Neo’s anxieties
- Thread starter Parodius
- Start date
Jacqui-S
Moderator
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Good progress. It always helps to realise things ARE getting better.
And he IS very handsome!
And he IS very handsome!
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
He is just such a lovely looking boy, I am very pleased that things are going in the right direction for you both .
- Location
- East Sussex
Really good to hear that you're making progress with your lovely boy.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
A lovely positive read - well done. He is a gorgeous boy 
What a lovely looking boy he is!
After a great start, unfortunately we have had a real set back with Neo’s training.
Annoyingly, continuing with Neo’s training with L’s mum staying with us was proving impossible as she was quite difficult at times, continually making loud noises around the house and disturbing him when he was settled etc so it wasn’t fair on him. I discussed with the behaviourist and we agreed to put it on hold until she left. Even more annoyingly, due to easyJet being a bunch of cowboys and my own general bad karma, her flight home was cancelled at the last minute and we couldn’t get her on another one for a further 10 DAYS!!
Thankfully the second flight went ahead last weekend and things are finally returning to normal around the house, however Neo has been a bit out of sorts. His alert barking has gotten worse and reintroducing the settle/alone training didn’t go well either. In fact he was worse than the first time I ever did it with him.
I know that setbacks happen, I’m just really gutted for him as he was doing so well and now we’ve gone backwards and he’s on high alert again which is such a shame. He deserves to be able to relax happily in his own home.
There is a positive though in that his confidence out and about meeting other dogs has improved over the last month or so. When we come across other dogs on walks off lead he checks in with me first before getting the ok to say hello if he wants to (not sure how on earth I managed that, I think it’s more to do with his nervous personality than anything else!) and he is more often choosing to play, so long as the other dog isn’t too boisterous and is happy to take turns at chase! It’s lovely to see him playing more with his friends, albeit cautiously
It’s hard to assess if the anxiety meds have been helping or not under the circumstances. He has his annual checkup and booster booked for next week so will discuss it with the vet then. Apologies for the whinge, hopefully we can get back on track
Annoyingly, continuing with Neo’s training with L’s mum staying with us was proving impossible as she was quite difficult at times, continually making loud noises around the house and disturbing him when he was settled etc so it wasn’t fair on him. I discussed with the behaviourist and we agreed to put it on hold until she left. Even more annoyingly, due to easyJet being a bunch of cowboys and my own general bad karma, her flight home was cancelled at the last minute and we couldn’t get her on another one for a further 10 DAYS!!
Thankfully the second flight went ahead last weekend and things are finally returning to normal around the house, however Neo has been a bit out of sorts. His alert barking has gotten worse and reintroducing the settle/alone training didn’t go well either. In fact he was worse than the first time I ever did it with him.
I know that setbacks happen, I’m just really gutted for him as he was doing so well and now we’ve gone backwards and he’s on high alert again which is such a shame. He deserves to be able to relax happily in his own home.
There is a positive though in that his confidence out and about meeting other dogs has improved over the last month or so. When we come across other dogs on walks off lead he checks in with me first before getting the ok to say hello if he wants to (not sure how on earth I managed that, I think it’s more to do with his nervous personality than anything else!) and he is more often choosing to play, so long as the other dog isn’t too boisterous and is happy to take turns at chase! It’s lovely to see him playing more with his friends, albeit cautiously
It’s hard to assess if the anxiety meds have been helping or not under the circumstances. He has his annual checkup and booster booked for next week so will discuss it with the vet then. Apologies for the whinge, hopefully we can get back on track
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
No apologies necessary and you will get back on track. That’s a real positive that Neo is gaining confidence meeting other dogs and playing with them. It’s good you are seeing your vet next week so you can discuss the indoor anxieties
- Location
- Cornwall , UK
Jacqui-S
Moderator
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Sounds like you are ALL glad your house is your own once more
I haven’t updated this for a while, mainly because progress has been very slooooooow (mostly my fault, not Neo’s!). Unfortunately L and I both ended up with covid and what with that and a few other things I haven’t been able to spend as much time on Neo’s separation and noise training as I would have liked. However, we are almost back to the point we were at before MIL’s extended visit, and now everyone is well again I will be increasing his sessions and hopefully progress will pick up.
I tried taking him to a training class again recently with a different trainer. She’s very good and I used to take my previous lab Billie to her classes for several years so thought he might get on better but it didn’t go too well. He was way over stimulated to be there and we were taken out the back on our own within 5 minutes as it was disrupting for everyone else. The trainer contacted me the following day to offer some one to one sessions instead, with the aim to join the group again when he was ready. She came round to the house but unfortunately his behaviour wasn’t that different to how he had been in the class. She advised she doesn’t feel her one to one training would benefit him either at the moment as his anxiety and stimulation levels need to come right down so he is able to be calm and comfortable at home first before trying to introduce him to other situations.
