Any dog whisperers/psychologists/loving experts here to advise?

As another poster noted, there are medical options. Sometimes you can *train* a dog out of a particular behavior problem while they are medically assisted (mild anti-anxiety meds). There has been some success with this. Dog is medicated. Dog is trained to replace anxious behavior with other, acceptable behavior and when the new behavior is ingrained, meds are slowly discontinued.

It's a long slow process and the training must be consistent, and even then there is no guarantee that all will be well in the long run.

But if meds can help people with anxiety, they can do the same for dogs, as a last resort.

Perks said:

Funny, some people wonder if that's not in his mix. He's got a little bit of the Marmeduke floppy lip thing going on. I think he looks like a possible lab/mastiff mix.

Are they big wusses, too, Great Danes?

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They can be, particularly if they're badly bred. I've worked a little with one who's from a BYB (back yard breeder) and he's a mess. He's sweet, but confused and a compleat spaz, not to mention having some fear issues. What saves him is the female who lives with him, also from the same BYB, but who has a better temperament, although she can be a little jumpy. She takes some of the pressure off him by bossing him around

My good friend has a couple of beautifully bred Danes (she shows them and the female will, one day, most likely be her service dog) and they are lovely, stable, intelligent, and courageous dogs. The male is a goofball too

Elaine Margarett said:

The point of the shirt (they sell them under the name Thunder Shirt) is that it's a compression garment that hugs the dog's body. I think it's a distraction for the dog and while it seems lots of dogs initially respond to them I'm not sure if the dog wouldn't eventually get used to it and it would no longer serve its purpose. But you could give it a try. Maybe it helps by making the humans less anxious by giving us a sense we're doing something for the dog.

In any event it couldn't hurt.

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Maybe Duece is autistic.

When my son was young, we had a shirt like this to calm him down when he was over-excited. Worked like a charm.

Perks said:

Funny, some people wonder if that's not in his mix. He's got a little bit of the Marmeduke floppy lip thing going on. I think he looks like a possible lab/mastiff mix.

Are they big wusses, too, Great Danes?

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OMG yes! and farters! Diet didn't matter. The worst was when one got into my brother's civil war group gear and ate about a pound of gunpowder. The dog would scare himself with his own farts. He also used to pick pears off our trees and eat them.

Liralen said:

They can be, particularly if they're badly bred.

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That's quite possible. Where we got him did sort of seem puppy-mill-ish

However one of the better dogs that I've had was half dane and half gordon setter. He got the short hair of the dane but the color pattern of the setter and looked like an amped up doberman. He could have been trained to do about anything but died at age 3 from a torsed stomach.

Bloat is evil. Sorry you lost your guy to it -- way too young. Anyone who has a Dane or wants one can learn a lot from Linda Arndt http://www.greatdanelady.com/ Among other things, she's got some good articles on bloat.

I think bloat is a problem for all long legged dogs. I was warned about it when I was thinking of adopting a greyhound. I was told to put the feed bowl on a stand so that the dog doesn't need to get all the way down to the ground to eat.

it sounds like duece has two families now, which is nice. likely you'll have him around as a back porch visitor. ; )

we have two pound pups, as you know. one we adopted at 8 wks, and another who was 1 yr old. the younger, lady, is hyper-sensitive, shaky, whiney at every tiny noise, etc etc., and she's been babied. the other is laid back and fearless. no rhyme or reason; just individual personalities.

lady is gassy, and does have 'anal blasts' (releases scent glands) on occasions, due to her stress -- nervousness. it is very foul.

Little Red Barn said:

it sounds like duece has two families now, which is nice. likely you'll have him around as a back porch visitor. ; )

we have two pound pups, as you know. one we adopted at 8 wks, and another who was 1 yr old. the younger, lady, is hyper-sensitive, shaky, whiney at every tiny noise, etc etc., and she's been babied. the other is laid back and fearless. no rhyme or reason; just individual personalities.

.

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I think it's wonderful that you have two rescued dogs. Animals have individualized personalities. Regarding behavior, we humans can either block unwanted behavior or inadvertantly add to it.

There could be contibuting factors to her anxiousness. When she's whiney and shaky do you comfort her by stroking, holding or otherwise (in the animal's mind) reward and reinforce that behavior? Many negative behaviors are reinforced by what people call babying.

