Hi everybody, My maremma sheepdog is 10 years old. We adopted him when he was 7. He is scared from thunder, loud voices and also when raining. I talked to many veterinaries and they said that fear training should be made when he was 3 months and we can not train him any more. We have a small garden so we can not tie him to his kennel or keep in the house. If we do so, he is angry. He was always free, he walks by himself all the day and comes home at night. The problem is he is laying under the cars when he is scared. I am afraid some drivers can not realize he is under the car until he goes outside and hurts him. To get him out of the car, I tried to give him his favourite chewing sticks, pull him from his collar, spray white vinegar, spray water gun, use electronic dog repeller... Nothing works.. He choose one car which is parked and lays under it until his scare passes. Please give me and advice. What should I do to prevent him laying under the cars?
A dog needs to trust you before you can combat his fears. Squirting him with water or vinegar, and pointing a dog repeller at him is not helping him to have enough faith in you to want to come to you. Maremmas have an independent nature, and I have heard that they can be a difficult breed to handle. As he has shown no improvement in the three years that you have had him, you may have to find ways of managing the problem rather than trying to retrain him at this age. The only way you can prevent him from going under cars is to restrain him, even if it means keeping him in his kennel, and allowing him to exercise by being walked on a lead.
Hi Carole, Thank you four your detailed answer. I was totally hopeless before your reply. You are great! I normally try to talk him gently. But sometimes his fear are very strong so he becomes stubborn and does not care my words. I don't want him hurt from spray etc. so I always spray on the floor near him and use dog repeller from a distance. But from now on I will not use these methods. I totally agree that Maremma's are very difficult and independent. They don't play with toys, balls or watch tv like other breeds. I will try to distract him at home by combing his hair, caressing and giving him a hug when raining. Because I never never want him lose his trust on me. We love each other too much. Just now, I caressed him and explained how much I appreciate his being and care about his comfort. He listened to me calmly then extended his paws on me.
I think electronic repeller was a bit rough decision. Anyway, the calm approach, like the posters above said, is the best decision here. Hope your doggo will listen to you.
Hello @kopuk welcome to Breedia...we have a man by we who had one and kept it totally in his back garden and also had to higher is fencing...they're quite a large dog to handle but I used to see him walking him very early of a morning while no one was about. So I would recommend you garden being highly secured and walk him at quiet times, so you don't have these problems and Carole as given you sound advice This link explains a lot about the breed also. https://www.dog-learn.com/dog-breeds/maremma-sheepdog/
