DISORDERED DOGS?

Most of you are thinking, "my dog is a little quirky, but I don't think he's NUTS."
I am sure that the previous post of that socio-path horse was a little beyond what most people experience in their pet. Many who are kind and generous enough to adopt an older pet from a shelter may find they have a few disorders to overcome.
Shelters do our pets a great service. They care for and place literally hundreds of thousands of dogs and cats in a year. They have little money and lots of love. There is always a reason the pet ended up at the shelter. You may be able to discover and overcome that reason.

A little story, diagnosis, and treatment solution.

Kia was a 4-timer. She had been adopted and returned to the shelter 4 times. It was not a "no-kill" shelter, so it was looking bad for her. Time was running out.
She was a black Lab of some kind, about 75 pounds. Really nothing particularly outstanding about her. 2 years old sporting a standard Lab coat. You may have walked right past her cage. Many did.
Her story, sketchy and missing a lot of detail did tell me some things I needed to know. What was the reasons she had been returned? All four returns said the same thing-"ran away". I guess nothing could hold her- no fence, leash, rope, could keep her from running. What was she running to? Or, from?
Her first owner had been a handicapped person. She had gone through training as a companion dog. This training is difficult and stressful for the dog. Those few who make it to graduation are solid, dependable dogs. So, running away poses a big question. Or provides a big answer. Off to the shelter for her first time.
Second and third owners couldn't keep her in check. Ran away constantly. When found, she was brought back to them, but eventually they both gave up. I never met them, but I met (and now adopted) her. I can say she was filled with fear. Every loud noise, anything that looked like a weapon (such as a rawhide stick) would send her diving for the ground. Kind and sweet, she was never aggressive, but just tried to avoid any conflicts. Running away FROM?
I found quickly that if she did anything I did not approve of, I could not even raise my voice. I said "no", almost in a whisper. That was all it took. She never was a calm, relaxed dog, but lived to be 16, always on edge.

DIAGNOSIS: Generalized Anxiety Disorder

TREATMENT: Keep stress low or non-existent, if possible. Patience, patience, patience! Routines help because there is predictability. She did very well with a dog companion- it seemed to give her some confidence to have a dominate dog friend in her "pack". Lots of verbal praise.