I have noticed a change in Bijoux since we have moved out, she has become skittish. We used to live in a quiet area, now there is traffic, she is afraid of the cars to the point where she is darting around on her leash and if I keep her beside me to try and have her just cope with the noise she is still freaked and shaking. People, she now runs from, car rides all of a sudden she is showing classic anxiety panting and shaking, these are all new behaviours. I don't understand where I went wrong we did puppy socialization classes I took her everywhere and had her meet everyone. She was fine, a bit timid but with constant exposer was dealing with new things very well.

The only thing I can think of is that not having Lincoln in her life has made her face these things alone and I am just not enough support for her. I walk her everyday to try and get her use to the noise of cars but I have seen 0 change, I always take her to the pet store because the staff there know that i am working with her, they are great but again no change.

We have been here a month now, I would have liked to see a bit of her confidence coming back by now, just a small sign that I am helping her deal with these new fears correctly but I don't think I am. I looked into puppy classes but I can't get there as it is out of town with no public transit, and I am afraid taking her to the dog park will result in fear aggression or even worse anxiety.

I just feel like she isn't living to the fullest I want to help her become confident. Advice?

ps it's not medical she just had her post
spay exam and blood panel drawn

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Bless her heart (and yours)!!

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I have the same problem with Penny.. When she is with Lion she is the brave one, but alone she acts skittish at times. You are right about not taking her to the dog park- it can be really overwhelming for them, even with other small dogs. I took Lion & Penny to the small dog park yesterday and Penny was chased by a dog twice her size. It was just trying to play but it really scared her. Next time I will go on a weekday when the park isn't so busy. Maybe that would be something you can try?

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Thanks LS!

That sound like a great idea I'll try that I know that if there was a dog chasing her just to play she would bolt out of fear, it's like zero recall at that point...perhaps I'll keep a leash on her if there are a few dogs...

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Charlie is very timid also, basically the same as you describe Bijoux's behaviour. He was five months old when I purchased him from a breeder and I don't think he'd ever left her house. She gave her own vaccinnations so I'm not sure he'd even been to the vet. He is perfectly healthy, thank goodness, but I am worried that he will always be timid.

I am still trying with him. I've also been carrying him to a pet supply store which is the only place he's seemed comfortable. He also hates to ride in the car but loves to go for walks up and down the street in front of our house so I take him for a short ride, run in a store somewhere for a few minutes, and then take him for a walk so the trip ends on a pleasant note. Is there something she particularly enjoys doing or eating that you can use for a special reward? Also, I am interested to hear what everyone else has to say.

Hey we can have a puppy play date bijoux is probably 3 times beaus size so maybe she'll feel more comfortable? Lolol he needs more socialization too he's fine around other dogs and around people but he lives with 2 giant labs that toss him around

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I love that idea Sherri! I am off for school in the next few weeks a playdate is for sure in order

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Do you guys have doggy daycares there?? We took Tequila to one quite a bit when she was a pup. It of course depends on where you go; but most places have a person on hand that monitors a small group of dogs and they separate them accordingly by size, age, energy level, etc.
It was a lot better than a dog park IMO because it allowed her to still have a person near her that was well educated in dog training/behavior who helped her "ease" into the pack; and not just depending on other dogs owners to control their dogs properly. Plus it's not as risky as you know the dogs there have already been temperament tested by one of the employees; and they require proof of vaccines (whereas most dog parks insist you have to; but unless there is someone at the gate/entrance checking there isn't much security.) The only downside is you can't really "see" how she's doing unless you have one of those fancy places that keeps a webcam up. The one we go to takes pictures and puts them on their facebook page. But I have a good relationship with the workers there, they had always been honest about her shy days and how she did. They didn't try sugar coating everything just to get me to come back as some places do. After one day you'll be able to get a good vibe; if they go on and on gushing about how much she played with everyone else and you KNOW that isn't like her at first; and they bring her out looking scared; thats your sign lol. They were very upfront about how Tequila spend most of her first day glued next to the "counselor" but eventually reached out to play with some of the tiny dogs. Each day she got better and better.
Doggy daycares are an awesome place and most people just overlook them as a boarding or place to take them while they're at work. I am home with my dogs 95% of the time but we still made a point to bring Tequila there a lot when she was younger so she could have monitored exposure to other dogs and people that were there and knew how to make the experience positive. Cresteds are not common here and she was the first they'd seen so she had a lot of the employees, trainers, groomers etc. very happy to work with her lol. I'm sure with Bijoux being the gorgeous stunning merle she is, she would get just as much attention and people willing to help!

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