Strangers?

[Soda-pop]

only have the one, and she likes the IDEA of strangers (only women) but not so much the actual stranger-experience. She gets all wiggly and run around like a maniac but they can't touch her for a few minutes until she's decided they're cool or if the other dogs are around then she must be the one to get pet first. I think it's a nervous behavior. And men strangers = the debil in Soda's opinion. I think it's all a general lack of socialization.

[Kyleek9]

We have a 6 year old BC rescue mix that we adopted as a puppy. We started socializing her with adult humans, babies and other dogs from the start and is still ongoing.

She is super sweet and friendly with the people she knows, but a barking scary dog with certain strangers. It is at it's worst when she is on leash.

She runs at the dog park for almost two hours a day when the weather permits and has a good walk in the afternoon. We have tried the treat aversion,  take your mind off of the object of your disdain therapy and it works some times because she loves her treats. Other times she acts like she wants to eat the dog or person on the other side of the street. It is very inconsistent and we just cannot seem to get a handle on it.

Thoughts, suggestions ?

 

[GentleLake]

"Treat aversion"? What do you mean by that? It literally means an aversion (i.e a strong dislike) of treats. I have no idea how that would help with aggressive behavior towards people.

I'd be looking into the Look at That protocol. It's detailed in Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program by Leslie McDevitt. Either of her books by that name are good, but the puppy edition has more detailed explanations. There are many videos on lime demonstrating the protcol as well.

The problem is that when your dog gets to the point when she's reacting like that, she's already over threshold and past the point where she can engage her thinking brain so that you can get through to her no matter what you do. If you're not sure what this means, search "threshold" here for more detailed explanations.

Reactions like this are usually fear based and I'm a big proponent of working with a competent positive reinforcement (aka force free) trainer for help. You might find that your dog would benefit from either some calming treats or some kind of anti-anxiety medication. Many general vets are familiar enough with things like fluoxetine (generic Prozac) to prescribe them, but it's important to known that not all meds are effective for all dogs and you may have to try several. If it's serious enough, you may want to consider consulting a qualified behaviorist either a certified veterinary behaviorist (who would also have a much greater expertise with psychiatric meds) or at the very least a certified animal behavior consultant.

Wishing you and your dog the best.

 

[Kyleek9]

Thank you for the information, I will look for the book.

When I said treat aversion,  I meant trying to catch her before the " look" with a yummy treat.  I have her refocus on me and sit down, which works some of the time.

Thank you again love the input.

[GentleLake]

19 minutes ago, Kyleek9 said:

When I said treat aversion,  I meant trying to catch her before the " look" with a yummy treat.  I have her refocus on me and sit down, which works some of the time.

That's a desensitization and counter/conditioning technique. The beauty of the LAT protocol is that you're actually giving her permission to look a the scary thing before looking back at you. Think of yourself when something's frightening you; the impulse to look at it is compelling and the fear can become even more unbearable if you can't look at the scary thing to at least know what it is. So you not only allow her to take a quick peek, but actually direct her to and then reward her for refocusing on you. Once she learns that you'll reward her for refocusing on you after she's looked, she should begin to look at you more quickly and reliably.

[Roxadee]

On 3/10/2010 at 12:51 PM, painted_ponies said:

Mine are night and day.

 

Violet has never met a stranger. She wiggles, whimpers, and even rolls on her back to get new people to pet her.

 

Faith, OTOH, reacts like a feral dog when people come over. Hackles up, slinks around in a jackal-like posture, oozing suspicion. Go figure. She's fine if she meets people away from home. It's just visitors to her home that get on her last nerve. I think it's because we so rarely have any. (We're not unsociable, we just live in the back of beyond.)

 

Scot, my BC/maremma cross, is very in touch with the LGD side of his lineage.

You described Gracie when you were talking about Faith.  I laughed until I cried, your funny.