Help with Ash my 1.5 year old DS

[ConnerB]

Hello everyone. Im new to this forum and im looking for any advice/ help with Ash . There is a bit of a story. Long story short he went missing one morning. I got a call that morning from my neighbor saying he saw a truck at my fence that morning. after spending 2 strait weeks of looking for him, in the middle of the night my other dog kept barking as i let him out i could hear Ash crying at the gate. I ran outside to see him hurt pretty bad. He ended up having a mangled pelvis and a broke femur. He went through several surgeries which they where not sure would work. But after several moths of healing he was back to his playful active self. But i soon noticed sevral strange things.
Prior to Ash going missing he went to work with me everyday, loved people, and wasnt scared of anything. But now he is the complete oposite. Around the house he is is still the same but any time we go somewhere or he is around someone new he is scared, which makes him territorial. I have done everything i know but nothing seems to help. Its really sucks because we went everwhere togather and he loved it, but now we cant do that at all. If you have any suggestions id love to hear them. Its been about 8 months since and i have worked with him every day. General obedience, i try to bring people around him, and take him places.
Any advice you might have would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

[centrop67]

Welcome.

I am sorry that you are going through this. Sudden behavior changes can be especially frustrating. It sounds like your dog was hit by a car.

I know you said you've been working on it for 8 months, but I am not sure what that entails. One thing that's going to be needed is patience and small steps. Unfortunately, this is not something that can be solved without the help of a behaviorist. Someone who can see the dog in person and map out a plan for recovery. But, with any trauma it may never get fully fixed. Best wishes.

[Dutchringgirl]

I am so very sorry you both are going through this. With out knowing what happned, although id sounds bad, its is hard to say what to do. Its sounds like he went through a very traumatic time so I think recovery is going to be very very very slow.

He is okay around the house?

He wont go in the car with you?

what work have you done with him?

[Owned-By-Hendrix]

Get a certified behavioralist if you have not already. My guess is he has some traumatic/PTSD he will need to work through, and the only way to address it is with people who understand and have experience with this.

Keep in mind, he was gone for 2 weeks and most likely hit by a vehicle. Being shy around vehicles would be a given. The trauma of the injury and then healing takes a toll on a dog. You also are not aware of what happened into those 2 weeks. If he was stolen and used in a dog fighting ring, he would be really freaked out. If he was stolen and abused by humans, his whole world view of humans is now turned upside down. There's a lot you may never know, and I would not expect him to be exactly the same ever again. I would work towards being non-reactive around people at minimum, and if he will always be nervous in new situations, around a lot of new people, respect that and don't try to force him to become what he was. Work with what you have now.

That being said... He clearly has a lot of trust in you as a handler. Sometimes this trust means the dogs are willing to go into the unknown just because they know with you, nothing bad will happen to them. I personally believe that if you respect this bond and use it to your advantage, with very slow progress (I'm talking months to years), he may be able to be part of what he was, but you will always have to respect his boundaries and his needs and listen. I am the only one who can touch one of my dogs at the vet. I can do anything I want to him, because he knows what I ask is not beyond what he can give. I don't ask the impossible and I listen when he tells me things. It sounds new age-y, but when the vet who the dog once backed into a corner can't believe the dog is falling asleep at your feet after an examination, that's all the proof I need to say it works for us.

[k9lexi]

Good advice Kay.

[Dutchringgirl]

Great Advice as usual