rewarded for sleeping on his blankets....He was also rewarded for coming onto the sofa :D  Its taken a few months but I now have an old boy who will curl up with me on the sofa and take all sorts of treats from me.  Remember your own actions when dealing with a dog that flinches, my hound 'Ralph' would (still does sometimes) flinch when I picked up a frying pan or the remote control - basically I had to ignore this behaviour so that I wasn't reassuring his fears!  Sudden movements will obviously not help.  Be patient but firm.
Sarah

I have never actually tried clicker training! My older dog, Byron, was trained amazingly without the use of the clicker becasue so many people who I did the training with had bad things to say about it, e.g. the dog would get used to the clicker then when you zipped up your jacket the dog would hear the noise and expect a treat or if you did up a popper the dog would be waiting. But after seein what people have written on here I think I may go out and buy a clicker tomorrow.

Thanks for the good idea Rozzer.

Luckily my vet practice is very good. They allow you to take the dogs through and place them in the kennels yourself so you don't get the bad experience of them being dragged away from you!

On the slip I received from the vets it says to not feed the dogs after 9pm tonight although I have read on the net today that you shouldn't feed them after 8pm (and you've just said it too). Could it be to do with something that different practices preferences? I'm also going to see if they could do Alpha's op first as he hates being consciously aware that he is away from Byron!

With the not feeding times- it may be just that your vet starts operations later in the morning?
And yes i think its probably better for alpha to be done first- then he wouldnt get stressed seeing byron getting led away first, im sure if you tell them it'd be fine! If feasible- why dont they sedate alpha while you're with him, then when you leave he can be done straight away? just an idea that we sometimes do..

On the sheet it mentions that both dogs are sedated on arrival and it lasts for 18 hours (nearly wrote 18 months then - we couldn't be so lucky :D).

Luckily, my vet is flexible and very down-to-earth so if I asked for Alpha to go in first then I'm sure there would be no commotion. I think our practice does start the operations later in the morning as the dogs come home later than other practices I know of.

Anyway, I'm about to log off now and spend the night with the dogs after making dinner of course!

Speak soon,

Keira and the boys.