Not sure what to do!!

[kjgenest]

Hi,
We bought our bulldog from a breeder that wanted him for studding. Since he was shooting blanks they didn't want him. Not sure if they abused him or from leaving him in a cage all the time he is really messed up.

Rascal is afraid of everything. We constantly praise him and tell him it will be okay. We trying to help him and comfort him all the time. He is deathly afraid of the wind. Will not go to the bathroom if it is windy. He will not walk by anything new in the house. We can't use a retractable leash he freaks out. We have had him 3 years and has improved slightly. I don't know if it is fear or anxiety.

I feel bad that he is always afraid. We recently build a new deck. When my husband would use the tools outside in the yard Rascal would be in the house shaking like a leaf.

Any suggestions what we can do to help him. Recently our vet gave him some meds to use when he really needs it as she put it. We tried it when it was very windy. We gave it to him
2 days in a row. The only thing it did for him was make him very sleepy. When he went outside
he was still freaking out. He needs to have surgery on his eye lids but he will have a heart attack having to wear that cone for 2 weeks.

I don't want to keep him on pills but if he will be a happy dog I will.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Poppy]

Well I am so annoyed I wrote you a lengthy reply and then my iPad froze and deleted it!! Hang in there it will get better.

(I'll type it up again tonight)

 

[Cooper11]

He could have been abused but then he could be a very skiddish bully. My Cooper is also afraid of everything. I had a laundry basket up stair and he didn't see me bring it up and then all hell broke lose. He ran into it with his but and went screaming and peeing and run under the bed. Lots of bullies are have issue with being scared of random things.

My neighbors were building a deck and they had the air compressor on. I let Coop outside and they turned it on and he cam running up the deck and peeing all over. Scared him sh**less. And when he came in it took me awhile to calm him down. He was breathing heavy and his heart was pounding. SO you may just have a wimpy bully like Coop. Gracie is Cooper sister and total opposites she isn't afraid of anything.

[MENTION=2721]kjgenest[/MENTION]

 

[kjgenest]

I never thought of it that he could be afraid/skiddish. I was hoping I could do something for him so he is not afraid. With us having windy days over the last several weeks I thought I would try to find something to help. Thank you for you help.

 

[Davidh]

He was most likely a crate dog all his life and never got socialized to anything. He may never grow out of it. All you can do is reassure him the best you can and try to stay calm yourself. There are bullies that are just scaredy cats. My boy Buddy doesn't like anything out of place, he will bark at it. So hang in there and just keep working with him on it.

 

[kjgenest]

I remember the day we got him. We brought him in the house and he sat in the living room. He would not go anyplace he just sat there. We had to put a leash on him to walk him into the other rooms. They claimed he had been in their house and was use to being in the house. I think he lived a sad life in a cage. My husband bought him for me. Rascal is attached to him at the hip. I think Rascal is like that with my husband since he saved Rascal's life. He only weighed 35 pounds. Our vet told us to put weight on him. He now weighs 50 lbs and looks great. We never owned a bulldog before. We had a bull mastiff prior which we lost to cancer.:D

 

[RiiSi]

I have to wonder what kind of a breeder he was where you got him from??? Lucky Rascal that you saved him. Ounåds like you need some professional dog whisper kind of help. The problem with comforting when anxious can mean for the dog that it is ok to be anxcious and afraid and is not really helping him to get rid of the fear.

 

[MamaAndi]

Does he like other dogs? Maybe if he could be around another well adjusted dog he would be less anxious?

Another thought...is his eyesight good? If he is starting to get cataracts or something and having difficulty viewing his surroundings he could be scared of everything (anything he can't see well anyway). Those are just thoughts, I wish you the best of luck with him.

 

[Sherry]

Wow, three years you have him. Thank goodness you are trying to fix his problems. Please post pictures of him, I would love to see him. I am surprised it is taking so long. The only advise I can think of is trust with peace and quiet until he warms up. Nice and quiet to build up the trust.

 

[LariP]

HRH is affectionately referred to as Princess Chicken when it's windy, or raining, or snowing, or someone puts something scary in her path.
We got her at age 3 1/2 as a retired breeder.
She is loving and affectionate to us, but likes routine and prefers to stay in "her" room here in the house. It's the room we spend most of our time in. She acts like the boogy man lives in the kitchen. It took us a year to get her to come in there to eat her meals, and she still won't stay in there alone for more than a minute. she hates outside and only goes out willingly twice a day. She wants back in immediately after doing her business.

We tried a thunder shirt on her with a little improvement except it just doesn't quite fit her right (she is too short bodied for it) so we don't think it helps as much as it could if it fit better. They are worth looking into though. Google Thundershirt.com

 

[Fontanafox]

I have a scaredy-cat dog Wilson but I've had him all his life so it's just the way he is. He's scared of sudden movements, loud noses and maybe not so loud (like me dropping something on the floor upstairs), overhead anything (ceiling fan which I don't turn on unless an emergency like when I burn something on the stove heehee, when I pull out the trashbag out of the trashcan, and wind outside too! But I try to concentrate on what he's not afraid of. He doesn't seem to be afraid of going on walks or hearing other dogs bark at him. He doesn't seem to mind raindrops -- but if one little raindrop hits my BabyGirls nose, she puts her rear in gear and backs it up pronto! If BabyGirl sniffs an earthworm and it wiggles and touches her nose she runs home to mama! Wahhhhhhh! Well what can you do? Just be there for them and since it's been three years than you've done your job. I've stopped feeling bad for Wilson because pity doesn't help anyway so I just give him all the lovin I can muster like I do the others. He gets extra belly rubs when he's in a relaxed state and belly up and so I feel like I'm rewarding him for being "chill."

 

[karenben]

for a start forget about what may/may not have happened to him before you got him,comforting a dog when its scared of something just makes it feel more anxious about the particular thing,if my bulldog suddenly developes an irrational fear of something ,say a wheelie bin thats on the street whilst out walking then i just quicken the pace and walk her past it,the worst thing you can do is talk soft to the dog trying to comfort it,i know it sounds harsh but its the only way ,bulldogs are a very strange breed ,i think one of the worst breeds for this kind of problem ,my advice would to be make him face the things he is scared of,i dont mean in a harsh way but if its windy then pop the lead on and walk him round the block ,jog a bit so that he has to move a bit quicker trying to take his mind off the wind ,he will focus on you,but dont be tempted to say things like ,oh its ok boy dont be scared ,he doesnt know what your saying of course but will pick up on your tone and this will lead him to think that its ok to be scared of the wind just reinforcing the behaviour,i really dont mean to sound harsh or unkind ,i also love my bulldog ,but it is the only way of breaking the irrational fears these dogs have,it will take a while but you can do it and your dog will learn to not even think about the things hes scared of eventually,good luck,karen

 

[GRACIE11]

Wow, you have gotten alot of great advice

 

[2BullyMama]

As most have sad... bulldogs tend to be OCD and afraid of a lot of things. Do not comfort him when he is acting like this.... try to ignore, as the comfort tells him it is OK to behave that way. Get rid of the retractable leash and use a regular leash so he can feel you are with him and secure. also, if you are nervous about how he will react, he will pickup on that feeling and tense up more. Take things slow and have treats on hand so when he does what you want or does not show fear... praise him and give him a treat. You may never get rid of all the fear, but he will progress slowly.

Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Vicaroo1000]

Fantastic advice here!

Cesar Millan says that fearful dogs are way harder than aggressive dogs to rehabilitate. It's not gonna be easy - but you're doing it! Stay with it!