My adopted dog is disobedient, destructive, runs away. Help!

1) I highly recommend a vet checkup to rule out issues such as parasites or a GI problem/allergy that could be preventing her weight gain. Your vet can also perform a body condition score to see if she is at a healthy weight for her size and help monitor any changes needed. 2) Since she is having a lot of anxiety and having trouble with basic obedience, speaking with a trainer or veterinary behaviorist in person is your best option. They can work with you one-on-one to tailor a plan to help reduce your pup's anxiety, and a veterinary behaviorist can also utilize medication as needed in conjunction with a training plan. Training techniques such as BAT (Behavioral Adjustment Training) are great for helping desensitize dogs to the triggers that cause anxiety. This can also help with her fear toward you or other people as well. 3) Once she has settled in a bit and the anxiety is under control, a basic obedience class together may help so that you can learn to better communicate with each other in a safe, positive manner. This can also help the two of you bond a bit better and gain trust. If you're interested in talking to a veterinary behaviorist, you can find out more info here: http://www.dacvb.org/about/member-directory/

This behavior can be hard to correct especially since she is an adult. I would talk to your vet about getting her started on an anti-anxiety medicine like fluoxetine or trazadone. These will help to calm her nerves, but you will also need to start a training program. This would be best started with an behaviorist or dog trainer. This will be a long road and unfortunately, there is no easy fix. I hope this helps and she starts to improve.

Destructive behavior like this when you're not home is usually caused by separation anxiety - some dogs will chew things when they're bored, but if there is significant destruction and it only happens when you're gone, anxiety is much more likely. If you want to know for sure, I would suggest videotaping her the next time you go out - it's usually very easy to see on the video if this is anxiety vs. boredom. There are a few things you can do to try and help her. You can try crating her, but be aware that many dogs with this problem are more anxious when they are confined - she won't be able to do as much damage to your home, but she may injure herself if she panics trying to escape. I would strongly recommend leaving her with a special long-lasting treat of some kind every time you leave the house, like a Kong toy stuffed with peanut butter or something similar. You may also want to try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Composure or Zylkene to help decrease her anxiety. If you don't see improvement within the next 1-2 weeks, you should talk with your vet about the problem as she may need prescription medication to treat her anxiety, at least for a while. You could also request referral to a veterinary behaviorist for additional help if the problem is severe.

Congratulations on adopting Lady! Earning trust will take a lot of patience and time. Remember that she has had a lot of sudden changes with her new home and a new person in her life. Start by giving her space in her new home and try putting a bed in her favorite space in the house to make this her "safe spot". Try to avoid approaching her if she is in this safe spot. If Lady is food motivated, you can start by offering a few high value treats when she lets you gently pet her. Some dogs are threatened when you reach over the top of the head and respond more favorably to scratches on the chest or under the chin. Once you figure out what she enjoys (food, walks, chasing a ball, etc.), you will be able to build upon that activity and spend most of your interaction doing her favorite things. One other thing to try is a calming pheromone collar or diffuser (Adaptil is one example) to see if this helps to calm her a bit. I hope this helps!

This is a very hard behavior to correct - separation anxiety. You are going to need the help of a professional trainer (one that will come to your house) and maybe even some medications from your vet. You can try to correct the behavior yourself but often times you end up making it worse. I suggest you call Saga Humane Society for a referral to a trainer. Here is a link to an article about separation anxiety in dogs: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/common-dog-behavior-issues/separation-anxiety Hope this helps.

Sounds like she has anxiety. If she is not spayed, you should have that done as hormones can be a cause of anxiety. I also suggest you contact a local, professional, in-home dog trainer. They can help you with some behavior modification to lessen her anxiety symptoms. You can also try using some Adaptil. ( https://www.amazon.com/s?k=adaptil+dog+collar&crid=SQKY5YAMUQP3&sprefix=adaptil+dog%2Caps%2C165&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11 )

Poor Ophelia! There are many things you can do to help get Ophelia feeling more comfortable and help control her anxiety. It’s great that you are being proactive about preventing issues in future! I would advise seeing your veterinarian to rule out any medical causes for Ophelia’s behavior first, and then visit the following links for some good tips on training http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=T&C=33&S=0 ,https://healthcareforpets.com/videos . Also visit the following link to learn more about Adaptil, a synthetic pheromone that is available in a diffuser and spray form that promotes calm feelings in dogs, and can often be useful in cases of anxiety http://www.adaptil.com . I strongly recommend you speak to a trainer who uses positive reinforcement or a veterinary behaviorist to help give Ophelia her best chance at becoming a well adjusted, happy dog. See the following link for more information on that https://www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/general/findabehaviourist . Good luck!