Upon picking up Lexi tonight, I found that not only does she have a problem with resource guarding (being territorial), she is also a nervous mess. When we arrived at the house, she tucked her tail between her legs and growled and barked at us. I could see her anxiety, and didn’t trust her not to bite, so I had her owner put the prong collar on her. While she is not reactive to the collar at all, she would not calm down as long as she was in the house.
I had her owner walk her out the front door where her nervousness got better. It was at this point that nerves turned into resource guarding. I decided to take a walk down the porch beside her and her owner. As we walked farther from the front door, she began to sniff our hands and actually asked for us to pet her.
Her owner informed me that she didn’t like rain (it was raining), and I still wasn’t comfortable enough to feel that she wouldn’t bite if she felt it was necessary, so I had her owner walk her to the truck and load her. She loves riding in the tuck. She finally began to relax. On the drive home she sniffed us from behind and watched out the windows.
When we got home, it took some time to get her out of the truck. I got her to back away from the leash so that I could grab it. Once I had her on the end of the leash, we were good. We walked around the front yard for a little bit (in the rain), then we came in. I held her on the leash in the kitchen unti Faith got her kennel set up. She readily went right into the kennel.
Now we have a new problem. Once in the kennel, she growled at everybody who even just looked at her. This is a combination of the same nervousness and resource guarding we witnessed at her house. Because she has no leash on at the moment, each growl is corrected with the bonker. By the end of the night, we were able to walk past her kennel, and look at her from a distance.
When it was time for her to go out to potty, she didn’t want to leave her kennel. I tried high value treats, but she was too stressed to eat. I sat in a chair a little in front of and to the side of the kennel with my back to her. After a while, she finally stepped out of her kennel with her front feet. She smelled the air for quite a while, but when it was apparent to me that she was not going to go any further, I stood up and moved towards the back door. She followed me a little while, but when I stopped, she did too. I didn’t want to just let her outside without a leash. (I want her to come back in.) I waited, and she went back to her kennel. In order to get her to leave her kennel again, I had to go to the back door and open it. She never did go as far as she did the first day. I have a feeling that part of her reluctance to move towards the door is the lack of space. I think if I move the furniture to open it up more, she will feel like she has a better way to escape if something bad happens. We will try again in the morning.
Lexi’s previous owner has made sure to give me all the information she could think of for me. I have learned that there has been no correction given to Lexi after her attacks. She was afraid of being snapped at. This being known, I feel it will be easy to correct. She simply didn’t know she was doing wrong.
She also mentioned that Lexi was her protector for sure. Lexi needs somebody to protect her. As she begins to see that somebody else will advocate for her, she should begin to relax. This tells me to take things slowly with her – especially in the beginning while she tries to learn to trust us.
Lexi is afraid of storms. During a storm, she has been allowed to sleep at the foot of the bed. While Lexi was barking and growling at us in the house and on the porch, she received a lot pets and hugs. These actions have reinforced her anxiety and her reactions to the things that cause her anxiety. One of the biggest lessons she will have to learn is how to self-soothe.
My biggest worry tonight is that she doesn’t have an accident. She’s a big dog (200 lbs) with a big bladder. The thought of cleaning up that mess does not excite me.