Fearful submissive dog becomes Territorial

I mentioned in previous posts that Darlin’ had been growling and barking at my family when they entered our home or a room where she and I are. Usually she reacts this way in the kitchen, out in the yard, or sometimes in my office. She is still fearful of my family, but has never shown signs of aggressive behavior.

She has been living upstairs with my family for five months so I had hoped she would be comfortable with everyone by now. Her barking started once she was comfortable walking through the house. Before that she spent so much time in hiding under my desk or in the corner of my bedroom, either in her bed or behind her bed against the wall. No one ever knew she was around.



Her body language has shown me she is becoming territorial. One paw up as though she is stalking her prey. Sometimes running to the corner of the room to get a better look at the one who walked in or who is approaching. Then she’ll run back to my side and bark her head off. Even my husband recognized that she seemed to be protecting me when he walked in the house after work.

Other times she’s caught by surprise while eating dinner with the rest of the dogs and she’ll stop eating and bark. If I don’t stay with her in the kitchen she will not eat. If she gets nervous and stops eating I tell her to eat and she will continue, but the one that caused her to feel threatened has to leave for her to eat. Gee, I just realized I’m standing guard for her!



If we are out back in the yard and anyone walks out on the deck or to the yard she runs to the middle of the yard and barks at them. I tried correcting her with words, “hush, that’s enough, knock it off.” About the only thing that stopped her barking was poking her and giving her the sit command. She would sit, but she was grumbling too. She has hound in her mix so her barks are hollow and loud. I realize I am repeating myself from pervious posts, but this is where we are now.



Some days when my son walks in from school I can’t even hear him say hello. He’s 16 and hasn’t had a lot of patience. Not only do I have to rehabilitate a dog, but I also have to educate my family on canine body language and make sure they don’t make matters worse by their approach or reaction to the situation.

I finally got to the point that I didn’t know what to do about her barking. I have a submissive gentle dog that never made a sound now turning territorial. Before this change in behavior I heard her bark one time, the night I approached the trap with her in it. Even then she only barked once and it stopped.

I wrote canine behaviorists for suggestions. She has recommended I teach her the “Go to” command. I am to designate an area and teach Darlin’ to go by tossing food. Well, this girl isn’t motivated by food, but she does love her chicken and cheese. Since I have four other dogs and considering the layout of our house, this method does pose some problems.

Her second recommendation was to put a short leash on her and as soon as Darlin’ barks to remove her to another room, closing the door behind her and leaving her on time out for 30 seconds. This way she will associate the bark with having to be separated from me. The behaviorist did recognize by my description that Darlin’ is protecting her most valuable resource – me! Also, Darlin’ does not behave this way when left alone with my family. It’s only happening when I’m at home!

I have removed her from the kitchen, but all I have to say is, “Go”. I point my finger and walk to my room and she goes without any problems. Of course she would, she wants to be with me at all times. I shut the door, go back to whatever I’m doing, and allow her a few minutes alone. When I go back for her she’s standing at the door. She does not like to be alone when I’m home. I think this may work for us, but I’ll have to be consistent. I have not been consistent this past week.

She follows me downstairs to the den, lies under the kitchen table at dinner, usually under my chair, and is doing well around my family. The only time this happens is when we are in the kitchen or out in the yard alone. Last night we were outside going potty when my husband walked out and she started barking her head off. I have neighbors that I don’t want upset by my dogs barking so I ask him to go inside. Darlin’ probably thinks she’s done a good job of warding off the enemy!





I think this is our only real issue right now. I do wish I could leave the kitchen when she’s eating, but when she loses her fear of my family this may also correct itself.

She does go downstairs to the yard without me first thing in the morning! That’s one less trip I have to make downstairs. I sit or stand on the deck and watch her in the yard, but at least I can stay upstairs. Other times during the day she won’t go, she’ll stand at the back door waiting for me. This dog has a ten gallon bladder, she can wait 12 hours easily.