Elaine Margarett said:

I think it's wonderful that you have two rescued dogs. Animals have individualized personalities. Regarding behavior, we humans can either block unwanted behavior or inadvertantly add to it.

There could be contibuting factors to her anxiousness. When she's whiney and shaky do you comfort her by stroking, holding or otherwise (in the animal's mind) reward and reinforce that behavior? Many negative behaviors are reinforced by what people call babying.

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= ) i also day-foster a widow's dog about 10-12 hrs. a day. i'm sorta in tune to dogs. i've walked away from lady many times. tried many different approaches and techniques, but after 7 yrs of watching her melt-downs, i am now an enabler. happily.

when she's stationed between my legs, trembling violently, i hug, pet, coo, and warm a towel in the dryer for her. just like i would do for my two-legged children, or another human being. = )

Do you have any phazyme caps, or some other simethicone based gas relief there?

Try wrapping him up in a towel or blanket and see if he gets any stress relief from it. At least it might dampen the odor

I'm sorry, I'm sorry but

Don't worry, every dog owner reading this has sympathy for you right now!

I feel your pain. Kane is a farter, too, regardless of the food we give him, and we had to try many different brands because some gave him the runs.

Kane farts mostly when he gets excited and it stinks up an entire room in seconds flat. Seriously, his butt is toxic.

Have you thought about switching Kane to raw?

And have you tried a grain free food?

Unless Kane is a Boxer, lol. I think farting is in their breed standard.

Perks said:

The trouble is Deuce. He's 90 lbs of sweet, lovable, cringing, beta-ness who farts out his innumerable anxieties all day and night. He cracks us up and grosses us out in equal measure. He is a really nice dog. He's very, very sensitive though. We can't know why he's so cowering. They found him when he was a tiny puppy - lost or abandoned and nearly starved to death. He's about seven years old now and well taken care of. In this past year, he's become very attached to our family.

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Dogs like this are pack-oriented; they find security in having a pack around them, and for them familiarity breeds contentment. I've raised four dogs, have a reputation as a dog whisperer, and I've had several others in my childhood. In my opinion, a dog this pack-oriented cannot change. They are what they are and no amount of support will turn them into a self-confident dog.

That said, there are two things you can try.

One is to take Deuce to agility training, or some kind of dog sporting competition like diving, hunting, etc -- whatever he might like. Give him an opportunity to score some wins in and he might feel more secure in his place in the pack.

But he's getting up there in years, so it may be too late to introduce him to a new sport. The cheap and easy solution is to get a puppy. Cringing omega dogs turn completely around when another dog is introduced. They will either feel threatened and become aggressive -- that kind of behavior you need to stamp out, firmly but gently -- or they become loving protectors of the new family member, and they feel much safer because their pack has grown in size. You'll want to get a puppy, because an older dog might win a test of dominance against him no matter what their size. (I've seen a Chihuahua dominate a Great Pyrenees.)

In general, though, I wouldn't worry too much. He'll mope and be depressed when you're not around, but if you visit frequently he'll eventually get the idea that his pack is intact just far away. He won't get any *less* neurotic, mind you, but he probably won't spiral into any state much worse than what he is now.

All IMHO. Good luck.

Liralen said:

Have you thought about switching Kane to raw?

And have you tried a grain free food?

Unless Kane is a Boxer, lol. I think farting is in their breed standard.

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All the vets have commented on our pyrs saying, "Wow, your dogs are really healthy! What do you give them as treats?"

I say, "Pig heads."

"No really?" they ask.

"Pig heads," I repeat. "They're smart dogs, at least the females are and they understand the difference between dead and alive. Dead equals food and alive equals guard."

Yeah, my vet isn't thrilled with the way I feed mine, lol. He and the associate vet (whom I really love) were highly incensed when I told them to not, under any circumstances, give Tallulah any of the Science DIEt to eat when she was in for her spay.

But then, they both look at the condition of my dogs and say they wish all their patients were in half as good condition.

And then scold me for letting them have pork???

I wish I had photos of the expressions on their faces when I asked, "but what about fresh caught groundhog?"

Go figure.

And yes, they do know the difference between protecting live animals and eating dead ones. Kharma and Bimmer, as well as the other two Filas I had, all worked cattle and they took care of the calves as well. Nothing could bother those calves, but if one died they knew it was fine to eat.