I don’t know what to title this.

[southern_pit79]

So here is the thing. Layla LOVES going over her Auntie Shelli’s house, (my neighbor down the road), and hanging out with her cousins, my neighbors 2 beagles. They have lots of toys there, a huge back yard to play in, treats, lots of humans to love her, and the ground floor of their tri-level home is like a basement being in the ground 3/4ths the way around no storm sounds in their house . When the oldest beagle had issues with her bad back flaring up and had to be medicated Layla first sat on the floor beside her staring intently, then laid beside her and wouldn’t interact with any of the people there. She even refused to leave her side to go potty. The issue is; twice the 2 beagles, which put together Layla is still way bigger, have gotten into a fight. The first time Layla jumped up and got in the middle of them. There was no aggression on her part her face was inquisitive… trying to figure out why they were doing this. It didn’t last long she quickly ran to me when she figured out what was happening shaking almost to the point of convulsions. It took a while for me to calm her down. The second time we were in the kitchen and she was under the table at my feet as usual when the fight started. She tried so hard to climb into my lap shaking so hard. It…worries me if that is even the right word. Not in what she will do, but what may have been done to her. If you have read my posts you know she is scared of rain, thunder, loud banging, dogs aggressing to her, and dogs in either their house or yard barking at her but not able to get her. She is such a sweet heart and I don’t know what her life was like before me. If these things are any indication she must have had a hard life. It makes me sad to think of that because I love her. One indication is the scars on her muzzle.   All I can do is pour love on her when she gets upset but it upsets me that there isn’t more I can do for her………..

[lillie of the valley gray]

When I found Lillie,she was very young,3 months old,and I wondered if she could remember her life before I got her.She is a very friendly dog,but,she is leery of strangers,most especially men.She doesn’t have an aggressive bone in her body,she just is unsure about some things.Most are funny,like when she was attacked by the hole,andthe weed,and the giant grasshopper that tried to eat her,but some are strange.When she’s with my husband,she is fine,but,when she’s with me,she gets spooked easily,and I wonder if something happened before she was dumped in my mother-in-laws yard that she could remember.I asked my cousin(who is also my mentor,and taught me to groom dogs)who has been involved with dogs for over 40 years.She rescued several,and bred champion standard poodles,and also rescued a pit a year after I did.One of her dogs Alex was rescued at 3 months as well,and had the same fear of men,because she had been beaten as a puppy before she was rescued.So,it is possible that this fear comes from her previous history,and the best thing you can do is love her to pieces,and try to comfort her when she is scared.As far as the fear of storms,and loud noises,ALOT of dogs are afraid of these things,and I have seen several natural remedies for calming dogs.There is usually stuff at natural food stores,and pet stores,but always check to make sure whatever you find is safe for your dog.Agood place to start your search is with “calming aides”,at a pet store or vet.

[lillie of the valley gray]

If you do a yahoo search for “calming aides for dogs”, you will get several sites, the one I like best is http://www.holisticpetinfo.com . It gives several different holistic remedies for dogs, and cats. Among them is: ‘composure’ by-vetri-science, ‘pet calm’ by- pet alive, ‘seda plus’ by-thorne rsearch, and a lot more.

[southern_pit79]

She is prescribed valium and that helps somewhat if I can give it to her before the storm comes. Of course I have to know it is coming, and be home. If she is already scared the valium has no affect at all. I will look into these thanks.

Although she is scared of thunder and fireworks she is not afraid of loud power tools, vacuum, mowers, etc… it’s been a journey figuring out her needs. My house has a flat roof so you can hear the rain, (great for people), and a lot of large windows and lots of sliding glass doors. There is really no escape for her from the lightning, thunder, or rain. I tried making a cave for her in the hall to the guest bedrooms, shutting all the doors and the sliding door that separates it from the main house. The hall is small and I brought it further down by emptying the linen closet of items on the floor and filling it with blankets. 1 of the doors I kept open and the shelves are low so I thought okay it’s a space within a space perfect for her to hide. She hid there once but it didn’t help her. She is making a little improvement. If it is raining when I get home, (summer in fl this is almost a daily occurrence), I go directly to my bedroom and lay in bed she lays on the floor beside me and I pet her. This seems to help somewhat. If I let her in my bed she paces on top of me strangely beside me seems to be more of a help. If I am sitting in a chair she crawls under my legs so it makes me wonder if she doesn’t feel safer, “under” me like I am separating her from the storm.

[kendseycollins]

I would absolutely bet that it has something to do with her past.  She may not have been fought, she may have just been in a fight at some point in time.  Bad fights can sometimes effect a dog’s mentality.  Seeing other dogs fight may just bring back bad memories.

[southern_pit79]

Thats what i was thinking, or she may have been where they fought dogs, just not fighting herself. She is so sweet i hate to think of what she may have gone through.

[Jessie1127]

I just joined the site, so yes, I’m a new face..

I too, have a pitbull. Well, he is a mix. But most of him is pit. We got Rocky from a pound, so we aren’t sure what all he has in him. He definitely has pitbull in him, and the wrinkly skin of a shar-pei. We think he might also have some lab in him.

We got him from the pound when he was 9 months. He is 9 years old now. From some of his reactions, we think he was abused in some way as a puppy.

When we first got him, he refused to go in our tiny laundry room, leading us to think he had been locked up in small spaces and left for long periods of time. Now, he is okay with going in small places. When he wants out, he lets out a sharp bark. If he doesn’t get let out within a reasonable amount of time, he will whine, bark, and scratch at the door. This took years for him to not be scared of the small spaces, but we started slow. We always went in with him, and petted him a lot. We also gave him lots of treats and praise. We didn’t want Rocky to be scared in his own house.

Now, I’m only 17, so I still live with my parents. We got Rocky when I was about 8, so I have had him for a lot of my childhood. Sometimes my parents fight, and yell. When this happens, Rocky does what your Layla does, Southern_Pit. He tries to crawl into my lap and he shakes. A LOT. He has gotten a lot better about it, but still, it is something that still happens. I don’t think he even remembers what happened the first 9 months of his life, I think it is just a trigger response, because we have given him an amazing life.

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