Walking a nervous dog

[Doolally]

Hi everyone,I've recently joined and have been reading all the threads with interest and hope I can get some input on my 'problem'.
I have a 4yr old JRT who I have owned since 9weeks old.he's an absolute dude and has been so easy to train-I clicker trained him from the start and he's just a delight to own.
He's always been a nervous dog,I had him castrated at 6 months old which I regret immensely as I do think he may be more confident now had I left it later,but anyways...
My mum looks after him during the week when I'm at work.just before Xmas she was walking him in the park at the end of her road,got into the field and bent down to take his lead off and 2 SBT crosses ran over and grabbed him.luckily the owner pulled them off quick and my dog was wearing a coat so damage was limited to his neck and legs.my mum rushed him home and called me,when I got there he was still shaking and hiding under the table but he limped out to me.i had to take him to the vets to be stitched up,but the worst of the damage was psycological.
He is a very obsessive compulsive dog, and has an obsession with water, any puddle or stream or bowl he comes across he pats the water with his paw to make a bubble then bites it, pats and bites pats and bites. Usually you can distract him, but after the attack he was doing it excessively - I likened it to him being like a smoker and needing 20cigerettes to calm himself down!!gradually the OCD returned to normal levels within a few weeks.
After the attack he wouldn't go into the park where it happened and as soon as he knew where we were headed he'd cower down and shake,but I worked on that by taking him to a distance he was comfortable with and then back home and gradually getting closer and closer and now he walks fine in that field, but if he see's another dog there even at a distance he'll stop playing and will just walk quick fast on a mission to get to the other side without looking at the other dog.
I was worried he would become fear aggresive with other dogs but I took him straight back out with nice dogs and he's been fine with every dog he's met since-if anything he's more tolerant and less inclined to snap at boisterous dogs like he did before. He was never nasty but he's a terrier and has a short fuse! Now when he meets a dog he'll stand still, avoid eye contact and let the dog sniff him, before he'll have a sniff and interact. I understand he's still worried and is avoiding setting the other dog off, but I thought he may turn into the type to bite first and ask questions later.
The worst problem has manifested itself in the past month or so.during the week when my mum has him she takes him out for about 1.5 to 2hrs and varies the walks.he'll be trotting along fine then all of a sudden stop dead and not walk.he won't come when called(normally recall is perfect),if my mum walks off he still won't move even if she goes out of site which normally he hates,put his lead on he won't move,he won't move for treats or a toy and just cowers down and shakes.it's not every day and not in the same places.sometimes it'll be at the start of a walk or sometimes in the middle.there's never been any visible dogs around when he does it but that's not to say he can't hear or smell one.he's done it with me too, but doesn't do it if there's 2 of us walking.
I think it's fear and something triggers his memory of the attack? he seems genuinely scared and just completely closes in on himself.
If we can predict him doing it we clip his lead on and get him working,but he can go from happy and running around to shivering and cowering in seconds and when he gets like that he just shuts down and nothing gets through to him.
So how can I get him to trust that he's safe with just one person on a walk?and how do I get through to him when he shuts down?as tempting as it is to put him under your arm and wlak off i know that's not the answer!!
Sorry it's so long, and sorry if there are articles that are relevant, i did look but couldn't see anything

[Fundog]

You know... while picking up your dog and carrying him is not *usually* a good idea, there are exceptions to the rule. Some situations actually warrant it. For example: When my Annie was a little puppy (and still small enough to pick up and carry), she had a great phobia of crosswalks, bridges, cars, crowds, etc. She would become so fearful that she would just lay down right there in the street, and not move. With a bridge, she would go out of her way to go around it, even swimming the creek and climbing a steep bank. If she could not go around, she would stand at the end and bark at me to come back immediately. So in many situations I simply picked her up and carried her... across the bridge, across the street, away from the crowd, until the cars passed, etc. She was comfortable in my arms, and felt safe, so it worked for us. Even now, if we are in a situation that she finds scary or stressful, she will climb into my lap, where she feels safest-- imagine a 60 lb. lapdog, lol Annie did eventually get over her phobias: I can walk her through a busy park, across a busy five lane intersection during rush hour, she can cross a bridge on her own four feet, etc.