We went for our first walk yesterday since the first time I took her out in July when she slipped her collar. I bought her and harness and she’s gained so much weight and filled out I could barely get it on her. I had a harness on her and a leash on her collar which I wrapped around my wrist. It wasn’t the easiest thing to manage having two leashes on a dog. The first walk in July was good, she was nervous, but walked well beside me.

Yesterday she was back and forth, in front of me, beside me, just all over the place and we only walked a few blocks down the street and never turned a corner. As soon as we got next to my neighbors property she froze. When I tried to encourage her to walk she bucked like she did the day she slipped her collar only this time it didn’t work! There is something about that lot that makes her want to bolt to the woods. She may smell water in the creek just beyond their yard, I don’t know. My husband came up behind her thinking she might move forward because he’s not her favorite person, but instead she submitted and rolled over on her back to give him her tummy.

It took a couple of minutes to get her to move forward, then she ran up the steps and sort of cowered in the corner by the door. When I opened the door she ran through and wanted desperately to get to my office. I quickly removed the leashes and harness and she ran under my desk. She was hot, nervous, and drooling as well – mostly nervous. I realize two walks in three months isn’t going to do much to get her comfortable walking on a leash in the neighborhood, but I have had some fear issues myself after almost losing her in July. Now that the weather is cooling off we will try a few times a week.

Regarding her weight: One day shortly after bringing her home she ran from me and hid behind the hot tub. There is a small gap between the hot tub and the house. It took a few minutes to get her close enough to me where I could pull her out. She was still very fearful at the time. Two weeks ago we were outside when my daughter and her boyfriend walked out back. Darlin’ got scared and ran to hide behind the hot tub. The only part of her that fit into the small space was her head! Her shoulders are so broad now she doesn’t fit so we heard a loud thumb when she crashed into the hot tub!

My friend stopped by unexpectedly over the weekend. Friends and family live miles away so the only guest we ever have is my daughter’s boyfriend. Darlin’ has adapted to him as well as she has my own family. Darlin’ barked at my friend when she saw him, but she quieted down right away and ran to my bedroom. While we sat at the kitchen table I noticed she had been running back and forth to the kitchen doorway checking us out there on the table.

Toby, our rough coat Jack Russell, is Darlin’s favorite playmate. She doesn’t seem to know how to initiate play with the others, but she wants to. She’ll sometimes run past them in the yard and whimper. She’s done that for a few months. The dogs just look at her confused when she whimpers. There have been two or three occasions when she got excited and ran circles around the yard. I get pretty excited myself when I see her so happy. Bonnie, our smooth coat Jack Russell, caught on and chased Darlin’, but it didn’t last long. Bonnie likes to be the one leading in a chase. Darlin’ treats Toby like her puppy. She will play wrestle with him, but it always ends in a thorough cleaning. She’ll lick him in every crack and crevice. I have never seen anything like it between two dogs this age. Darlin’ had puppies in her life; perhaps because of Toby’s small size she thinks he’s her puppy. I know it’s social bonding, I just don’t know why she chooses to clean Toby. When I pick him up she will stand on her hind legs and sniff him while he’s in my arms. She gets excited like I have her baby. One day he jumped in my lap while I was at my desk. Darlin’ actually stood and put her front paws on my legs, sniffed Toby, and when I leaned over she licked my face! What a wonderful surprise it was to get a kiss from her!







A few weeks ago when I posted an update I went to fearfuldog.com to make sure I had the link for Brandon the dog correct. I noticed they had a link for lost pets there. Being a curious type I scanned the lost dogs in our area. There was a dog listed from one and a half years ago with no real description. Since I’ve known Darlin’ a year I decided to send an email and ask if they found the dog. They had not. The lady provided me with the description of her dog and it sounded like my Darlin’. The owner of the lost dog lives in our county, but at least 30 miles away. Dogs show up in the strangest places so the distance didn’t concern me.

I sent her a picture and she wrote back stating that she wasn’t sure if Darlin’ was her dog, and that she needed to look at her dogs pictures to be sure. Not sure?! My heart stopped! She asked if I was keeping Darlin’ and in my reply I told her our story and confirmed that I was going to keep her. She sent me another email, but I was inundated with work at the time so I didn’t have a chance to reply. She did state in her last email that even if Darlin’ was her dog that she wasn’t suggesting I give her back.