I’m finding it all a bit tough really as whilst I can do some things myself to an extent, I really want to take him to try different activities that I know he would love such as scent work, mantrailing or maybe gun dog training for fun, but I guess I just have to accept he’s not ready yet.
We took his crate down this week - when his SA got worse and he got upset in it a few times we stopped asking him to go in it at all but left it up for the last 3months or so with the door open in case he wanted to use it. He wasn’t interested other than nipping in to find the hidden treats every so often and so I’ve taken it down and replaced it with a new comfy bed. He’s always a bit wary of anything new, I’m hoping he will start using it as oppose to staring at it any day now!
I tried taking him to a training class again recently with a different trainer. She’s very good and I used to take my previous lab Billie to her classes for several years so thought he might get on better but it didn’t go too well. He was way over stimulated to be there and we were taken out the back on our own within 5 minutes as it was disrupting for everyone else. The trainer contacted me the following day to offer some one to one sessions instead, with the aim to join the group again when he was ready. She came round to the house but unfortunately his behaviour wasn’t that different to how he had been in the class. She advised she doesn’t feel her one to one training would benefit him either at the moment as his anxiety and stimulation levels need to come right down so he is able to be calm and comfortable at home first before trying to introduce him to other situations.
I’m finding it all a bit tough really as whilst I can do some things myself to an extent, I really want to take him to try different activities that I know he would love such as scent work, mantrailing or maybe gun dog training for fun, but I guess I just have to accept he’s not ready yet.
We took his crate down this week - when his SA got worse and he got upset in it a few times we stopped asking him to go in it at all but left it up for the last 3months or so with the door open in case he wanted to use it. He wasn’t interested other than nipping in to find the hidden treats every so often and so I’ve taken it down and replaced it with a new comfy bed. He’s always a bit wary of anything new, I’m hoping he will start using it as oppose to staring at it any day now!
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
He is such a lovely boy @Parodius and still very young.
I don't mean to make light of your worries but I think many Labs are disruptive to training classes! Cass and I were always in the naughty corner.
I believe I am right in saying that scentwork and mantrailing usually work individually, so perhaps those things would be good.
I don't mean to make light of your worries but I think many Labs are disruptive to training classes! Cass and I were always in the naughty corner.
I believe I am right in saying that scentwork and mantrailing usually work individually, so perhaps those things would be good.
- Location
- Cornwall , UK
Please dont lose heart . My Reuben was a teenage horror , couldnt ( or wouldnt ) focus on me at all and was wildly excitable .
My previous Lab Sam started gundog training at about 18/24 months of age but I decided to introduce Reuben to this wonderful world earlier than this . I cannot begin to tell you what a difference it made to him and to my sanity
I dont shoot but we follow the same regime of retrieving , it can teach them so much , how to focus and bond , ours is just for fun but for Reuben it is work , what he was bred to do and he adores it , maybe Neo would ?
My previous Lab Sam started gundog training at about 18/24 months of age but I decided to introduce Reuben to this wonderful world earlier than this . I cannot begin to tell you what a difference it made to him and to my sanity
I dont shoot but we follow the same regime of retrieving , it can teach them so much , how to focus and bond , ours is just for fun but for Reuben it is work , what he was bred to do and he adores it , maybe Neo would ?Thanks both for your comments and suggestions, I guess I just get a bit discouraged when trainers don’t want to work with him, even if I respect their reasoning. I will look further into 1 to 1 scentwork and gun dog stuff in the area as I’ve mainly just found groups so far 
I think part of my problem is I have difficulty ‘reading’ him at times and I’m sometimes unsure if he is having a typical over the top teenage lab moment or is genuinely anxious in some situations. How I wish they could talk!
I think part of my problem is I have difficulty ‘reading’ him at times and I’m sometimes unsure if he is having a typical over the top teenage lab moment or is genuinely anxious in some situations. How I wish they could talk!
- Location
- Malvern Worcestershire
I was going to say that is is relatively easy to read a dog, many body signals that they are anxious, but then I thought, what if I am wrong!!
It’s strange, I never had an issue reading Billie, I always knew if she wasn’t happy about something. Neo is a much more ‘serious’ dog than she was, always thinking. Don’t know if this has a bearing, maybe it’s just me!
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
I had some really exhausting times when Red was young and we went training. The best training we did was scent work and tricks - outdoors with only 2 other dogs. I get what you are saying. Looking back now I think Red did find a lot of those indoor training sessions stressful and she was anxious. At the time I thought she was just being a nightmare Labrador. Now I think I was wrong putting her in those situations with lots of other dogs. She’d go way over threshold.
I agree with others, try not to be hard on yourself. You will suddenly find yourself one day looking back on all of this and it will be history.
I agree with others, try not to be hard on yourself. You will suddenly find yourself one day looking back on all of this and it will be history.