Phobias

[Guest LJS1993]

Well guys, both my fiance and myself might have come across our real first issue with Freckles. She has always had a phobia of canes and men wearing brimmed hats. However, this has to do specifically with my Grandfather. When she was young he made the dumb mistake of waving his cane at her because she was barking at his cats. From that point on she developed a real dislike for him when he has his cane and is wearing his hat. No hat and cane she is fine. However, lately this issue has reached the point we are really afraid she might nip at him while he is walking around the ranch. I have tried having him treat her which hasn't really helped. One time, she was perfectly cool while he treated her then suddenly realized it was "the guy with the hat and cane", and began to bark in a hostile manner. What else can we do?

[mbc1963]

That's very tricky! My dog will react very strangely to outfits sometimes. We walk EVERY MORNING with a woman who gives him treats. He loves her. But if one of her grown daughters happens to be with her - it's a total melt-down. Barking, growling. And one day, the woman wore the raincoat that belonged to one of her daughters, and you would have thought she was trying to murder me - Buddy would not tolerate her presence!

 

Wish I had good advice, but I can't seem to do much with my own dog's phobias, either. Sunglasses, funny hats, sticks... there seems to be an endless stream of things that tick him off.

 

Mary

[Guest pax]

My answer to everything. Smear peanut butter on him. And the hat and the canes. Buy him an new hat and let her have the old one to lick and demolish.

[kelpiegirl]

Get the hat and cane off the person, and get her acquainted with them separately. Then, in small steps introduce your grandfather while he is sitting down in a chair, with no hat or cane. Don't bring her up to him- just have her ignore him. Small steps, and he will gradually become part of the scenery. Have him completely ignore her. He has to comply with this part. Basically, since we can't explain to them that they are going to be okay, we need to show them by our actions that there is nothing to be concerned about. A big thing too, is don't let your pup see this behaviour- they model well at his age.

Julie

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Hey! I can help with this one! According to the desensitization and counter-conditioning things I've read, you want to take it in small steps and do everything you can to associate him and the hat and the cane with good things. Find her most favorite treat. The bestest thing she's ever had in her mouth. Have him treat it to her w/o the hat and cane every now and then for a few days or a week. Then have either the cane or the hat (but not both) in the same room or area as Grandpa while he's treating her. Slowly, move the cane or hat closer to him. If she shows any signs of nervousness, go back to a distance she can handle. You want to avoid that nervous reaction as soon as it happens. Build bit by bit until he can treat her with it on his head or in his hand (for the cane). Once the hat is close to him, I'd move it to his lap, then have him hold it to his chest, etc., and work up to having it on his head. Avoid every possible situation where she could get spooked by him at this point, you don't want any setbacks. Always have it associated with that most wonderful treat and don't give her that treat at other times.

 

Hope this helps. If I could rent a small child for a month or two, I'm sure I could crack Woobie's kid phobia!

[Guest pax]

Hope this helps. If I could rent a small child for a month or two, I'm sure I could crack Woobie's kid phobia!

 

 

Taz is available for a nominal fee.

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Get the hat and cane off the person, and get her acquainted with them separately. Then, in small steps introduce your grandfather while he is sitting down in a chair, with no hat or cane. Don't bring her up to him- just have her ignore him. Small steps, and he will gradually become part of the scenery. Have him completely ignore her. He has to comply with this part. Basically, since we can't explain to them that they are going to be okay, we need to show them by our actions that there is nothing to be concerned about. A big thing too, is don't let your pup see this behaviour- they model well at his age.

Julie

 

 

Wont work, tried it. She see's him all day everyday. Im afrade she's gonna bite him and then the family will make us get rid of her (her corral is infront of their house) argh. Stupid old man. this is his fault and when she reacts it's gonna her that has to go

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Hey! I can help with this one! According to the desensitization and counter-conditioning things I've read, you want to take it in small steps and do everything you can to associate him and the hat and the cane with good things. Find her most favorite treat. The bestest thing she's ever had in her mouth. Have him treat it to her w/o the hat and cane every now and then for a few days or a week. Then have either the cane or the hat (but not both) in the same room or area as Grandpa while he's treating her. Slowly, move the cane or hat closer to him. If she shows any signs of nervousness, go back to a distance she can handle. You want to avoid that nervous reaction as soon as it happens. Build bit by bit until he can treat her with it on his head or in his hand (for the cane). Once the hat is close to him, I'd move it to his lap, then have him hold it to his chest, etc., and work up to having it on his head. Avoid every possible situation where she could get spooked by him at this point, you don't want any setbacks. Always have it associated with that most wonderful treat and don't give her that treat at other times.

 

Hope this helps. If I could rent a small child for a month or two, I'm sure I could crack Woobie's kid phobia!

 

 

she's fine taking treats, timit at the most, but something 'clicks' in her head that this is 'hat guy' and she freaks, barking, lunging.

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Get the hat and cane off the person, and get her acquainted with them separately. Then, in small steps introduce your grandfather while he is sitting down in a chair, with no hat or cane. Don't bring her up to him- just have her ignore him. Small steps, and he will gradually become part of the scenery. Have him completely ignore her. He has to comply with this part. Basically, since we can't explain to them that they are going to be okay, we need to show them by our actions that there is nothing to be concerned about. A big thing too, is don't let your pup see this behaviour- they model well at his age.

Julie

 

 

this is a stubborn 83 year old man who thinks he knows everything about dogs (also a person who believed that dogs should be kept separate) he knows nothing about dog training and he makes himself impossible to teach :|

[AKB]

Put him in a home. Just kidding. What if you guys wore hats and used canes periodically to get Freckles used to them? When she stops reacting to you in hats maybe get friends to do the same?

