Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.

Her tail is often down between her legs when I walk her (I think she's
after a squirrel or bird). She freaks out when I kill a bug, hammer a
nail, vacuum, etc. She paces a lot, usually around the coffee table
and in the car though I don't think she's "afraid" of anything, and is
generally really high strung. I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

I think there might a few things that could be affecting her. I
adopted her in Leesburg, Va (rural area) and was living in a
Washington D.C. suburb. A year and a half after I adopted her, I
moved to where I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

Anyone have any suggestions? (Sorry about the long post)

Mike wrote:
Hi, I'm Mike ...(snip)... I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try,...



Hi Mike,

I live near Pittsburgh, and would recommend Misty Pines Dog Park
http://www.mistypinesdogpark.com in Wexford for obedience training. I
am not affiliated with Misty Pines in any way; I am just a satisfied
customer. Best wishes to you and Callie.

Sheri

Mike wrote:
Hi, I'm Mike ...(snip)... I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try,...



Hi Mike,

I live near Pittsburgh, and would recommend Misty Pines Dog Park
http://www.mistypinesdogpark.com in Wexford for obedience training. I
am not affiliated with Misty Pines in any way; I am just a satisfied
customer. Best wishes to you and Callie.

Sheri

Mike wrote:
Hi, I'm Mike ...(snip)... I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try,...



Hi Mike,

I live near Pittsburgh, and would recommend Misty Pines Dog Park
http://www.mistypinesdogpark.com in Wexford for obedience training. I
am not affiliated with Misty Pines in any way; I am just a satisfied
customer. Best wishes to you and Callie.

Sheri

Mike wrote:
Hi, I'm Mike ...(snip)... I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try,...



Hi Mike,

I live near Pittsburgh, and would recommend Misty Pines Dog Park
http://www.mistypinesdogpark.com in Wexford for obedience training. I
am not affiliated with Misty Pines in any way; I am just a satisfied
customer. Best wishes to you and Callie.

Sheri

On 6 Feb 2004 15:36:43 -0800, (Mike) wrote:

Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.


I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

If she's having real problems with the crate, then you can just try
penning her in a small area, maybe with the crate in a corner, so if
she wants, she can retreat into the crate when she feels like it.
Sometimes the older dogs can have a harder time adjusting to being in
a crate. I would keep working on getting her used to being in a crate
in case she ever does need to be in one. Try feeding her and giving
her treats only when she is in the crate. Moving the crate to your
bedside can also help.

I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

Obedience classes are a good idea, but if you're expecting classes to
solve the behavioral difficulties, that may not be sufficient. Talk
to the instructors. They may give some private lessons on how to deal
with the difficulties, incorporating the lessons into the classes. At
the very least, they can give you some specific suggestions based on
your dog and situation.

I would be a little leery of advising you to get another dog before
you've done some more work with the original dog. Sometimes, it can
help, but just as often, if not more so, it doesn't help and can
sometimes, make things more difficult.

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

On 6 Feb 2004 15:36:43 -0800, (Mike) wrote:

Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.


I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

If she's having real problems with the crate, then you can just try
penning her in a small area, maybe with the crate in a corner, so if
she wants, she can retreat into the crate when she feels like it.
Sometimes the older dogs can have a harder time adjusting to being in
a crate. I would keep working on getting her used to being in a crate
in case she ever does need to be in one. Try feeding her and giving
her treats only when she is in the crate. Moving the crate to your
bedside can also help.

I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

Obedience classes are a good idea, but if you're expecting classes to
solve the behavioral difficulties, that may not be sufficient. Talk
to the instructors. They may give some private lessons on how to deal
with the difficulties, incorporating the lessons into the classes. At
the very least, they can give you some specific suggestions based on
your dog and situation.

I would be a little leery of advising you to get another dog before
you've done some more work with the original dog. Sometimes, it can
help, but just as often, if not more so, it doesn't help and can
sometimes, make things more difficult.

