Dog behavioral problem - can anyone help?

[texas*princess]

Originally Posted by Tippiechick

Let's leave the dog at home alone all day instead of giving it a 1/2 a valium to reduce its anxiety for a car ride?

There is nothing cruel about providing relief to a dog. I would think someone a better dog owner who is trying to give the dog human interaction during the day than someone who prefers to leave a dog at home with puppy pads even though they could take it to their parents.

Generic valium or ace pills? Cheap. Hours of training? Not so cheap.
Pills? Will provide some definite relief to the dog. Training? Might work, might not.

I don't know about you, but the dog walkers here charge $10-15 per day...

I am not sure why people think it is cruel to medicate dogs who are averse to certain objects.

Behavior modification IS a great thing. But, not everything can be cured. And, medication is a valuable source of relief for many dogs.

If someone is not going to take the time to properly train their dogs, they shouldn't have one.

Owning a dog, regardless of it's past, is taking on responsibility.

The OP has not even tried to "cure" the dog of it's fear. She's only yelled at it and pulled on it's collar.

If someone is not going to be responsible and properly train their dog, they don't need to have one. So many dogs out there misbehave because they have ridiculous amounts of anxiety that can very easily be dealt with if the owners took the time to try to understand where it's coming from and get with someone who can help them. (i.e. a professional)

Giving a dog drugs without even TRYING anything is not helping the animal in any way... and she just shrugs it off "well he's already 10! he'll be dead in a few years so I give up.. I'll just keep yelling at him if his drugs don't work"... riiiiight.

Originally Posted by HotDamnImAPhiMu

Thank you. I was starting to feel crazy.

I'm dealing with a ~10 year old dog with a history of abuse. So, much as I love her, behavioral modification has been dicey at best. She's my bff, but she's not the sharpest crayon in the box. Or, to be more fair, she has a lot of psychological issues that stand in the way of her learning to act like your typical dog.

I've had to find a lot of alternative methods to train her. We get creative with the problem solving, but this one had stumped me.

What alternative methods have you used really, besides yelling at him, pulling his collar and asking for professional help on a message board? Just curious.

I get the feeling you just came here looking for someone to justify what you already wanted to do anyway.