I have always wondered about Darlin’s past, how she ended up a stray, and how long she was on her own. It’s probably better for me that I don’t know. And I realized after I wrote the owner of the lost dog that I don’t want to know because I would never want give Darlin’ up. I spoke with my family after the lady said Darlin’ looked like her dog and we agreed that the only way we would let her go was if they confirmed it was her by providing pictures. Darlin’ would have to show us that she was excited to see them and that she loved them. If someone had one of my dogs I would want my dog back no matter how much time had passed. Darlin’ is not her dog, Darlin’ had puppies, her dog had not.

Darlin’s history began the day I saw her running around that grocery store parking lot just over a year ago. She was mine long before then, it was just a matter of time before I found her.

Building Confidence through Curiosity

Once Darlin’ was living upstairs she became more curious about her surroundings and I began to notice her behavior changing. She started showing some interest in living as one of the pack and seemed to be enjoying her new location.



At first I’d have to carry her out to the deck after putting my dogs away. I wanted her to get comfortable going out in the yard from the upstairs and I hoped she would follow me without the fear of another dog in her way. She did it! She had not used the bathroom for 11 hours because of storms so she didn’t hesitate getting down to the yard. Since she took those steps with ease, I continued working with her, spending lots of time encouraging her with words to “go potty, that’s my good girl, and you’re doing great!” Usually I go down first and as soon as I start back up the stairs I hear her collar because she’s running right behind me. I’m hoping she’ll get comfortable walking down with the other dogs so that I won’t always have to lead her out to the yard.



Darlin’ was afraid of the dogs and they were a little too eager to meet her so that didn’t help her anxiety. I kept them all separated from her the first three weeks, after that I gradually allowed them all a little time in the yard under my strict supervision. Her tail was always down tight between her legs, she would freeze when one approached her, and most times if she could get away she tucked herself tightly in a corner. She is more comforable now, but still not acting like one of the dogs.

First introductions






Living as a pack member, not real comfortable with the dogs.





I loved to see her relax enough to roll and scratch her back.




In the daytime no one was home except myself and the animals so getting Darlin’ to go out wasn’t hard too do, but when my family came home she would stay in her bed because she’s still fearful of new people…or anything for that matter.



In the evenings I had to carry her out back. She ran down the stairs, but getting her back inside took a lot of encouragement or I had to carry her upstairs. There have been many times she would make it to the top step, but as soon as she saw me in the doorway calling her in she ran back down. I’ve have to be patient with Darlin’, but I have to admit it can get frustrating. I started trying the leash again on the nights she wouldn’t come when I called her, although most of the time I was standing in the yard with her. She doesn’t let me out of her sight for very long and follows behind, but she’s so careful about coming back inside. She’ll be walking around the yard and freeze because she heard something in the kitchen, at that point she goes on high alert.

When she does come in she runs to a dog bed by the couch, that’s her first stop. That’s also where I started giving her treats that she will now eat in front of me. For her to lean over for food within seconds after I lay it there is truly a miraculous thing for Darlin’. She went from not eating for three days, to eating late at night, to eating when I offer her food while I’m still present. I’ll take it! I believe she will be taking food from me within the next month. Paws crossed!



One mistake I have made is thinking (or expecting) that she’ll make progress everyday when in fact it takes a few days for her to try something new, which isn’t bad at all. During her sixth week home when she was doing so well living in the dining room, she discovered the shed out back. This girl has gotten herself stuck in some tight spots when she was scared so I don’t know why I was surprised that she could crawl under the shed. She went under and came back out twice one afternoon! And she came when I called her to go get her treat.




My daughter and her boyfriend walked out on the deck just about the time that Darlin’ made it to the top. She saw them and ran back down and went straight for that shed! And she was still under there 8 hours later!