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

On 6 Feb 2004 15:36:43 -0800, (Mike) wrote:

Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.


I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

If she's having real problems with the crate, then you can just try
penning her in a small area, maybe with the crate in a corner, so if
she wants, she can retreat into the crate when she feels like it.
Sometimes the older dogs can have a harder time adjusting to being in
a crate. I would keep working on getting her used to being in a crate
in case she ever does need to be in one. Try feeding her and giving
her treats only when she is in the crate. Moving the crate to your
bedside can also help.

I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

Obedience classes are a good idea, but if you're expecting classes to
solve the behavioral difficulties, that may not be sufficient. Talk
to the instructors. They may give some private lessons on how to deal
with the difficulties, incorporating the lessons into the classes. At
the very least, they can give you some specific suggestions based on
your dog and situation.

I would be a little leery of advising you to get another dog before
you've done some more work with the original dog. Sometimes, it can
help, but just as often, if not more so, it doesn't help and can
sometimes, make things more difficult.

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

On 6 Feb 2004 15:36:43 -0800, (Mike) wrote:

Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.


I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

If she's having real problems with the crate, then you can just try
penning her in a small area, maybe with the crate in a corner, so if
she wants, she can retreat into the crate when she feels like it.
Sometimes the older dogs can have a harder time adjusting to being in
a crate. I would keep working on getting her used to being in a crate
in case she ever does need to be in one. Try feeding her and giving
her treats only when she is in the crate. Moving the crate to your
bedside can also help.

I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

Obedience classes are a good idea, but if you're expecting classes to
solve the behavioral difficulties, that may not be sufficient. Talk
to the instructors. They may give some private lessons on how to deal
with the difficulties, incorporating the lessons into the classes. At
the very least, they can give you some specific suggestions based on
your dog and situation.

I would be a little leery of advising you to get another dog before
you've done some more work with the original dog. Sometimes, it can
help, but just as often, if not more so, it doesn't help and can
sometimes, make things more difficult.

Ludwig Smith

Dog FAQS
http://www.k9web.com/dog-faqs/

rec.pets.dogs.info

"Mike" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I'm Mike and have a 3 and a half year old female
Rottweiler-(hound) mix named Callie. I adopted her when she was 10
months old and she was a pretty nervous dog then also.

Her tail is often down between her legs when I walk her (I think she's
after a squirrel or bird). She freaks out when I kill a bug, hammer a
nail, vacuum, etc. She paces a lot, usually around the coffee table
and in the car though I don't think she's "afraid" of anything, and is
generally really high strung.

I wouldn't be too sure that she doesn't have a fear-based/nervous disorder.
Her behavior certainly isn't normal of most dogs

I'm trying to re-train her to go to her
crate to may be help ease her anxiety but for some reason, she freaks
out pretty bad when I try to get her in.

IMO this is a very bad idea. If the crate causes her anxiety then using it
will only force her to into a panic attack (for lack of a better term).
This problem may or may not be related to the other behaviors. Confinement
anxiety isn't really that uncommon and forcing a dog with this problem to be
confined only compounds the problem.

I think there might a few things that could be affecting her. I
adopted her in Leesburg, Va (rural area) and was living in a
Washington D.C. suburb. A year and a half after I adopted her, I
moved to where I live presently in the city of Pittsburgh. I've never
taken her to obedience school, which I think I'm going to try, and am
also thinking of adopting another dog to help calm her down- an older
male dog. A friend of mine suggested that and she told me that it's
working out well.

A companion dog might help but if her problems are genetic or well-ingrained
then a companion dog won't fix her. She may learn some new habits, may
learn to feel less anxious in certain circumstances, all from observing the
other dog, but there's no guarantee. I would think that a male who is a
natural leader, without being aggressively dominant, would be the way to go
in terms of personality. You'll certainly want to have her interact freely
with some other dogs first to make sure that being with another dog is
something she'd enjoy rather than something that intimidates her or causes
another nervous/anxious reaction.

--
Tara