Dog Community

I need help, not sure what's wrong!

Posted : 6/23/2006 11:15:28 AM

What was he thinking????

We solve one issue and “pop” there is another one…
I#%92ve come to the conclusion that my dog is a total nut! He has been very good on our walks. His “Heel” is still not perfect but he walks on a loose leash right next to me 97% of the time.

Now let me say this, Joey LOVES people! At the dog park for example he greets all the people first before he starts playing with the dogs. ANYBODY can walk into our apartment (the landlord, maintenance guy, friends, neighbors) and he does nothing but wiggle his butt and give them kisses. DHs best friend from Hungary came over last week (a total stranger) and Joey thinks he is the best thing on earth!

As far as I know he has never had any bad experience with people. I say this because I am the one that walks, trains and feeds him 99% of the time, occasionally DH takes him for walks but not very often.

When he was little he would pull towards everybody we met on our walks, wanting to be petted and cuddled. We taught him how to walk nicely so he doesn#%92t do that anymore. Sometimes when somebody asked if they could pet him we would stop and let Joey meet new people. All positive!

The first incident was a couple weeks ago… I walked Joey on a trail by our house (our usual route) early in the morning. This older man was walking towards us and as we passed him Joey let out a quiet growl. No lunging, teeth or anything just a quiet growl.
I thought maybe he sensed that this man was a little weird so I didn#%92t think anything of it!

The second time he acted weird was a few weeks later. A group of joggers came running towards us and a lady stopped to ask if she could pet Joey. She was very nice, knew how to meet strange dogs (knelt down and didn#%92t lean over him, reached out her hand for him to come closer). Joey came right up to her and let her pet him but after maybe 30 seconds backed off and got real low to the ground (he looked scared). Again I didn#%92t know what to make of this so I said goodbye and kept walking. I didn#%92t sooth him or baby him or anything.

Now last night we were almost home when we passed a woman sitting on the sidewalk. She was sitting in the grass with her feet resting on the sidewalk. I keep Joeys leash short when we pass people this closely because I know some people are afraid of dogs. As we passed her Joey started growling at her and even raised the hair on his back! What on earth is going on here? The only time I#%92ve seen him do this was at “bulk trash”! They pick up bulk trash once a month here so people will throw out old mattresses or furniture and it will sit on the side walk for a few days. He seems scared of “new” items on the lawn, I walk close by and act like everything#%92s great, let him sniff it and then he#%92s fine.
I don#%92t know what to do! Does anybody know how to explain his behavior? I don#%92t want people to be scared of my dog or him to be aggressive!
What would you suggest as far as training goes?

Sorry this is so long!!!

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/23/2006 11:25:43 AM

I keep Joeys leash short when we pass people

If he's a young dog, he could just be going through a fear period. But, if you tug on your leash, even a little, as people approach, you could be signaling one of two things to him:
a. you are scared too
b. he can't get away
Either could make him anxious.
Try to refocus his attention, or get jolly, or relax the leash a bit. If you do need to get him away from a fearful human, just get outta Dodge, then reward him as he catches up to you.

sillysally

Posted : 6/23/2006 11:49:00 AM

Do you do NILIF? It could be possible that he senses that you are not on top of the situation, so he feels he must be. Before I started doing NILIF regularly Sally would occasionally bark at someone if she felt that I had not seen the person, or didn't know the person was coming (and this was a big deal for her, as she rarely barks). Plus, like Anne said, when you get tense (which you might have uncouciously after he growled at the first person) you are only sending the signal that he is right to be concerned. Another thing you can do is put yourself between him, and a potentially problematic person, this tells him that you are the leader and on top of it.

That's all I got--if I'm all wet, I'm sure someone will let me know.....

Xerxes

Posted : 6/23/2006 1:46:15 PM

I think it could be a combination of two things: He might be going through a fear period, as suggested earlier. But he could also be becoming more protective of you. I don't know how to squelch the protective issue, but I'm sure someone who owns some of the more protective breeds will come along shortly.

mudpuppy

Posted : 6/26/2006 10:10:26 AM

how old is he?

