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i adopted tilden @ 9 months old and i can honestly admit now that he may have been better suited for a "quieter" household. he loves the company of my other animals and plays with them all non stop, but when it comes to things like yelling at the cats, or things getting knocked over, (because of his past???) he assumes he's in trouble and seeks out his crate or his bed. i noticed this soon enough to try and change things to make him more comfortable and always assuring him that "its okay" etc.
after a series of deaths in my family, going out of town, different visitors, moving, and a new kitten (all beginning a month after adopting him and within a 3 month period) i figured he was getting stressed and decided to properly build my relationship with him thru personal time, obedience training, etc. we went into the petstore to p/u a training collar (planned to try on several to see what would work best for him) and once i put a choker on him he fell to the ground and pee'd all over himself (i didnt even correct him, he just heard the sound of it tightening and got nervous). i immediately took it off and thought "crap, what the **** did someone do to him" and we left, opting not to use a corrective collar and just work on bonding / reconditioning. well ever since that day he'll have accidents here and there with submissive peeing whenever he thinks he's going to get in trouble.
to handle this problem, i stopped raising my voice... and if i ever saw his ears go back, i'd wait until he gained a bit of confidence thru my voice or body language, then proceed to explain what i needed him to do. i'm proud to say that it had been a month since he pee'd! tonight we were fooling and one of the dogs scratched my foot in which i let out an "OWW". sure enough tilden goes to his crate which he didnt notice was closed, and runs into the door. i go over to open the door for him and in his confused state he caused me to swing to door open into his face (i think he thinks i hit him). i crouch down to his level and call him over to me, it took three tries before he came and when he did, along came a trail of pee with him.
i just guided both dogs outside before i got frustrated... cleaned up the pee... and here i am
when oh when will this end? i've had him for 7months now... he's a year and a half... if he's see me as hitting him with the cage door - how far have i set him back now, after never physically punishing him prior? he's only like this with me - with strangers and visitors he's really bold and confident.
are there any activities that i can do to gain his trust & confidence back?
after a series of deaths in my family, going out of town, different visitors, moving, and a new kitten (all beginning a month after adopting him and within a 3 month period) i figured he was getting stressed and decided to properly build my relationship with him thru personal time, obedience training, etc. we went into the petstore to p/u a training collar (planned to try on several to see what would work best for him) and once i put a choker on him he fell to the ground and pee'd all over himself (i didnt even correct him, he just heard the sound of it tightening and got nervous). i immediately took it off and thought "crap, what the **** did someone do to him" and we left, opting not to use a corrective collar and just work on bonding / reconditioning. well ever since that day he'll have accidents here and there with submissive peeing whenever he thinks he's going to get in trouble.
to handle this problem, i stopped raising my voice... and if i ever saw his ears go back, i'd wait until he gained a bit of confidence thru my voice or body language, then proceed to explain what i needed him to do. i'm proud to say that it had been a month since he pee'd! tonight we were fooling and one of the dogs scratched my foot in which i let out an "OWW". sure enough tilden goes to his crate which he didnt notice was closed, and runs into the door. i go over to open the door for him and in his confused state he caused me to swing to door open into his face (i think he thinks i hit him). i crouch down to his level and call him over to me, it took three tries before he came and when he did, along came a trail of pee with him.
i just guided both dogs outside before i got frustrated... cleaned up the pee... and here i am

when oh when will this end? i've had him for 7months now... he's a year and a half... if he's see me as hitting him with the cage door - how far have i set him back now, after never physically punishing him prior? he's only like this with me - with strangers and visitors he's really bold and confident.
are there any activities that i can do to gain his trust & confidence back?