I was pretty upset, I didn’t want her hiding out all night, and yes, I knew she would come out eventually; it just seemed like a setback for her. I took the dogs out late and could see her muzzle under there so I started calling her, but she moved further back. I started throwing Frisbee for my JRT and spent a little time just standing around the yard with them.

Once we were finished playing I called all the dogs to go get their treats, a word I know that Darlin’ has learned, and I called for Darlin’ to go “eat”, another word I know that she understands. She had also missed her dinner so I hoped she was hungry. I went upstairs to the kitchen and called each dog by name and started passing out treats, over and over with the back door wide open. Then I heard Darlin’s collar from when she shook herself in the yard. I kept calling out names and passing out treats and within a few minutes, guess who goes running to her bed in the dining room? I closed the door and went to praise her, when I reached for her head she sniffed my hand. I had been passing out Beggin Strips and that hand sniff meant a lot coming from her, it was a dog thing and I don’t get to see much natural dog behavior from her. She got her Beggin Strip and dinner followed, which she didn’t waste any time eating that night. The next morning my husband nailed boards across the bottom, now no one gets under there.

That weekend she had been outside and on her way in the house when she ran into my son, so she took a detour and ended up in my office. She found an empty space under my desk and laid there and napped. I figured that was the best place for her since I’m in my office a lot. Well, she spent the next two days under there and it became her new safe place. She hasn’t been back to the dining room!

It's nice to be trusted.



I gave her a bigger bed



Darlin’ made great strides last week in feeling more secure. There were many times when it was work getting her out from under my desk, sometimes having to carry her out, but she made several successful attempts to come out on her own. During the day I took time out of my usual online schedule, closed my office door and spent time watching television. I knew she would want to be where I was so she laid in her bed in the living room. One afternoon she even slept on the couch with her head against my leg! When my daughter walked in from school she scooted and hid behind me, but she did keep looking back at my daughter which is a good thing.

I went to check email and lost my spot on the couch.




At night I would sit with her on the couch, then I leave her there and she has slept there all night for a week. The nights when we had thunderstorms I did leave my office open so she could hide under my desk if she needed to. In the mornings my husband would open my office so she had a safe place to go if she feels nervous. She usually disappears when he’s not looking.

She walked through the kitchen a few times when I called the dogs for treats. She’s more curious now, but since she doesn’t take food from me she doesn’t stay long. Just seeing her in the kitchen really warmed my heart and gives me hope about what kind of dog she’ll be in the near future.

"Darlin', come get your treat."


There she is.



She didn't stay, but she showed up!

I have reminded my family that it took five to six weeks for Darlin’ to bond with me and we are still working on our relationship; therefore we should expect it to take as long for her to get comfortable with my family.

She’s doing fine around the dogs these days. There are occasions where the pack gets over excited for whatever reason, and she may freeze up, or may run to my office, but most times she seems to understand what’s going on with them.






I make a big deal out of everything I do with my other dogs, from playtime to treat time. I call everyone by name in front of her, they have to sit for food which she sees, and I praise like crazy. If she runs in from outside to her bed, then I pet her head and tell her, “Good sit” just like I do the others. If she has to learn basic commands by association, that works for me right now. Since she doesn’t play, is still fearful and cautious, and isn’t food motivated, it’s the best I could hope for in less than two months time. And more than I ever expected after researching fearful dogs.

I’m doing better these days. After bringing Darlin’ home it didn’t take much for me to get emotional. There were times I couldn’t talk about her before I went to tears. It wasn’t easy having a dog that was shut down and trembling in fear, a dog that was so frightened of everything that she wouldn’t eat. It made me angry that someone dumped her or abandoned her and left her out there to fend for herself…for who knows how long before I met her. Once I saw in her eyes that she was learning to trust me, each day brings me a renewed sense of hope for Darlin’ in the months ahead.

I take a lot of pictures. One day I took 140 of the dogs! I’m ending this post with some of my recent favorites. Keep in mind that Darlin’ appears like a normal happy dog in these pictures. I don’t take pictures of her looking afraid, I see that often enough. She has a long way to go before she has adapted to her new home and family and feels safe around everyone. She has gone from a feral dog to more skittish now, but a skittish dog is a fearful dog.

