Extreme Fear in Year-Old Female Mutt

Question
I adopted Reba from a local no-kill shelter because they had decided to put her down as a mercy due to her extreme fear issues. When I got her four months ago, she cowered and trembled 24x7, refused to leave her crate, and ran away from everyone, including other dogs, like a mad thing. She had reportedly gotten over the shelter's 8-foot fence, another reason they couldn't keep her. I'm able to spend all but 6 hours per day here at home with her and she's made remarkable progress. She comes when called, snuggles, licks me, gets along beautifully with the other dogs, and can finally be let out into my large fenced yard off-leash without me spending hours to trap and leash her, then drag her inside.

However, she is still hypervigilant and prefers to sit upright in her kennel most of the day. She is also hyper-reactive to all sounds and movement: a bark, person walking by outside the window, car driving past, loud noise on TV, music with heavy bass, etc. Any quick movement send her flying in terror. I consistently expose her to little bits of scary motion and sound and she's much less reactive now. I speak in high, soothing tones, walk slowly, reward her for sitting still, encourage her to hold her head up, giver her lots of praise, etc. She can finally sleep in one spot through most of the night without pacing.

Question: what more can I do for this poor, dear creature? Are you aware of any herbal/medicinal tranquilizers, behavior mod techniques or anything else that will allow Reba to lead a calmer, happier and more normal life? I was just sponsoring her, but she is not yet adoptable and she's literally terrified of everyone but me. Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Greyling,

You are doing a wonderful thing by rehabilitating this poor dog.

One thing you can try to calm Reba is to use a Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP).

Dog Appeasing Pheromones work by mimicking the properties of the natural pheromones of the lactating female. Within three to five days after giving birth, the female generates pheromones that give their puppies a sense of well-being and reassurance, known as appeasing pheromones. Even as adults, dogs are calmed by pheromones.
By replicating this signal of comfort, these pheromones help alleviate fear, over excitement and stress related signs in both puppies and adult dogs. DAP is odorless to humans. Look for Dog Appeasing Pheromones on line, through your vet's office and at pet stores, you do not need a prescription for this product. You can get DAP in a couple of different forms, a spray, a plug in diffuser and embedded in a collar (like a flea collar, but no flea protection from DAP).

PetCalm and Rescue Remedy are two brands of herbal supplements for dogs that have anxiety or emotional issues, such as, fears, fireworks, going to the veterinarian, the effects of trauma, etc.

You should also speak to your veterinarian about prescription anti-anxiety medications that work in conjunction with training. These medications do not make a dog "dopey" or drowsy, they just take the edge off the dog's anxiety so it can better respond to training techniques.

Best of luck!
Patti