My Bulldog is terrified of everything!

[AmandaPeterson]

I adopted 10mo old English from a breeder who has decided to downsize and my father got her mother. Mine is so scared of everything. She doesn't like balls, loud noises, when we cough, or a plastic grocery bag on the floor. She refuses to walk on a leash and when she does every sound outside scares the crap out of her. She has almost knocked herself out running to hide because she heard a sound. It honestly doesn't take much. My husband could hit his wedding ring on the coffee table and she cowers and runs away. My dad said her mother is the same way. I dont know her past, however I do believe she was raised in her kennel for most of her life until we got her home.

It really makes me sad because you see all these videos of bullies playing with balls and fun in the baby pools etc. and mine is scared to death.

Does anyone else have any experience with this and if so how did you help fix it?

- Amanda

 

[Rural mystic]

With patience and loving attention your dog most likely will grow out of this. She is young and will be more able to adjust. Before too long she will be wanting to protect you. Dogs are resilient and the bulldog breed is naturally protective but they do spook a bit at times over anything that seems out of place or unusual. Just be patient and easy and this will work itself out

 

[jimmyjj]

It will take time and love.
Diesel hates plastic bags, he wee's on them as well which ain't good when there fool of shopping.
And he hates loud noises.
Possibility to get her walking to to get a friend who has a dog and walk with them.
Reassure reassure reassure

 

[Vikinggirl]

Hi I also have a very skittish bully, he's afraid of his own shadow, and he also doesn't like to walk, especially when we walk down the sidewalk beside traffic. He's very afraid of the noise of the traffic whizzing by, and tries to pull away. I have been walking him by the road more often, to get him used to it, and he will walk, but he constantly pulls in the direction of home and wants to go back. In the house he's afraid of the vacuum, the dishwasher, our fans, he won't walk past the fan, he's afraid of any loud noises, and thunder.

 

[boxorox]

Amanda, we have the same situation. We brought Ruby home at 5-1/2 months. She had only been on the farm, outdoors, in a very rural area, with no people or noise....or even traffic. We brought her into our home, with 3 busy kids, in the city, WOOD FLOORS.....Ruby is also freaked out by everything and every single noise but I promise you that if you work at it, things will get better. Your bully will get used to the normal everyday noises. What helped us a lot was a neighbor brought their young bulldog over to meet Ruby. She actually taught Ruby to play with a ball that she had been terrified of. You need to walk her and take her where she is uncomfortable. Do it in small doses. Walk her when it is more quiet with less traffic and ease her into the busier times of the day. Ruby is terrified of people she doesn't know, but loves all animals. We got her to walk on her leash by walking with her friend Cleo, then by walking with a couple of our family members, now she walks fine by herself. Though she is still skittish when coming upon sidewalk pedestrians. We found out immediately that a collar was no good(she would fight until she slipped the collar).
We brought her to a very busy family gathering this weekend....we called it therapy. She was mostly scared the entire time, she did play hard with the other dogs and by the end of the day, there were a few more people who she trusted enough to let them pet her. We have seen huge improvements in just 1 month, but we are still annoyed by how timid she is and we are all working hard to change it. Our biggest disappointment is that everyone who sees a bully wants to pet it and talk about it......but she will not have any part of meeting new people, not kids or adults. Our goal is for her to let a child she has never met before, walk up to her and pet her.
Ruby seems to like riding in the car. She is better with the windows closed because it is less noisy. She likes to look out the windows so I try to do that a bit and expose her to the business of the city.

We are frustrated, but we are enjoying seeing the changes happening We figure we missed out on a a very important 3 months of Ruby's life and just keep working on getting her comfortable with our lifestyle.

 

[Drummer]

Boxorox has made some very insightful things above and I would like to add my two penny's worth to it.

Socialisation will help but if she is terrified like you said then it can cause other fears to arise. I'm sure that you dog has been seen by a vet and is in good health?.

I would start by investing in a crate cover it so it is dark inside and fill it with comfy bedding. When the dog is in the crate leave her alone don't even talk to her. If she is scared she goes there when she comes out you can talk to her. This way you are encourage the mind when it is moving forward if you start petting her saying " it ok , don't be scared" and so on you are actually encouraging her to be scared.

dont give full run of the house let her have the kithchen first or room that backs on to your garden. This will let her get to know one set of smells and placement of objects. Do not feed her anxiety by comforting, dogs don't do that. Praise her when she is just standing there not scared.

Let me know how you get on with the above and I can adjust what you might need to do next.

I am new here but a professional dog trainer and behaviourist.
Good luck and enjoy.
praise what is good ignore the rest.

 

[AmandaPeterson]

thank you all so much! Today she is at the vet getting spayed and I am a wreck!

We do have a wire crate and it is covered by a blanket and has a nice crate pad. It is in a corner in the living room. We keep it open except at night when we go to bed and sometimes when we leave the house. That is her sanctuary I like to say. She will go in there throughout the day and sleep. Other times she is at my feet or under tables sleeping. She only has certain parts of the house that she will go to. She will not go across the kitchen to the other side of the house and very rarely does she go to the front room near the front door. And she wont even attempt the stairs, lol.

We do have two older Pugs and she loves to play with our female but the female is old and only entertains her on rare occasions.

When we dropped her at the vet in the parking lot she took a few steps towards the door which was new and then froze. So she got lots of love and praise for that attempt.

I am hoping she will grow out of it and maybe the spay will help her as well but I am not sure. I just feel like her first 10 months were horrible being locked in a crate and she wasn't able to be a puppy or learn how to play. She loves her stuffed animals and marrow bones and takes them with her.

I appreciate all the insight and will try all the suggesstions.

-Amanda

 

[Manydogs]

She will be fine with her spay. I have had all of mine spayed/castrated over years, and never had a problem. I think a good thing for your dog would be -if you know someone that has a dog who would get along with yours- and is an out going dog,arrange play times for them-and let them become good friends. Then you and your friend (dog owner) start taking them for walks together-start short, and if that works gradually increase. Puppy time is very important as a learning time for dogs. Your poor dog
never had a "normal puppyhood" and was never socialized-so it will take a lot of time and patience for her to come around. She may always have issues about some things-but hang in there, it will be worth it, when you see her first accomplishment!(thanks to your patience!) Bless you for giving her a home!

 

[AmandaPeterson]

thank you. She did ok with her spay and the vet confirmed some other suspicions we had. Elongated Soft Palate, Stenotic Nares and narrow trachea.

We do have a friend who just got an EB puppy and we will have them play together as soon as the pup is up to par with her vaccinations. They have been introduced and get along fine. I think that is a great idea as well.