Response to Love

My friend emailed me a few days after I trapped Darlin'. She said that she had read a recent study where research showed that all animals (except snakes) respond to love. Kathleen has opened her heart and home to several cats that were abandoned or dumped at her farm. They were cats that most people would consider feral and unadoptable, yet she was able to domesticate them. I needed to read that email because I had been feeling blue that night thinking about Darlin being so fearful and how long it could take to rehabilitate her. Lots of love and a good home was what I hoped she would thrive on.

Darlin’ was here a little less a month when I moved her indoors to the garage kennel permanently. It would become her new living quarters. The first few days she would get fidgety when I approached her. I sat with her and continued with the same feeding schedule; bringing her treats twice a day and dinner in the evening. She still wouldn’t eat anything in front of me, but she began giving me more eye contact and started sitting up a little as I approached her gate. She looked more like she was trying to get comfortable, but it was her way of raising her head and chest up. Within a few days she was not looking away unless I offered her food. That week she showed me another side of herself, her gentle nature and her ability to respond my love for her.

She was happy there in the garage. I carried her outside to go potty and she would go limp in my arms when I carried her. I knew she was attached to her kennel so I started leaving all the doors open hoping that she would follow me back inside. She was heavy and I was exhausted having to lift her and carry her through our downstairs den to the backyard. My plan worked! It took a lot of encouragement from me to get her to walk back inside the house, but she did it!! And she mastered coming back inside within a day or two. It was scary though, she had to pass a TV and her eyes would get huge, she turned the corner at the couch so fast her feet slid out from under her, and when I put a rug there, she turned so fast that the rug slid too. She showed me how smart she was one morning by stopping at the corner of the couch, jumping up on the couch, then she jumped over the arm so that she made it just inside the garage before she ran to her kennel!



Even though I knew she felt safe in the garage, she was spending too much time alone and she didn’t want to spend anytime outside anymore. Considering that I spend most of my time in my office, I was at the furthest point away from her in our home. I needed to move her upstairs, at least a few hours a day. It was time for her to get use to the noise and people in our home. My husband built a gate for our formal dining room and I set up an area for her there. I remember thinking, “An antique glass collector moves fearful dog into her dining room.” Oh boy! I didn’t know what I was getting into, but this way she would have a place away from everyone, but see what was going on around her. She was still afraid of the dogs and would hide in the corner of the yard when I had them out together. At least upstairs she could get familiar with everyone’s routine, including the dogs.



That Sunday I was gone all day, transporting a Jack Russell to her rescue home. I felt bad about having to leave Darlin’ in the garage, but we had severe weather alerts in the area. She was alone 10 hrs that day. This dog has a ten gallon bladder and even though her kennel has puppy pads on the floor at the other end, she will not make a mess in there. She never has messed on the floor indoors.

Not only was she spending too much time alone, she was inside too much and needed to be outside watching the other dogs. I was told by a few Pet Finder members that one day I would walk outside and her tail would be wagging, just like it did when I use to drive up to feed her. That’s exactly what happened on 4/20/2009, just 5 ½ weeks after bringing her home!

I had put her in the outdoor kennel and let my other dogs out. I walked out on the back deck and she ran to the gate, but quickly ran back to her house. I went down to talk to her and she ran to the gate with her tail wagging! I was overcome with joy! I also realized she did not want to be outside! She gave me a play bow and dropped to the ground so I went inside and gave her a tummy rub. I had just witnessed behavior in her I had never seen before! She wanted to go inside and thought I was coming to get her! I did leave her there because we have had so much rain I wanted her to have some sunshine. She was so sweet, but when I walked away she had the saddest expression on her face.





And she spent more time out of her house that day than she ever had, including when the dogs were in the yard. She may have thought they would let her out!





