I have an afghan hound, approx 1 1/2 yrs old, bitch, unspayed. She is a recent addition to our household and came from a kennel in RI right from the breeder. Her history started out as a showdog, but later was kept as a pet since all of her teeth aren't in. I bought her as a pet. The woman says she is and always has been her dog, was never placed before. They are older, no kids and the dog was invited in to their million dollar house sometimes, but spent probably the majority of her time in a kennel, as she wasn't a real sociable animal. When I met her she was skiddish to me, but more accepting of my younger daughters, so we took her. We have had her about 3 1/3 months and is very trusting of me and the kids. She is very in tune with me, in fact, I'm the only one who can get her out of the crate in the morning. I take her out socially for walks, anywhere people are, and she's usually a little aloof to strangers, but mostly accepting, only when I am by her side. She generally warms up quickly. Our big problem with her is that she is TOTALLY freaked out by my husband, and was from the first minute of meeting him. Now, the breeder tells me that she has never done this before, or ever had an altercation with a stranger of his 'type' before, and i know that he has never done anything personally to this dog to offend her in any way, at least intentionally. I have male friends that she is wonderful with and has no fear of, again, from the very beginning. But with my husband, she flees from the room scratching the wood floor all the way just to get away from him if he as much enters the room. She will sit on the couch and nervously look back and forth trying to see him from around the corner and if she just hears his voice she goes into a panic. He is a normal height and gentle person with a normal voice and always treats her kindly, (super nice, actually). He has really tried to be patient and tried to get her to like him, but it's very frustrating for the whole family. She won't come to him which is a dangerous situation. She has gotten loose when I wasn't home,and my sick daughter had to go out with him in the car chasing her in snow down the street. When she caught her, he had to hide behind the steering wheel because she freaked when she saw him and didn't want to get in the car. We tried an intervention type of technique where I sat with her on the couch and when he entered the room we all just acted nutty and playful, trying to get her to believe that he is ok and a 'good guy', esp. when it's coming from me, the 'alpha bitch'. When I am not present, she is very bad around him. She barks at him now from her spot on the couch when I'm not there. She is a totally different dog when he is present, and sadly for me I know what a great dog she really is. She is a perfect animal to me(and the girls), playful, outgoing, very loyal and loving. I took her to obedience and she was the best dog in the class. Everyone loved her. I can walk her on a thread. She is SO NOT like that with him, looking up and trying to bolt away, pulling on the leash, skiddish and nervous always looking up at him like he's carrying an axe that is going to hit her. I've had him feed her and she won't eat food he's brought until after he's gone. He can feed her meat sitting next to her which she will take, but will not cross the 'invisible line' that separates them. I've had her sleep with the two of us on the bed which she will do, but she is always on the outside. She can sometimes act ok one day, but the next time she sees him it's back to the beginning and panic attack all over again. I know it took a little while for her to trust me, but she never acted this awful to me. I've had them spend time together, but she always reverts and it never seems to help. I know it's not a man thing with her, because there is not another person on the planet that I've met where she acts this way. I have tried Sepia so far after bringing her to a homeopathic vet. It hasn't changed her demeanor or panic attacks. Can anyone else suggest anything? It's now a matter of giving her back or not, since time hasn't mellowed her out at all. I wish I could really show you how panic stricken she is around him, and we can't figure out why. Please contact me also at reezbeez@aol.com. Thanks.

I sympathize with your problem, however her behavior is somewhat consist with her breed and the fact that she was a "breeders" dog.

For some reason she finds your husband's presence uncomfortable and you may never realize the connection. Having your husband constantly trying to establish warm contact has been unproductive and may be creating a conditioned response after a while. I would probably suggest that you both "back off" a bit.

Have your husband still feed but also ignore her behavior. If she wants to high-tail it out of the room when he comes in, thats her problem and trying to force her to stay might be reinforcing the response. You too need to ignore her and resist the urge to console her etc.

Forget the "alpha" stuff, you are not a dog and the dog needs to know that you AND YOUR HUSBAND are the "human in charge" to feel really secure.

Does she have a "safe place" like a kennel or somewhere to go if she feels uncomfortable?

By ignoring her reactions to your husband, by simply not even acknowledging her response you will convey the "whats the big deal?" message. Its kind of like a person who is afraid of thunder themselves trying to console their pet. If you make a big deal about it, the dog thinks there is something to worry about.

Hopefully Holly might see your post and offer more advise, as her speciality is dog behavior.

Not sure why the dog was given Sepia, you would need to list more info if you are looking for a prescription.

[ 31. December 2002, 17:25: Message edited by: kkrista ]

