Bless his heart - this sweet, 6 year old, poodle/shih tzu mix is absolutely terrified. He is nervous meeting new people and is not fond of loud noises. Poor boy has a very difficult time relaxing. Since bringing him into my home, he has attached himself to my daughters. There are times he is so terrified that he will not even eat.
So we are now implementing classical counter conditioning techniques. This may take a very long time, as this is an even more severe case than the other three fear cases that I have worked with, but Colby is worth it.
What is classical counter conditioning all about? Basically I want to re-teach Colby to have a pleasant experience with something he once feared, in his case it is generally with strangers. While Colby is quickly bonding with my children, he is still anxious and showing warning signs when I approach him. To overcome this, I am tossing a high value treat in his direction, such as tiny piece of ham. After a few minutes, I am able to offer him the ham from my hand. There can be no sudden movements or loud sounds to interrupt our session. Nothing can be forced. After four days of doing this at random times of day for a few minutes, Colby now allows me to approach him and put his leash on. Baby steps. This may seem like a very slow process, but as I said - nothing can be forced or he will regress.
Tomorrow, we are venturing to Dr. Jarrett's office to update his shots. With his fear of strangers, he may need to be muzzled, however we want to make sure he is healthy and there is no medical reason for his fears. We will also be updating his shots.
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