Darlin’ was home six weeks when I started introducing her to the upstairs…where we live and spend most of our time. At first she spent a few hours in the dining room in her bed, but I took her to the garage to eat and sleep. Since she wasn’t comfortable eating around anyone so I wanted her to feel secure and relaxed during dinner. Carrying her up and down the stairs was no easy task either. After a couple of days I decided it was time for her to live upstairs permanently, although I was dreading having to take her outside. The only way to the backyard is to walk down fifteen deck steps - just something else to add to my already aching knees.



Those first few days upstairs were easy. She wanted nothing more than to lie in her bed, eat in her bed, and watched me pass by her. That weekend was more challenging for Darlin’ because my husband and children were home and she was exposed to new scents and sounds. I have to admit, I did, and still do, ask my family to consider that there is a fearful dog in the room. Right or wrong, I don’t want loud music or voices to scare her into a setback. There wouldn’t be a day go by around here where everyone is tip-toeing around anyway.

The dogs weren’t sure about having a dog in the dining room that they couldn’t sniff. I kept them away from the gate so they wouldn’t get overly excited. They ate their dinner, while she let hers sit until no one was around, so the smell of her food attracted them to her gate as well. She acted like she had never been around dogs before and still showed no interest in socializing with them. I was concerned about introducing a fearful dog to five dogs too. I have never brought a dog home that wasn’t introduced to them right away. And I have a dominant female JRT (Bonnie) that is quick to move forward in an introduction. I knew I was going to have to watch her body language closely. I had introduced all of the dogs to her out in the yard, as a group and one on one, but I kept the two females on leashes.



That Sunday night we had another round of thunderstorms come through around midnight. To my surprise she was out of her bed behind the gate; she was panting and uneasy, just like she had been during other storms. I opened the gate and brought her to the couch with me and she managed to settle down, but she continued to pant and breathe heavily. Darlin’ obviously has a noise phobia due to thunderstorms, but she hasn’t lived with me long enough to determined whether she has Neophobia (fear of the unknown) or other phobias. Yes, she has fear of the unknown with me now because she was living in the wild for a long time. She may not have had human contact for years and may have ever been inside a home before. It’s too soon for me to determine or predict her behavior as she is still being introduced to new surroundings and I have no prior history on her.

I have a small Eskimo Spitz that has fear of thunderstorms and I do not comfort or console her when she becomes anxious. Well, I have pet her if she’s in the bathroom when I use it, but I don’t seek her out to nurture her during a storm. I had an Australian Shepherd for 10 years that was also fearful of storms and I learned early on with Daisy that there was no amount of comfort or ignoring her behavior that could change her fear of thunder. She was six years old when I adopted her so her fear of thunder was already well established. If you have a food or toy motivated dog, you may be able to distract them, but once you stop they are likely to show a fear response again. Darlin’ is fearful of everything right now, so much so she didn’t touch the bacon I gave her and I threw it away two days later. Can you imagine a dog not eating bacon?

Canine Behavioral Experts recommend that you NOT comfort or pet a dog during any type of fearful situation. They tell us by doing so we nurture the behavior and condition the dog to continue to respond anxiously. Or that we are telling the dog through positive reinforcement that there is something to be afraid of. In my opinion this may be true depending on the dog and the dog owner, and whether or not the dog owner comforts the dog during every fearful situation.

I did take advantage of Darlin’s fear that night by petting her until the storms passed. I sat quietly and calmly on the couch watching television with one arm draped over her neck while I scratched her behind the ear. She moved closer to me on the couch and at one point she laid her chin against my leg. That night was another turning point for Darlin’ as she seemed so much more relaxed in my presence now - at least during a thunderstorm!

Since she spent time on the couch that evening, I left her there and went to bed. She was in her bed the next morning, but she sat up as though she wanted to come out on her own. Seeing her front feet on the floor made me feel like she was greeting me! I started encouraging her to go outside with the dogs, but it was obviously hard work for her getting her body to move forward and in sync with her mind. She did walk outside, with her tail tucked tight between her legs, moving as quickly as she could through the kitchen, with her head and body low to the floor. She began to trust more and I was so excited by her progress! I started leaving her gate wide open and removed yet another one of her protective layers. Toby, the broken coat Jack Russell, wanted to make friends with her right away.