Ayla's new fear.....?

Question

I have been fostering Ayla (boxer) for around 2 months...she was beat and starved..sad!! Now shes Gaining weight... I have found one of her fears that I cant shake from her...spray bottles, empty or not. She will run down the hallway, up the stairs then shoot in her crate

What can I do to help her?!

Answer 1

what i would do is put her on a leash, have some treats in my pocket, and then get the bottle, let her sniff it, if she acts calmly then give her a treat, if she freaks out, keep holding her until she is calm then praise and give her a treat she'll start to realize the bottle is nothing to be afraid of and will associate it with love and treats...to me the only way to get rid of a fear is to face it head on.

Answer 2

Leave out a spray bottle.  Just some where in your house where she frequents, on the floor.  Let her approach it on her own, in her own time.  After a while, you can try picking it up and using it around her - but with an empty bottle, pointed away from her.  Praise her and giver her a treat if she approaches the bottle on her own.   It may take a while, but if you can desensitize her towards the bottle, it should help.  Good luck and congrats on fostering!

Answer 3

get a LOT of peanut butter and fill that spray bottel with a bakers thingie they decorate cakes with let her see you fill it and give her a little each time gradually take new spray bottels out with the peanut butter one....hope i helped.

Answer 4

Leave one out on a counter to familiarize her with the sight of it. She obviously feels safe in her crate. You could leave one out near her crate. Then start leaving one on the floor in a heavy traffic area. Ask her if she wants a treat, and stick the treat in a spray bottle while she watches, once she's familiar with the sight of them. She should eventually want to approach the bottles.

If she never overcomes the fear, just keep her in her crate while you're doing your house cleaning. :P It couldn't hurt her.

One important thing is not to baby her when she displays her fear of these. If you baby her, you're only reinforcing her fear of the objects.

Answer 5

Soo um i think you need to lock her in a room sit her down and pet her , with the bottle in the corner.

. then put a leash on her and put the bottle next to her still petting her but not allowing her to run away!

then get some treats and everytime she doesnt try to run away give her one. do this slowly.

wotk on it for about 1 hr every day till she gets a bit better than you can shorten the time!

hope i helped and please please dont force her!

Answer 6

I would place spray bottles in different areas of the house,and place treats close to them so she has to go near them to get the treats. Don't say anything or pay any attention to her if she whines to have you get the treat.Soon she should get up the courage to get the treats and realize that the bottles are not going to hurt her. When she goes near the bottles to get the treats,praise her!!

Answer 7

She may have had an owner who did this to her so all I can think to do is let a spray bottle lay around..maybe stick something in the top of the bottle take the spray part off so she can get used to seeing lay around for a few days and get curious about whats in the top of it like maybe a bit of peanut butter..She will definitely smell it. When she goes near the bottle tell her good dog! or it's okay...then add the top to it and put something like peanut butter on it and let her l**k at it..Give her time and let her do it in her time..do not try to over praise, she will think to much about it..

Answer 8

Her anxiety sounds very severe if she is taking the flight response. It might be effective if you find something she loves more than she hates the water bottle, like food or a toy. Something powerful enough to distract her attention from the spray bottle and simultaneously create a positive assiciation. It is important to start slowly and never force a certain behavior. If she loves food, you can try places they spray bottle far enough away, but clearly visible, while she eats, gradually reducing the distance between the bowl or treat and the bottle until she no longer shows concern for the spray bottle. If she has a favorite treat, you could try hiding pieces inside the bottle once she has tolerated its presence, making it a game to get them out.  

Answer 9

i agree with Kips Mom. leave a few scattered around on tables etc. she needs to be desensitized.

i had a horse for 5 yrs before we discovered his fear of umbrellas (at a parade no less!). we tied a few to the corral fence (opened) and in about a week he was playing with them.

BY THE WAY!! my cats name is AYLA. where did your dog get her name? did you name her?

Answer 10

Associate the spray bottle with something good.

When you feed her, have the spray bottle. When you treat her, have the spray bottle. Not even in your hands, maybe attached to your belt loop or something.

The first answer was excellent as well.

Answer 11

My grandparent's dog, Sugar, had a similar problem; she was abused, and if they picked up almost anything, specifically big things, she would run and hide. With fixing the problem, just keep spray bottles around so she sees them a lot. Empty, full, blue, brown, doesn't matter. Don't pick them up for a bit, just leave them on the ground, where she can keep an eye on them and know that they aren't a threat. Then start using them more around her, kinda slowly and cautiously so she knows what you are doing; at the same time, make sure you don't baby her or completely avoid using spray bottles, because then you're dealing with her fears instead of letting her deal with them, and she'll never get over it.

Answer 12

This is what I would do.  Take the spray bottle into a room she spends time in - like the living room, and put it on something, like the coffee table.  Somewhere she can see it.  Then - ignore it - don't touch it, don't move it, nothing, for a day or so, until she is okay with it.  Then move it somewhere else.  And repeat - until she gets so used to seeing it, that it no longer holds any power over her.

Good luck!

Answer 13

I wish I could help, but I got nothin'

Loki has some strange fears from his past, and only time has made him loosen up. He was terrified of his crate when we got him...but we associated it with food, so now he loves it. Not sure how that would work for a spray bottle though.

Edit: I think Kip's Mom's idea is fantastic! :)