My Jindo rescue dogs are fearful and hyper. How do I help them?

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/

You are doing a good job. Some dogs take years to relax with other people. I recommend taking Mindy, with both you and your husband, to a group obedience class. She will gain confidence when she learns commands and it will help her to be around other dogs and people. You can also try the natural supplement Solliquin. It helps reduce anxiety during training and I’ve found with rescue dogs it helps them with adjusting to a new environment. Continue to be patient and don’t force the issue as that may make it worse. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Mindy.

Poor Mia! You're right that a lack of proper socialization as a puppy can cause adult dogs to be quite fearful and sometimes reactive or aggressive towards strangers or new things. Technically speaking, you can't really "socialize her" anymore at this age - the socialization period in dogs ends at about 16 weeks of age. After that, the brain changes and is no longer as receptive to new experiences. This doesn't mean that there is nothing you can do to help her, but it does mean that it will take much more time and effort than it would have if she were still a young puppy. Normally, the general approach for this problem is to identify what types of situations are scary and stressful for her, and help her to associate good things with these situations by feeding her treats or playing a game she enjoys. It's very important to go slowly and make sure that she is comfortable every step of the way - if she's anxious or afraid, then this is making things worse instead of better. Because it can be very difficult to work with a dog like this successfully on your own if you don't have any dog behavior experience, I would really recommend making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist or a good reward-based trainer who can evaluate her in person and help you put together a detailed plan to help her become more confident and less afraid. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist here (www.dacvb.org) or a qualified trainer in your area here (www.ccpdt.org).

Poor Girl! She likely had a really bad and fearful life before. I would talk to your vet about getting her on some anti-anxiety meds so that you can more easily work with her and hopefully, gain her trust. I would try to hand feed her treats and food to help gain her trust and just be really calm and patient with her. You can also put a calming collar on her like adaptil to help. You can also try to find a local bahavioralist or trainer to come and help train her at your house. I hope this helps!

In situations such as these, time is your friend, as well as patience. 4 years living solely outside is a long time for a dog, and that's a lot of years of work to reverse. You may want to treat Perseus as if he were a puppy, starting with a similar routine for feeding, potty training, etc to get him used to being around people and in/out of a house. Getting him used to you can take time. Always approach by talking calmly and gently and tossing a treat toward him. Not directly facing him and/or crouching down can also make you less intimidating and scary. Let him approach you first rather than you approach him, and be sure to quietly praise or offer treats any time he does. As he gets more used to you, you can then treat only when he allows petting or approaches you and accepts gentle handling. This can take a lot of time, so patience and always maintain a calm presence can help. It is also a good idea to speak with a trainer or behaviorist in your area who can come to the home and offer more tailored advice for how to help Perseus. They can help formulate a training plan as in the case of a behaviorist may also be able to recommend medications to help keep him stress free and relaxed as he learns how to be a dog.

Poor Jaxon! It does sound like he's quite fearful of many things, including sounds, the vet's office, and other dogs barking. The patch of hair that stands up is called his "hackles" - when you see the hair stand up like this, it usually means that the dog is frightened or upset. Since it sounds like his anxiety is fairly severe, the best option would be to make an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate Jaxon in person. He/she can help you determine why he is so fearful, and will give you a detailed treatment plan for him including some training exercises you can do to increase his confidence and teach him to associate good things with people, other dogs, etc. He may also benefit from anti-anxiety medication. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, you could try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to help reduce his anxiety - this won't be as effective as prescription medication, but it may help to take the edge off of his fear in these situations until you are able to see the behaviorist for a more complete treatment plan.

If the two are a bonded pair, I would consider trying to introduce the more aggressive one toe the other animals alone without her buddy. See if this makes any difference - she may have been being protective. Unfortunately, this doesn't necessarily resolve your problem. While I hate to say it, you only just got these guys and they may not be best suited for your home. If I were you, I would contact the shelter or rescue from which you acquired them and let them know what is happening. Usually, if the place is reputable, they will understand and take the dogs back in order to place them somewhere else. Rescuing an animal should not become a big project for you if it was not meant to be one in the first place. If you decide that you are going to keep them anyway, they will need to be introduced to your other animals very slowly and carefully, and under strict supervision for an extended period of time. The use of positive reinforcement training will hopefully allow them to coexist at some point. There are no guarantees however. Hope this helps. Let me know if I can assist you in any further manner.