General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Michelle Duggar's submissive-wife tips [View all]magical thyme
(14,881 posts)We've worked on his insecurity and anxiety issues since day 1.
He no longer pees on the rug in front of the door while waiting for me to get my shoes on before taking him out. He hasn't chewed anything up while I was at work in several years now. He no longer ducks his head down if the end of the leash swings toward it. He no longer hides under the table when I bring out the broom to sweep.
It took a couple of years of consistent, kind, supportive work to get him over his abuse fears. For example, I decided to trust him to run outside to pee by himself instead of making him wait that extra minute for me to protect him from possibly running into the road. That enabled him to get out the door fast enough to not pee on the rug, which taught him that he *could* hold onto his pee until he was outside, which built his self-confidence. It broke the self-feeding loop of rug-peeing failure and replaced it with a self-feeding loop of no-rug peeing success.
But it took a lot of work and patience on my part, along with the recognition that it was fear and anxiety inflicted by abuse that prevented his success, and that making it virtually impossible for him to fail would break that cycle.
Same with everything else.
But of course, he is a dog so much more is possible...