Right now we’re at the “sitting in the lobby and watching people get on and off” stage of desensitization.
I’m sure it’s been mentioned, but maybe she could benefit from a sponsor peer? Our puppy was a swimming sponsor for 12 years. Dogs who were terrified of water would come to the pool with our dog and would usually be broken of the fear at least in shallow water within the first 30 minutes. After 3 swims they were almost always on their own after that without any issues. There was only one dog that never swam and that was of a possibly abusive owner.
So maybe there is a puppy friend that she is fond of that can make her feel at ease? Hope it helps, good luck!
Lots of bacon in and around the elevator will change that attitude pretty quickly
Actually no, she was so scared she turned her nose up at treats. That was the first thing I tried! Little bit of shaking and trying to hide under the lobby furniture too (which I’d allow if she wasn’t nigh impossible to get back out). I’ve also been carrying her out to start so I can make sure she pees first or she’ll piss herself either in the elevator or in the lobby. She’s a COVID puppy who’s never really had to go on an elevator before this big stressful move (she’s also never moved before). We managed to get her socialized enough that she’s not going to bite anyone or fight with other dogs (she’ll even say hi sometimes!) but she was a very nervous dog to begin with, and we haven’t always been 100% on making sure to acclimate her to lots of different stimuli so this is a LOT for her.
Gotta just reinforce around that threshold. If she can’t hold it together getting into the elevator, then lots of treats and praise just in sight of the elevator. If that’s too much, then just around the corner or through the lobby door or whatever.
If you can get some low traffic time at night or very early in the morning for some easy in-and-outs without the door closing, you can start to bridge that gap just in baby steps… So you can reward for every cue: Press the button, treat. Car arrives, treat. Chime sounds, treat… etc. But it’s hard, and pushing too far too fast can cause a significant setback.
And then you still gotta be super careful about encountering other dogs, or people who might trigger her… Which of course you don’t know about until the door opens.
My dog had a really hard time living in a building with an elevator… I will go to extreme lengths to avoid needing to do that again, lol.
Hey it’s a long process. Take it very very slowly but it’s training like anything else. Have her look at the elevator. Treat everytime she looks at it… For days. Take a step closer days later and treat. Eventually go in the elevator but don’t take it, go back out to a safe distance and treat treat treat. Repeat for weeks. Practice the same thing other places with elevators in different environments. Eventually you’ll be fine, but it will take a lot of patience.
