What do i do with a scared subsmissive dog?

Question

I have a two year old dog who is afraid of almost everything. whenever there is a loud noise she ducks or either lies down. or when anyone walks near her she turns her head and avoids eye contact. whenever i put her leash on she runs away and trembles.
no one treats her badly and she never has had any traumatic experiences. she does have an older brother who likes to take her things and play roughly. but she seems to like playing with him. im afraid maybe he has made her scared. what should i do to make her feel more confident?

Answer 1

here's alink you should find very useful it's on fearful dogs by the humane society please check it out it even describes the symptoms your describing hope it helps

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/our_pets_for_life_program/dog_behavior_tip_sheets/fearful_dogs.html

Answer 2

It sounds as if the older brother is the one that needs the help. You have to ask yourself why the other dog seems to think he's the dominant one. He needs to learn his place in the family.
If it were something in nature (lightning & thunder) or a specific sound that scares her, then a nice back rub works great for dogs. I have a Schnauzer and when he gets out of hand or gets nervous about something, I give him a back massage and he calms down immediately. Now when it thunders he feels calm and doesn't cower in the corner or under the tables or couch. He seems to have related the effect from the massage with what was disturbing him and now nothing bothers him. Now if I could just get him to quit picking on the cat.......

Answer 3

http://www.siriuspup.com/behavior_problems.html

Enroll her in a class where the trainer uses gentle, reward based reinforcement. A smaller, quiet class would be best at first. This gives her a chance to do things right and earn praise and rewards. It will build her confidence. It sounds like she wasn't socialized much as a pup--socialization is exposure to lots of people, places, noises, and objects while young in order to prevent fear responses later in life. It is a critical part of the puppy learning process.

Answer 4

if she seems like she likes playing with him then he isn't the one making her scared..he treats her the way she is supposed to be treated..you need to remember that if she is acting strangly and you think something is wrong, its not her fault its something that is lacking in the training..most likely you coddle her too much and baby talk her when she is scared..that is the worst thing you can do..you need to be dominant, and don't make eye contact and don't talk to her. when you talk to her she thinks she is getting a reward, so when she is scared and you try to consol her ,it will only make it worse. you should watch the Dog Whisperer..he explains it really well, and its amazing how he gets these terrified dogs to be confident..try out Cesear Millans book and his website to get some tips..good luck

Answer 5

I have a neurotic, dominant dog. he's afraid of his own shadow, and will only allow me to touch him to put on, or take off his leash. when it comes to playing with the other 2 dogs I have, he's the agressor. some dogs are just weird. and I told him that when I wrote this down.

Answer 6

Probably a combination of lack of socialization and being dominated by her brother..
Do more things with her alone, take her to classes, praise her alot when she is doing the right thing and NOT acting scared and submissive.. Socialize her more,

Answer 7

Find a obedience class for the 2 of you. She will gain great confidence in the class and will become your favorite dog.