Nadine Treadway

Posted : 6/26/2006 10:29:02 AM

Joey is almost 11 months old, he will be a year on August 1, 2006.
I "think" it's probably the fear period, at least he would fit that category.
And you guys are right about me being tense. I am sure he picks up on my feelings.
Yesterday we went for a walk (with DH) and Joey was walking right in between us the entire time, no aggression at all, we passed a lot of people without any issues.
At the dog park yesterday he came up to everybody to say HI and give them kisses again.
The thing is that he's such a LOVER usually that this really scared me! I don't want him to be aggressive with anybody but I realize I need to work on myself and I can't let myself get nervous! Thanks!!!

rredbird

Posted : 6/26/2006 10:58:42 AM

[linkhttp://www.flyingdogpress.com/onldagg.html]http://www.flyingdogpress.com/onldagg.html[/link]

See if you recognize Joey in this article. Suzanne Clothier is a really well-respected dog trainer and can explain much better than I can.

Good luck to you!

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/26/2006 11:00:12 AM

he could also be becoming more protective of you

Ah, the protection myth again. Sorry, Xerxes, I just think that when a dog "protects" his owner, it's more that he is protecting his resource than that he is protecting the owner from some perceived threat. So, I guess it depends on what context you are describing.
But, this doesn't sound like a protective or guardy dog overall, so I still lean toward the fear factor. I think this is a dog that needs to understand that the human is in charge and no harm will come to him. Leash reactivity is almost always handler induced or exacerbated, and I think it's a good idea for our OP to remember to relax with the leash.

HofmannGestalt

Posted : 6/26/2006 11:45:02 AM

This may be normal imprinting develop. period but please have him checked at the vet if it continues or gets worse! Better safe than sorry.
It is a slight resemblence to nuerological issue/problem I won't worry
unless he has not been to the vet.

Nadine Treadway

Posted : 6/26/2006 11:50:13 AM

We haven't been to the vet very recently (probably 3 months ago) but we do have an appointment(s) soon for his yearly check-up and vaccinations, I'll make sure to ask my vet about this.

After reading the article and all your comments I am pretty sure this is the fear-period. We do practice NILIF, probably not as strict as we should so I am going to pick that up again! Thank you so much everyone!!!

Xerxes

Posted : 6/26/2006 1:33:55 PM

ORIGINAL: spiritdogs

Ah, the protection myth again. Sorry, Xerxes, I just think that when a dog "protects" his owner, it's more that he is protecting his resource than that he is protecting the owner from some perceived threat. So, I guess it depends on what context you are describing.

I don't quite understand what you mean by that. Do you mean that the dog feels that the human is his resource? Sorry if I'm being dumb here. I've experienced dogs that were protective of territory and dogs that were protective of their pack. And some that were both. I didn't see it as resource guarding though.

Amanda R

Posted : 6/27/2006 3:56:08 PM

since dogs are very pack oriented they take leadership rolls over their owners because their owners let them, show more dominance and dont be affraid to show physical corrections instead of words sometimes its also better to have an outside party take care of your training issues because the dog is too comfortable with you any questions feel free to message me, i deal with aggressive dogs and dominance issues a lot

Mic

Posted : 6/27/2006 4:36:26 PM

dont be affraid to show physical corrections instead of words sometimes

In my opionion this is a fear based issue. Any use of physical correction is going to teach the dog that he should be afraid.

Lets talk the basics first...what kind of exercise does Joe get? How much and at what intesity?

What kind of obedience work has been done?

What do you do when Joe starts getting fired up? Do you console him?

What kind of food is Joey eating?

Where is Joey sleeping?

What is his schedule like?

spiritdogs

Posted : 6/27/2006 5:53:11 PM

I don't quite understand what you mean by that. Do you mean that the dog feels that the human is his resource?

Yes, that's exactly what I mean.

Amanda R

Posted : 6/27/2006 11:11:34 PM

ORIGINAL: mrgmfoster

In my opionion this is a fear based issue. Any use of physical correction is going to teach the dog that he should be afraid.

certain physical corrections DO NOT induce fear. obviously smacking and punching and kicking are not a solution but if you have a dog then you probably know what i mean when i say "physical correction"