[jacksdad]

My dog is half Jack Russel and also has fear issues. But he acts out and not shuts down. And while picking up a dog acting out is very, very risky to the dog and you, like fundogs says there are the exceptions and because he associates me with safe, he actually calms down when I pick him up in a bad situation. I try NOT to do this unless I am out of other options because I don't want to risk him "popping" out of my arms before he realizes it's me who has him and he calms down. When he knows it's me, it's like a light being turned off how quickly he physically calms down. when he hasn't clued in it's me, he still puts up a "fight".

So, you are correct, not ideal. But there are times you will have to do what you have to do to take care of your dog. And sometimes you have to manage (pickup dog and walk off) before you can "train" the dog into a new response. So again your right, not a cure or ideal, but it might just be a temporary first step.

I am not sure how to advise you how to help a dog that is shutdown, but I can offer some general tips on building his confidence that he is safe on walks with you. First, if he is scared of going back to the park where the attack happened, don't force it. which you sound like your not doing. Next, try and figure out what triggers him to go from seemingly happy and running around to shivering and cowering in seconds. Is it a dog, bird, human, cat, duck, squirrel, etc. Then deal with "it" for him. which basically means trying to see "it" first, and moving off in another direction, or moving so your between him and "it" as you walk on by. when he potties, provide some "protection", stand close and give him a wall between him and the "world". basically in a nutshell, you deal with scary for him. whatever scary is. if there doesn't seem to be an "it" that triggers, post back. I am sure we can come up with more suggestions for building his sense of protected while out with you. this may seem silly or to not work at first, but trust me sooner or later your dog will catch on. after a couple months of doing this, my dog will now pretend to not "see" something he doesn't want to deal with after I have moved him so I am between him and "it". I have also caught him moving himself from one side of me to the other so he doesn't have to deal with "it".

[Doolally]

Thanks,I thought if would be a big nono to pick him up,but if does make sense that it may be what he needs at the moment in the short time.
We don't really go back to where it happened as I can't trust those dogs to be there,and the owner hasn't got any control at all.
I really can't think what the trigger is.There's no inbetween,he goes from outgoing and interactive to shutdown in seconds with no obvious cause.We mostly walk in woods rather than open spaces so maybe he sees or hears things I don't?
I don't know how I can protect him if I can't figure out what I need to protect him from.
When he isn't having an episode he is outwardly confident and will investigate things and doesn't need reassurance,but then something happens and his little world is too scary to be in!

[jacksdad]

Thanks,I thought if would be a big nono to pick him up,but if does make sense that it may be what he needs at the moment in the short time.

Just use it sparingly, as there are real risks of injury to your dog and your self.

I really can't think what the trigger is....
I don't know how I can protect him if I can't figure out what I need to protect him from.

Just be on alert and really pay attention to your dog and whats going on around you. It might not be obvious at first.

[emmabeth]

I think picking him up in this instance is the right thing to do - once he is shut down like that, theres nothing other than something MORE scary going to bring him out of it until he is good and ready, and you obviously dont want something more scary to happen.. he isnt going to notice you waving treats under his nose is he? (I am guessing you'd have tried that already)..

So... i think i would pick him up making as little fuss about it as possible, carry him a little way and pop him down again when he seems interested in going down on the floor.

If you try this and find that picking him up causes him to panic (and it might) because you are walking towards whatever, then pick him up and go back the way you came for a short distance, then pop him down and do something else with him (just some sits, downs, whatever is easy for him that you can give him a treat for) and see if he is happy to carry on the rest of the walk (back in the direction of whatever made him sit down IF you cant see anything obvious - if you can then I think avoiding it in this case is probably the better option).

Whilst this isnt going to cure him, you MAY find that when he hears/smells something scary, he starts to tell you about it, asking to be picked up - which, whilst not ideal at least gives you a clue and is something you can work with, where just grinding to a halt and zoning out currently isnt.