Dog Community

Scared dog?

Posted : 8/25/2006 10:08:05 AM

I'm sure this is nothing to be truly alarmed about, but I want to make sure.

Last night me, my boyfriend, and Ella were in our office. The door was open and Ella was laying on the floor against the wall that the door is on. My 6 year old son will sometimes like to sneak up on us and tickle us. Well, he was sneaking up on us last night and was half way down the hall and Ella growled, got up, and started barking and then when she got into the hall and realized it was my son, she was fine. She licked him and sniffed him and all was well.

Well, this morning I hadn't opened the shades in my living room yet so my living room was fairly dark still except for the kitchen light that was shining in. My son was by the door and had his talking Darth Vader mask on and I was in the office with Ella and she got up and started growling and barking and went into the living room.
I shot up immediately because I had NO CLUE what she could be barking at (she's not a barker normally) and then I went in and saw my son had his Darth Vader mask on. I told him to take it off and that it scared her. He took it off and she continued to bark and growl at the mask. She sniffed my son and seemed ok and started licking him. She was obviously frightened by this mask, and I understand that.
I made him put the mask downstairs in his room. She didn't see him put the mask downstairs. But when he came back up the stairs she growled and barked again. So, I made him go back downstairs and count to 10 and then come back up. I wanted to see if she would growl and bark again. He went downstairs and I took her into the office, he counted to 10 and came back upstairs. Sure enough, she growled and barked at him. Once she realized it was him, she eventually stopped growling and barking.

I know she's frightened and I put the mask up where she hopefully won't see it.
I then told my son to pet her and talk calmly to her and to play with her. I had him take her ball and make her sit. He did and she obeyed.

I guess I'm just concerned that she's going to keep barking and growling at him and that he's maybe scared her of him for life.
Should I be concerned with this? I don't want it to turn into an aggression issue.
Is there anything more I should do to get her to stop growling and barking or being afraid of him?

Thanks for any help!

alieliza

Posted : 8/26/2006 1:17:20 PM

I think that she was probably frightened by the masks, and a little shaken by it. How long did it take her to regain her composure?

Just keep a close eye on her for now, and learn what triggers that kind of behavior. Also, when she acts like that, its important not to baby her or punish her for doing it. A different reaction need to be encouraged. I don't really know a ton about how to do this, other than remove her from the trigger until she calms down. Im not that knowledgeable though, so if youre concerned, someone else may have better advice.

I would just keep an eye on her, is all, and you may not have too much to worry about.

Janey

Posted : 8/26/2006 4:48:14 PM

Sounds like Ella was scared of the mask, and has decided to alert you to someone coming (she may not know who, or what, it is). I wouldn't necessarily discourage her from growling and barking (those are warning signs when she considers something to be uncertain), because you don't want her then thinking she'll be punished for those behaviors and then decide to "skip" them and move on to something more serious like a snap or a bite. However, if she persists in the behavior, you might give her a correction ("eh-eh," etc.) and then redirect her.

Also, there was a long stream of posts on growling here just awhile back - you might do a search and see if you can find it.

spiritdogs

Posted : 8/26/2006 4:54:28 PM

To be honest, I think she was just scared because it was something she had not been acclimated to. But, I am concerned that a dog that is easily frightened is left alone with a young child. I'd be more inclined to restrict the child from being in the company of the dog until mom or dad are up and watching. It's been my experience that even well-mannered children doing innocent child things can disconcert or startle a dog and have an incident that, unfortunately, puts the dog at risk for losing its home. Supervise, and that is a lot less likely. It's hard for kids, until they get to be about ten years old, to fathom that what they are doing is not ok for the dog. That's why a lot of rescue groups reject families with younger children.

chewbecca

Posted : 8/26/2006 8:09:58 PM

thanks, guys!
I just want to add, in case of any confusion, that I NEVER leave my children unsupervised around Ella. If I take a shower and my fiancee isn't home, I take her in the bathroom with me. If I step outside she either goes with me or I crate her.

I also want to update that Ella has been fine today and she was fine yesterday afternoon when my son got home from school.
I think, like you guys, that she was just frightened.
I don't want to discourage a bark or growl that is a warning for me. I wouldn't dream of punishing her for that[

] my whole concern was that if she continued to bark and growl when my son came upstairs, would that progress into an actual act of aggression eventually. I know, it's silly of me to think that it would.
It's just Ella NEVER barks or growls unless someone rings our doorbell. She's an ANGEL with my children.
But I am no longer really concerned since she is fine today and I can just link yesterday to her being scared by the mask.

Thanks again!