Hi Krista,
Thanks for your reply. I've had many afghans in the past, and none of them ever exhibited these skitzy tendencies. All of them have been somewhat aloof or a little cautious at first, and more catlike than most other dogs, but never panic stricken as she is sometimes. Most afghans I know are also very playful, loving and affectionate (as she is with me) but not in a slobbery way. Most are confident, and their confidence is high enough to know that the aren't going to do what you want them to do, unless they ~feel~ like doing it at the time. This type of behavior is not a characteristic of the breed typically. I see such a different dog than he sees!
She has a crate in the living room where she retreats and we often leave the door open for her to go in and out as she pleases. Do you think it's good to let her hide instead of closing the door to make her be visible and out there with us? We got her in late September, and pretty much did the ignoring until recently when we tried the 'intervention' thing that I described before. In the book I got it talked about using the person that she trusted the most (I said 'alpha' because she takes her ques from me) to let her know that it's no big deal. Do you think I should leash her to the area that we are most in and ignore her there? Just let her be to soak up the atmosphere and surroundings around her? Right now she likes to stay in another room and is kind of removed from the major activity.
The sepia was given to her after I had her at a homeopathic vet and we went over all the same things I said, but also because she gets very carsick. She will start to drool white foamy saliva after awhile in the car, then she shakes her head, and soon after it really starts to run she will throw up on the seat. She threw up 2 times down, and 3 times coming back from a ride that was about a half hour one way. Short distances aren't as bad. I try to take her out and walk, if I can, someplace after I see the drooling start to get pretty bad. I was also given ginger pills to use before we go someplace. I think the sepia was supposed to be an overall remedy for all the symptoms. I was hoping to see if there was a remedy that calmed the panic - and if it stopped the carsickness, that would be great too.
Re

Hi Re!

I've unfortunately seen quite a few abandoned afs and we used to have a lady who fostered cats for us that also ran a rescue for them. I do believe they are very sensitive and yes somewhat resistant (can also be quite agressive and definitly suspicious of strangers). The more negative aspects of any dog are usually present in "breeder's" dogs, expecially the ones sold as "mature pets" because they have problems and are not suitable for show or breeding. I've liked very few breeders that I have met, most are nutcakes or unscrupulous and don't do a very good job at raising normal, happy and healthy animals. This is not a direct commentary on your dog, as I do not know your particular circumstance, but this hopefully explains the statement in my previous post. However, we are here to help your dog, not speculate on that which we can not change.

Questions: can your husband leash her? If not, can you leash her and what happens if he tries to take the lead from you? How does the dog react around other dogs? do they put her on edge or relax her? Does she have a special "doggie friend"? Do you think the dog might go after your husband (any agression with the fear?, ie snapping, growling etc)? I noticed that YOU took her to obedience classes, where was your husband?
Don't take this the wrong way, but I get the feeling almost of a "girls club" with the dog included; where you do all the important stuff together and leave very surface gestures for your husband to join in.

For instance setting up "play time" is not really a respectable activity for dog and master (its good to let off steam and relax etc but in the real world of survival its way down on the list). On the other hand food and work (this would include obedience and certain skill games likes fetch) are rated very highly.

I also have to ask what the heck she is doing on the couch? Does the barking stop your husband from entering the room or sitting on the couch himself? cause thats a huge problem. Do you think if your husband confronts her that she will bite? Does she have good command of basics like "leave it", "kennel" (this could be very useful to you if you fear agression), "drop it", "wait" etc.?

I would not suggest tying her up or not allowing her retreats to her kennel for now.

In my experience remedies can sometimes aid in emotional disturbances but in most situations you have to make alterations to a "healthy lifestyle" as well (ie: abusive relationships are going to continue to be abusive unless people learn to control their "triggers" and this could mean all sorts of modifications on behalf of the victum and abuser).

To find a useful remedy a lot more information other than panic and car sickness are needed. Also more peculiar symptoms (ie many dogs get car sick and many have fears and phobias)I would suggest that you go under "discussions" and go into the post "Questionaire" to get an idea of the information required. I'm hoping Dr. Leela might find the time to assist here, she did a great job helping me with one of my "crazy cats".

PS I think a wonderful author is WC Meisterfeld; he really seems to understand the canine mind and has written some terrific training books worth checking out.

HI Kkrista,
I'll try and get into this case as well as the balding collie by tonight or tomorrow.
warm regards,
Doctorleela

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Hello, im new here... i saw several talk about a questionaire in discussion, i did a search but im not able to find it, can someone be more specific please or send it to me private?

Greetings
Marl.

[ 06. January 2003, 18:44: Message edited by: Marl ]

MArl, ITs on the first page of the main Discussion Forum.

Hi reezbeez,

I think your dog could very well do with a dose of Puls 200. IT should help her car sickness as well and help her to be less afraid of your hubby.

Keep us posted.
doctorleela

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Hi Dr. Leela,
Is the Puls 200 available in the health food store and how would I administer it?
Thanks,
Re

Hi Krista,
In answer to the questions about my af going on a leash with the hubby, she will but reluctantly. She is noticibly nervous and constantly looking up at him. She will almost never do any business with him on leash. He can't get her out of a kennel, niether can I if he is present. She sticks her feet out straight and holds her ground. I've most recently put her in a x-pen with no top inthe center of the room and she's been good about being in there, occasionally jumps over, but for the most part, she's in that now and off the couch. She will never bite him, she becomes a whimp in his presence. She barks initially, and/or flees, but then when he sits next to her she hides her head from him trying to not be seen. He frequently falls asleep next to her on the couch (before) and she would lay there squished into the corner. She will let him pet her and such, but always wary acting like she's uncomfortable.
I will try the Puls 200 and let you know what happens. I just need instructions on how to give it and how many times.
Re

HI,

IF you get hold of the Puls 200, then just one singel dose.
GPM has a posting on how to administer remedies to animals.

I doubt though that you'll get a 200C potency at a health food store. YOu would get only 30 C potency there, but you could place an order for a 200. IF you get a Puls 30, you may need to repeat at least 3 doses, one each on consecutive nights.
BUT i think a 200 will work better.

All the best,
doctorleela

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