My dog Holly is afraid of almost everything. We rescued her from the pound, after she had been seized from a hoarding situation by Animal Control. Most of her life was spent outside on a two foot chain where she had to compete with three other dogs for food. There were more dogs indoors who were in worse shape. When the Animal Control officers seized the dogs, they were covered in fleas and emaciated.
When we rescued Holly, she had issues with food aggression around our other dog, but around people, she turned into a timid, scared little girl. Whenever she heard a loud noise, she cowered on the ground. Fortunately, with time and patience, she stopped cowering as often. Her food aggression is gone, probably because she knows there is always food available.
The one behavior we haven't cured is her fear of going through doorways. She is afraid of walking through a doorway if someone is standing on the other side, watching her. She crouches down with her tail between her legs and slinks through the doorway. She looks so scared when she walks through the doorway. Sometimes, we have to bribe her with treats just to get her to come in the room. Does anyone have any suggestions for curing this? I don't want her to live in fear.
