Big birthday

[Megs]

Right so, it's my boyfriends birthday braai / party on Saturday evening and there will be quite a few new faces coming over, well, that Chaos hasn't been introduced to at least and im a bit worried as to how he is going to react - especially to the male species!!

 

What I normally do is just tell the person who he is barking at to ignore him and if and when he comes to you then you may pat him gently under the chin NOT on the head. Is this a good way to go about it?

 

He is usually quite calm and won't hurt anyone but when a large male enters the property he has a huge problem with them and barks at them backing away if they try and approach him, to which I tell them to ignore him or give them his toy which usually doesn't mask the fact that they are still big scary men!

 

Once a guy tried to say hello to him on the beach while in his wetsuit holding a surfboard and Chaos backed away from him.

 

I just want to keep him happy and be with me and my boyfriend cause he loves being with us and loves the attention he gets from everyone but it's just that first meeting that gets him all tense and barkie.

 

I wish I knew where this behaviour stems from? Although as far as I can remember back, Chaos had a fear for men...even when he was a pup he would bark at them. But he lives with two men? Some men are perfectly fine and he gets on with them wether they are big or small but others he can't be near and they can't come near him.

[mbc1963]

Huh! I learned a new word: "Braai."

 

Your dog sounds like a less-reactive version of my Buddy. The best advice I can give people is to just ignore the dog. Or maybe ignore him while dropping tiny pieces of chicken.

 

This works, but... people rarely take that advice.

 

Everyone wants to be the only person that the dog loves: "I'm really good with dogs." Oh, yeah? Then why is my dog backing away from you and growling?

 

So, I dunno. For me, it's worth it to remove my dog from situations like this where I can't necesarily trust people to follow my instructions. I'd rather Buddy be isolated for a few hours than put into a situation that could turn bad.

 

Mary

[Megs]

Thanks, it sounds like im doing the right thing then! I just hate having to put him away, he wants to be with everybody and see whats going on, it's just that initial meeting, he is normally at my side all the time, if I go inside, he does inside, if I go outside he goes outside, if I go to the bathroom, he comes into the bathroom, haha, so im hoping that this will make me able to watch him but if I feel he is just way to uncomfortable and uneasy then I will put him in my room.

 

"Braai" to make a fire and cook meat etc or as you call it "barbeque" I think? Best way is to braai - poof to barbeque

[urge to herd]

Is there anyone he likes that he could go spend the evening or afternoon with? Seriously, I like to have my dogs with me, as well, but Chaos would be happier and calmer without all the commotion. Having people he doesn't know come in and out and walk around talk will be really stressful for him. And people can't always be relied on to remember instructions, especially if they think they're 'good with dogs.' Even if he can't go somewhere else, putting him away with a bone or something safe to chew on is better for him.

 

Happy Birthday to your boyfriend!

 

Ruth

[Megs]

hmmmm, you are right, I guess that having Chaos chewing a bone or happy with my mother would be better than scary talking walking people trying to touch him, he is so beautiful after all haha, untill they try and touch him and he barks at them why is it that immediatly when a dog doesn't react to a person the way THEY want they assume him to be a agressive and horrible dog???? It tests my patience for humand beings!!

 

Ok, I will take him over to my moms for the evening, he LOVES her but is still very weary of their Alaskan Malamute and Siberian Husky - the malamute dominates him terribly and he is SUPER submissive to him, roll on back, roll on back when running for toy when malamure approaches him.

 

OR I might just give him a nice big fresh cut bone to gnaw on, him and Biscuit (my older collie) in my room!

 

Thanks for the reply!! Appreciate it

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

Pretty much what Ruth said. Although if he's super submissive of towards the Mal. at your mom's this situation might be kinda stressful too. I will tell you exactly what it is about men that dogs have issues with. They are big, they are LOUD with booming voices and the STARE DIRECTLY AT DOGS. Eye contact is huge with a lot of dogs. I have people come over and the guys are always so upset that my dog doesn't like them. Seriously, ignore her, don't pat on top of head and don't friggen stare at her and you'll be fine. Women seem to understand this much, much easier than men (and teenage boys) do.

When I have strangers come over, I usually put Daisy in my office and put up a baby gate. She gets a kong or something and a bone. She doesn't usually give a rats a** that there are people over. Well, until she gets bored.

[Lizmo]

Could he just be crated or left in another room/part of the house? I agree with what others have said, it would probably be a better idea to either let him go stay at a friend or family members house or crate him in another part of the house. Also, with lots of new people in your house -and just lots of people in general- going in and out during the party, a door could accidentely be left open and he could run out.