That’s definitely something I’m wanting to save for! I just don’t know how he’d do with it… he’s got massive kennel/crate anxiety. He’s broken and worn down teeth from trying to escape every type hes been in. I know these were recommended for that since he wouldn’t be able to get his teeth on it the same way. I just wish I could know he’d actually feel comfortable in it when he’s panicked with all the others 😭

Our trainer sells some, so I might ask him if he’d be willing to work him with one to see his reaction. It’s about the only way I think he could “test” one out and see if he’d even like it.

I know when I upgraded to a heavy duty, he loved it over all the others. I don’t know what happened, but one day, he just snapped with that kennel too. He does PHENOMENAL free roaming the house now, but he avoids all kennels we have in and around the house 😅

Thank you everyone!! I actually had my fiancé and brother shoot off their different guns at the back of our property to test out the loud white noise theory with our stove vent, and it worked!! Until I turned it off by accident 🤦🏼‍♀️

So luckily our master bathroom vent is industrial style and LOUD! With our closet in there, I’m going to clean it out and try to make a “den” out of it. Tonight, a local place about 3 miles from our home will be doing fireworks. I plan to use this as a chance to try out several suggestions. I’m hoping to keep him in the bathroom distracted with training, games, and puzzles, as well as laying in the closet with him. Hopefully he’ll learn that will be a safe place to hide and we can leave the vent on the whole time we’re gone on the trip just in case of residual fireworks through the weekend.

I’m going to let the sitter know to not let him out unsupervised to minimize any chance of him running off from a random firework or gunshot since I know he’ll be more edgy and flighty.

I’m going to look into the ear protection and vest for him in the future. I’m confident that we’ll be as prepared as possible, and I know he is confident in finding comfort in me.

STAY SAFE OUT THERE. REGISTER YOUR CHIPS. AND BE VIGILANT FOR YOUR BABIES 💛

I think the sedatives cause more anxiety too. I think he knows it dulls his senses and he wants to be vigilant. He’s hid under the bed a few times, so I think I’m going to set up some of his blankets under there as well as moving all shoes out of our closet and making it a den too. I’m going to show him that this time and probably sleep in there with him the first time too

The see through stairs! We used to have that at our place the first few months I had him! Took us 30 minutes to get to our 2nd floor for the first few days 🤦🏼‍♀️ he kept trying to tell me it was the scariest thing ever and I swear he thought he’d die 🤣

I’ll give it another try being extra mindful of my tone! So far he hasn’t cared much to focus on any work when he’s anxious like that. He does look to be held and petted, which I do of course lol

That absolutely makes sense! I know a lot of shepherds can be very sound sensitive. He doesn’t show any cares for most noises, even property trespassers 🤦🏼‍♀️ but thunder, guns, and ESPECIALLY fireworks send him into a full body frenzy. It makes me wonder what happened to him when he ended up on the streets. I know he was still young, and my guess is he got lost during a New Years celebration based on being found in March at 40lbs>. It could make sense that he’d be that underweight after 3 months, which could mean he ran off during his first set of fireworks in his life 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thank you so much for the support! He’s my world and I’m trying my best to build his confidence, but it doesn’t take much to set him back lol

We’ve recently got a practice range set up at the back of our property that we’re hoping to start using to desensitize him over time!

If I’d been able to have him as a puppy, this wouldn’t be an issue or at least not as bad. I don’t know what the start of his life was like. I adopted him a year ago at 1.5-2yr old. He was a skeleton when the shelter found him on the streets.

Normally I would, unfortunately he was already around 1.5-2 when I adopted him and he was found by the shelter at only 40lbs max. He’s actually come a LONG way from being afraid of acorns popping on concrete. Now it’s only big storms. But New Years set him way back for a couple weeks, and I’m afraid it’s going to happen again. He’s still getting used to having a family and a home he can trust is his.

Thank you! I’ll look into it!

He is crate trained, unfortunately being crated/kenneled is a trigger for him 🤦🏼‍♀️ the trainer says it’s due to his time in the shelter. He’s actually grinder his front teeth down to the quick trying to escape any cage he’s been in. He actually free roams the house 10x better than when he was crated.

But I’ll have to look into the thunder jacket thing. He loves to be held so that could work!

I’m a daughter(28) to a dad(58) that cheated on her mom. My parents have 3 kids together with me being the middle child, but my dad also has a 4th child that’s my age from one of his affairs. After the divorce, my mom kept the details quiet until we were older bc she didn’t want our views of him to be contorted. I was a daddy’s girl through and through when I was younger, but my mom was my superhero and a hell of a saint. When I learned about the heartache he caused her, I was angry. “How could he hurt my mom like that? Hurt our family!?” To this day, I still find out about ways he’s hurt her. I let him know I was angry and that I wanted distance bc I didn’t feel I could trust him. He understood.

