Hi, I hope this is the appropriate place to post this. I’m a dog trainer at a corporate run pet store, and I have an elderly client with an 8 month old blue heeler puppy. I have had this puppy in my classes since she was about 3-4 months old and she is very well trained. However, she has recently gone into her final fear stage and has been acting more nervous and fearful around people, dogs, moving cars, etc. We were trying to work on it with some desensitization work and it was going well until one day, the owner was walking her outside and she lunged at a moving car, pulled my client down to the ground and severely injured her resulting in a broken foot and shoulder. I have been attempting to help them outside of work to rehome her since the owner is unable to physically take care of her now.

The problem that has arisen recently though is she has started becoming reactive towards people she isn’t familiar with, which is making the rehoming process really difficult since she is so fearful around new people. She has lunged and snapped at a couple of the people we have met with, but I had her close enough to me on a leash that she wasn’t able to bite them. The people who have met her are very patient and understanding and willing to go at her pace to let her warm up to them on her time but I’m afraid she won’t get comfortable enough to send her home with them in good conscience. Since her owner fell, her whole routine has been thrown off. She’s not getting enough exercise, training, or mental stimulation which I think is adding to the reactivity. I’ve looked into leash reactivity but I’m not qualified enough or knowledgeable enough to know how to handle this situation.

I just want to help the owner find a good home for her puppy, but it’s beyond stressful. I’ve been having to come by every morning and evening to take the dog outside to go potty but I don’t really have the free time to offer more. Any advice on what I can do? I feel in way over my head and lost. Thank you in advance for any advice.

PS: owner is also on welfare and unable to bring her to professional training, otherwise that would have been my first suggestion.