My Anxious Dog Doesn't Know How To Be A Dog

fd (typed by Huckleberry himself...I had this draft open and he put his paw on my keyboard as he was about to jump over me to get away from something that scared him)

Huckleberry is my sister's dog, but I live with my sister so I consider him to be my dog as well (I take care of him more than she does since she's away at work all day so...my dog). My sister adopted him in early January from Ruff Start Rescue and he's been with us ever since. He was quite anxious when we first got him, but we all thought that he'd warm up to us eventually. 

We were wrong. 

It's been almost five months since Huck was adopted and he is still incredibly anxious. He is scared of everything. And I mean everything. Here's a list of things that have scared Huck in the past:

• boxes
• plastic bags
• my phone (I just picked it up)
• pill bottles (he got so scared he pooped)
• phone charger
• his own tail hitting something
• anyone who's been over to our house (except for Nate...he likes Nate for some reason)
• packages
• bottles
• pretty much anything you hold in your hand

I know that many dogs have anxiety, diagnosed anxiety that is, but I still think that Huck's level of anxiety is unhealthy. He's scared of everything. I have to think that he came from an abusive home before we adopted him, but we've had him for almost five months, has he not learned that our household is far from abusive? My sister is the most loving dog owner I know, this dog is lucky to have been adopted by her. Still, Huckleberry's anxiety prevents him from ever really relaxing. Sure, he plays and gets the zoomies sometimes, but when he's just doing nothing I feel like he's in a constant state of anxiety.

Watch this video to learn more about dog zoomies.

The biggest reason that this dog is not a dog is that he hates going outside. He hates it. I tried to take him on a walk once, but he was hiding under the coffee table (he usually lies there during the day) so I had to spend twenty minutes trying to drag him out from under the table to get him to go on a walk. Then, on the walk, we got about two blocks down when he refused to move. He just stopped and would not go any further. So I turned around and I think he knew that we were going home because he happily walked back. 

Huckleberry is also not really potty trained. He is, he doesn't have accidents in the house other than that one time when I was home alone, but he also just kind of...isn't. He won't bark or go to the door to tell you he needs to go potty so you have to just let him out throughout the day. The thing is, though, that he doesn't want to go outside. Even if he has to go potty, he won't go. Sometimes he'll go outside and onto the deck, but he won't go down the stairs. I have to chase him around the table on our deck, grab his collar, and drag him down the stairs. Once he's down there he'll either try to run back up the stairs or he'll actually go potty. 

I love this dog, he's so sweet, but I really hate him sometimes too (ok, hate is a strong word, but you know what I mean). Having to chase him around the outside table to get him to go potty, having to drag him out from under the table to go on a walk, and having to pick him up and carry him to my car because he won't go near it; that's all funny, but it gets old real soon. 

All in all, this dog does not know how to be a dog. He hates walks, he's scared of everything, he doesn't want to go outside ever, and he lies in front of my sister's door all day. 

I'll leave you with a picture of Huckleberry splooting.