While he didn’t push to be present constantly, he made sure every birthday and Christmas, we all got a “happy birthday”, cards/presents. He would still call every couple of months trying to check in. What he was doing was waiting out his time. He was waiting on me to process my anger and forgive him. It took me 10 years for me to be able to sit down in a room with him and not hate him for betraying my mom and our family.

I have a good relationship with my dad now. Bc at least he didn’t abandon me and allowed me to take all the time I needed to process his betrayal. He didn’t leave us behind. He didn’t move on from us kids. And he didn’t hold it against anyone. He understood that I was hurt and angry bc of what HE chose to do. I’ve also learned that it had nothing to do with us.. it was his own shortcomings. Each of us kids have reacted differently, but at least my dad was man enough to deal with consequences of his actions instead of being a coward and running away.

YTA. You are the father. A relationship is 2 way. You gave up on your daughter. Your daughter wanted to try, but you still betrayed her again.

They’re absolutely lovely when the baby isn’t involved! I love his family to death. They’re great support for so much. His parents (more so his dad) has just taken the BM Drama and run with it. Even me and the BM don’t have issues like that..

My fiancé is the best partner, and it’s him that I’m choosing overall. We’ve had all the discussions about how we’ll handle everything where either of our families are involved. This situation was just kind of done behind everyone’s back, so we’re scrambling to resolve it 🤷🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️ the men have already talked it out with their parents about having us younger ones do the booking in the future 🤣

I’ve still got my lady! She’s 34 this year and it has been 25 years with her!

My guy is 2yrs, about 65-70#, eats 2cups 2x a day. Sometimes his ribs show, sometimes they don’t. When I asked my vet, they said they understand high drive dogs can have some ribs showing but be perfectly happy and healthy. They said they look for other signs of neglect to determine if the dog is being mistreated.

I definitely second asking your vet.

No, I don't have a lab, but I don't have a dog like you describe yours to be. I am also not new to working canine breeds nor working animals in general.

I don't expect anyone to be his main caregiver but myself, however, I do expect my vets to properly care for him when he comes in and to relay any information regarding his health and safety as well as the safety of the employees. They've been aware of our situation from day 1. I didn’t say I blamed them for anything; just that I was upset that they didn’t mention his anxiety in the back sooner.

It is also not an unrealistic expectation for animals to behave appropriately for their situations. I never said he should not be acting out in the way that he is, however, I currently do not understand why his anxiety has increased surrounding the vet building. I can take a guess that it has something to do with the kennels resembling the shelter environment as the behaviors described are identical, yet when boarded at a "quiet" facility where he only hears faint barking, he has no anxiety issues. OR maybe the vets and techs are mishandling him, but you're right, I wouldn't know that without going to the back with him which I've already requested for his next appointments.

Though muzzle trained, I do not muzzle my dog nor do his handling at the vets as they've not indicated any need to do so or for any forms of additional restraint. They've not complained about his behavior during services, just noted to me how restless he is in the kennels and at pickup.

Taking him into the building for training is not putting pressure on him, and I don't understand how you see it that way. I am simply bringing him in to practice neutrality with basic commands and positive reinforcement and to become familiar with the surroundings with as little extra disturbance as possible and without any services requested. I do this with EVERY building he is introduced to, and his confidence within said building grows with every session.

Please elaborate.

I’ll see what I can do. I just hate that he’s so worked up. The vet did recommend maybe a daily CBD supplement treat, but I may also ask for some Trazadone until we can work through it. I don’t like having to rely on drugs, but I also understand that sometimes it’s necessary to slow their reactions so they can process things (at least when I worked with rescue equines)

Thank you for input!

He is crated. I typically bring his favorite hard chew toy to keep. I don’t know if it’s ever helped. I don’t think I’ve noticed new marks on it afterwards. I’ll get clarification on the way they’re restraining/performing the service so I can work on it at home, though he’s not shown any issues with me handling his paws and in between toes. I’ll ask them if they’re willing to give treats during the service, and I’ll bring some going forward.

Overall, his favorite thing is his security blanket which goes with him during overnight boarding, but it doesn’t go in the kennels with him at home/vet bc he shreds things when he’s mad 🙃

Part of me thinks it resembles the shelter too closely. Their description of his behavior matches what the shelter saw, but he’s been completely opposite of that from the moment I brought him home.

This sounds similar to me 😅 my boy HAS to have eyes on me at all times. Doesn’t matter what I do, he has to be in it. Often enough, it amplifies my anxiety, and I become overstimulated with everything.

Took time (about 4-5 months for mine), but he’s learned MY cues that I need space. The commands are the same, “kennel” “place”, etc. but I know my tone and energy are different. He’s learned to pick up on that, and can tell that I need him to back off until I can shake it off. I’ve been practicing on that and can pretty much neutralize my own energy before handling the situation to avoid both of us shutting down.

Like kids can pick up on their parents’ moods when they walk in the door and adjust their own behaviors accordingly, our dogs do the same, they just have to learn the cues. And we, as owners, have to practice patience and understanding. It’s a balance, and I understand your struggle