I have rottweiler/border collie mix, she is 1year 5 months old. She came from a rescue when she was about 4 months old. She does wonderfully with me, and the people she knows. And even when we bring new people into the house, after a few minutes she acts like she's known them forever.. like a normal friendly dog! The problems lie with her being so skiddish that its hard to take her anywhere, or do anything with her. if anyone walks outside she barks at them, at any noise, she will bark and then hide. And she is afraid to go outside.. I have to literally carry her outside half of the time and she freaks at any noise. If someone new is anywhere around she tries to run back into the house, or she will stand and bark at them. If they approach, she cowers and tries to run away. she will not strike and try to bite, but she is so afraid that i feel bad, when we go on walks it makes it really hard to keep her focused on our walks when someone comes into sight. I can't afford a specialized training, but I really want to help her, because I'm afraid that this stress is going to hurt her! Any ideas?

well she knows stop and sit! (which works like a heel) and she will do that while she's afraid but it's hard. and she also knows the basic trick commands, but she has no desire to do them while scared.. even treats or food... she won't eat when she's afraid!

Pandy,
Check out park district courses in your area for dog obedience classes.  They will be more reasonably priced than a private trainer and some in my area are actually partnered with training facilities, so you may get a knowledgable trainer at a cheaper price.  You might find that you're reinforcing the bad behavior by how you react, instead of correcting the behavior.

Plus they will give you great hints on changing behavior.  Then it's PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!

Good luck.  It's smart that your trying to correct the problem not letting it get worse

Ped,

Are you saying i am not reasonably priced?!   lol 

Dunno Frank - the good one are usually are  a little pricier! 

P

 I'm here to help. co-eds are always paid a little more attention to .

just kidding

Frank

Hi pandy7197

First, you should know that this is a common behavior problem and can be fixed with some knowledge and practice. I am a professional dog trainer and I've worked with tons of cases like yours. My true mission is to help people help their dogs. I understand many people cannot afford pricey (posters words not mine! ) one on one training so I developed a course that teaches people how to train their dog's. So at the risk of seeming like spam, solicitation, ect.... 

It's called People Training for Dogs. Comes with three dog training books, a 6 week training course done at your pace and unlimited (free) training consultations with professional dog trainers forever (members of Pet Dog Trainers Association). While I'm sure you are a great owner, you may lack (in your dog's eyes only!) the leadership he requires when you travel outside. He's nervous, which makes you nervous. He reads your energy and becomes more nervous. Hence the behavior continues. The course trains people in instilling the confidence in the themselves and the dog that you are the pack leader and will take care of the pack (you and your dog).

I priced it at $37 not to make money but so people could afford it and I could donate some proceeds to various dog related charities. If you can't afford that, I would still recommend the free pack leader articles on the site (left side in blue). But I think the course would work wonders for you. I don't sell anything else on the site. Let me know if I can help in any other way.

BTW - The newsletter is undergoing some upgrades so let me know if you want me to manual add your e-mail to the list. No spam whatsoever. I just send out training articles to people that sign up as a way of keeping in touch.

The site is www.VirtualDogTrainer.com. Check it out when you have a minute.

Thanks and stick with it! As the others have said practice, patients and confidence with training will solve this issue.

Chad