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Put him in a home. Just kidding. What if you guys wore hats and used canes periodically to get Freckles used to them? When she stops reacting to you in hats maybe get friends to do the same?

 

 

there's other people on the property that require canes, and others that wear hats. It's just him. Customers come with the 'same get-up' and she could care less. It's his smell, so unless I convince him that showering MORE than once a week is a GOOD THING, and that he's due for a cologne change, I'm screwed

[Guest WoobiesMom]

she's fine taking treats, timit at the most, but something 'clicks' in her head that this is 'hat guy' and she freaks, barking, lunging.

 

Would he be cooperative enough to hush his face and let you sit near him and do the treating, etc? Desensitization is a very slow process. Like months and months slow. Take it from someone who's there.

 

This is a bummer! Is it only when he's outside that she reacts? If Grandpa's uncooperative, it might just require management to have her away from him when he's outside.

 

Sorry.

[juliepoudrier]

AKB has a good idea, worth trying, though it may not work. The reason I say it might not work is because I inadvertently made one of my dogs leery of a stock stick, but only situationally. That is, she doesn't care for a stock stick *only* when cattle are also in the picture. It's a long story, but we were moving escaped cattle one day when a neighbor's dog came over with the neighbor (who had come to help get the cattle out of the road) and repeatedly attacked my dog. since the dog's owner was oblivious and made no move to stop the attacks, I used what I had at hand--the stock stick--to beat the attacking dog off my dog. This was a couple of years ago, and my dog doesn't mind that same stick when we're working with sheep, but refuses to have anything to do with me if cattle are also in the picture (she'll still work cattle if I'm not carrying the stock stick). I suspect she associates working cattle with being beat with that stick, even though it wasn't her I was beating with the stick (but she was stuck under the other dog at the time). So it may be that no matter what type of desensitizing you try, Freckles is just not going to tolerate gramps. That doesn't mean it's not worth trying to desensitize her, but just don't get your hopes real high.

 

Failing all else, I think I'd consider building her a new pen *away* from the areas your grandfather regularly passes. It may be a pain in the a$$ to do, but it would certainly be better than the alternative.

 

J.

[AKB]

If it's his smell- and this will sound weird, could you borrow some of his clothing?

[Bo Peep]

My mom has moved in with me. It's been a week now. She's 82 and uses a walker sometimes and a cane other times. It doesn't seem to effect Usher, she's used the cane as a "get back" kind of thing. It doesn't bother him. Haven't you had Freckles on sheep and used the stick on a "get outta there" type of thing? It never bothered even my most sensitive dogs, however the hats did. Funny creatures. I think that's a great idea of putting some of his clothing in Freckles crate. She'll soon get used to the smell and think of it as her safe place retreat. Let me know!!

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

Would he be cooperative enough to hush his face and let you sit near him and do the treating, etc? Desensitization is a very slow process. Like months and months slow. Take it from someone who's there.

 

This is a bummer! Is it only when he's outside that she reacts? If Grandpa's uncooperative, it might just require management to have her away from him when he's outside.

 

Sorry.

 

 

she doesnt go into their house, he doesnt come into ours. The corral is inbetween the back and side doors, for him to get into the house he must pass her.

 

 

we're working on moving (buying house) BUT, during day they'll be here. And on Savala Ranch, time has all but stopped, nothing changes here no matter HOW badly its needed

[Guest Freckles LaLa Mom]

he wouldnt give up any of his clothing. Plus, *ANY* cloth in that pen is shredded (why she has no bed)

[Guest LJS1993]

this is a stubborn 83 year old man who thinks he knows everything about dogs (also a person who believed that dogs should be kept separate) he knows nothing about dog training and he makes himself impossible to teach :|

 

 

Honey I agree, however I must say it was the "women folk" who kept them separate. The old man actually tried keeping his German Shorthairs together but the women in the family couldn't deal with the noises they made. And yes, I am on my short lunch break.

[bexie]

If he uses a strong smelling cologne, obtain some of said cologne and a similar hat. Dose hat thoroughly with cologne and get a cane. Take turns playing grandpa. Worth a try. Maybe the smell sets her off!

[Guest LJS1993]

If he uses a strong smelling cologne, obtain some of said cologne and a similar hat. Dose hat thoroughly with cologne and get a cane. Take turns playing grandpa. Worth a try. Maybe the smell sets her off!

 

 

One day I have her actually lying next to him and eating treats from his hand. I thought it was all cool then whamo, she realized it was him and I ordered her to the down position which at the time worked well.

[Geoffrey]

Hmmm...

 

I may be wrong about this, but when you say she's fine until she recognizes him I find that strange. If he's always the same (hat, cane, and smell) then I doubt she has issues recognizing him - a dog's senses are not generally so easily fooled. Personally I think there could be more to the situation.

 

Btw, does he like Freckles or not? If he doesn't like her in the first place, that's another thing she can easily pick up on (besides what other issues she may have with him).

[Samantha J]

Boy can i sympathise, but for Holly it's the really nice man who lives next door. We have been working on and off with him for maybe the last year. We have got her to go and sniff him with no barking thinking this is coming on then *wam* it's back to barking at him.

We have tried the treats but she still barks, funny thing is she barks at him but wants to go near him with excitable tail, then just as she gets close she backs off again etc. There is no growling or anything with Holly, just the bark but with her that is very loud. lol

 

So we shall just keep plodding along with her, the latest thing i am doing is for him to ignore her more, not sure if that is going to work out yet.

 

I think with him it's his beard as he looks like Father Christmas but i shall never know i doubt.

 

So keep trying with Freckles like i will with our neighbour, they are strange at times these doggies.