Meet Carly
Carly is a rescue dog from Wake Forest, North Carolina. She was unfortunately living in a hoarding situation, where the people had too many pets and could not care for them properly - due to this, she has plenty of fearful behavior.
Carly started out uncomfortable of most house things - cups being placed on counters that made a noise, the microwave door opening/closing, front house door opening/closing, blinds being raised, plastic bags crinkling, or boxes being lifted or moved, walking through doors, etc.
She also really likes people, but simultaneously dislikes being reached towards at first (until she gets to know a person a bit more). People entering a room bothers her. People raising their hands has caused her to duck her head.
The two main categories that can lead to fearful behavior, like Carly exhibits, usually come from:
Lack of socialization - she wasn’t exposed to these things or situations as a puppy (during the puppy socialization period, where puppies learn about the world and what is safe, then afterwards often ignore things that were not important - that is, they didn’t need them to survive to this point in their lives, so are more wary of them - they could be dangerous).
Negative experiences - things or situations that did cause fear or pain, and dogs learn to avoid them.
Dogs can also have genetic traits passed on from their mothers to be more susceptible to fearful behaviors, or if their mothers were stressed while pregnant with them.
So if you see Carly duck down or cringe in any of our videos, please know this is not because she is being punished or mistreated; it’s from her previous life experience in a scary situation. Our training is always geared towards helping dogs build confidence with positive experiences - and providing motivation of things dogs enjoy - treats, toys, opportunities to sniff something or approach and play with another dog, etc.
Here is a video from one of Carly’s first days in her new home with us:
Here is a later video:
This is what we want dogs to look like - smiling, playful bouncy behavior, having fun and free from fear and pain.
More about Carly:
She loves other dogs.
She enjoys her two crates, and spends plenty of time in them. It allows her to have a safe base to retreat to and rest.
She enjoys daily walks with opportunities to sniff the environment.
She has done well interacting with her two cat siblings.
She is just starting to play bite and use toys.
We’ll have many more training videos of her in the future.