Issue

[B-Q]

We had the behaviourist here thismorning to discuss Harry, we talked about Buster's DA aswell. She's given me some direction so I was out practicing again with Buster this afternoon.

Now over the last 4-5 weeks we've been working on his leash skills. I've been avoiding dogs, so going at times people arn't really around. So he hasn't reallyhad any exposure to people since we moved.

I took him out again today, we were walking towards a woman coming our way. He's always been fine with people, not even giving them a second glance. We were about 5 metres away from her and he skipped ahead a bit so I asked him to heel, he didn't so I turned quickly and went the other way.

And he started getting all agitated, looking back at her and stuff. By the time we got back to the front yard all his bristles were up and he let out half a growl before I scolded him and pulled him sideways and into a sit.

I'm thinking its probably lack of exposure to people over the last little while then turning away from her that might've triggered it?

That said, he's been showing increasing "interest" in people over the last year or so, which I'm not much of a fan of.

We went out again and I made a point of getting really excited when he was being good (I always forget to act like a walk is a happy thing, because it rarely is, so its a habit) and he relaxed. When we were coming home we passed a couple of guys on bikes and he didn't show a heap of interest.

Should I just get him out more when people are likley to be walking past and concentrate on myself being relaxed and cheerful, or should I be more worried?

Kinda feels like one of those "2 steps forward, 10 steps back" days.

[jaybeece]

I think it's worth worrying about as if he lunges at someone they could make things difficult with the council, even if he doesn't touch them. Not to the point of letting him notice on walks though You still need to be happy and relaxed (easier said than done, I know!)

Mine does the same at times, he doesn't like being approached head on especially if the person is staring at him or walking in a strange way. I keep him at a heel and keep talking to him to distract him and keep him walking straight if it looks like he'll take offence to someone's body language. I always keep myself between him and the approaching person and nudge him away from them if he's showing too much "interest" in them. He's not too bad generally though, but I don't want him harassing strangers if they're carrying something that smells good either.

In my experience it does have a fair bit to do with lack of exposure to people, he'll usually only do it if we haven't been many people in public for a while. I take him to the local shops and used to walk up to the train station too so he could be exposed to plenty of people who'd all be ignoring him so he could relax about it a bit more. Obedience school helps as well.

If you can contact your behaviourist about it I think it'd be a good thing to discuss with them as it really depends on what's upsetting him and how he's reacting to it. Exposing him to more people might help, but it also could make him worse.

[Erny]

I'm thinking its probably lack of exposure to people over the last little while then turning away from her that might've triggered it?

That said, he's been showing increasing "interest" in people over the last year or so, which I'm not much of a fan of.

If your dog didn't receive sufficient socialisation to different (ie unfamiliar) people during the critical period (8-16 weeks) then absence from strangers could have some impact. But your second sentence here has alarm bells ringing and it could be that this problem has been growing all the while and that what you witnessed (as per your post) is another step in the escalating process.

Contact your trainer/behaviourist (I presume he/she offers email/telephone support beyond the first consultation?) and report this to her/him, making sure to also inform him/her of what you did so that your responses can be 'tweaked' or altered as the case may be. Give details such as threshold distance as well. Sometimes people miss early signs of a dog's 'unease' and respond too late for the dog to either cope with on an emotional level or even learn from. I am often in frequent contact with my clients following consultation - it is THEM I am teaching the new regime and it often takes a bit of time to get used to handling technique/timing and improving on it. Over time, as the owner learns to manage it (and as a result, the dog normally is improving), the email/telephone contact is required quite as frequently or even at all. I love to get updates from my clients though, even when the problem has disappeared.

I presume 'leadership' regime has been discussed, checked and (where or if necessary) 'tweaked' by your trainer/behaviourist as well.

Don't lose faith or hope, Busterlove . It had only been one day ..... don't push it with your dog. Distance, IMO is what you need. It will help both you and your dog (gives YOU more thinking time and gives your dog less chance of peaking anxiety/defense drive). Remember, your dog is 'learning' (and so are you) so "steady as she goes" .

Edited April 25, 2008 by Erny

[B-Q]

Thanks.

He did meet a fair few people when he was younger, and he's always just ignored them completley. Since this incident we've been going out more and more and he's passed a few people showing very minimal interest.

I will contact my behaviorist and let her know, it was weird. Because he was looking at this woman as we were approaching, and I only turned around because I told him to come back to my side and he didn't. And it was after we started walkign the other way (but she was walking the same way behind us) that he started getting agitated.

The behaviourist is coming back in a couple of weeks to see how things are going, she's given us a lot of notes to look over and adjust things till then, which I've been reading every couple of days to remind myself of what to do.