Unusual Fear Aggression

[Tambaqui]

Hey everyone,

I just hint or ideas on how to deal with this situation because I love my baby girl (Bit over 6 months German Shorthaired Pointer), but when she socialize with other people, she is a fantastic dog and really appreciate everyone, gives them cuddles, kisses and wags her tail.

However I need help to overcome her shyness/fear over the other dogs.

Here is the weird thing, she won't growl, bite or whatso which is really good however she would sort-of cringe around the dogs, wags her tail high and oftenly just flop to the ground in submission still wagging her tail and playing with the dogs. (I've been told that since she is wagging her tail is a good sign, but still why show signs of unsure-ness)

She would also sometimes often have a bit of wee too while socializing with the dogs as well (Which is kind-of embarrassing too especially when she plays!). Also to add, normally when she wants to socialize, she would happily go up to the dogs and say hello and play with them, but I just find it odd she would then just flop to the ground.

(With the dogs and cat at home, she is not like this at all, infact she is the complete opposite! But then again she is seeing them all the time and plays/be with them).

This happened possibly due to one day before puppy socialization at an obedience club and a German Shepherd Cross got on her and pinned her to the ground and the owner of the dog didn't attempt to get the dog off her, especially when my dog struggled to get up so I had to remove the owners dog to get her up and she wasn't the same after that, and also it didn't help when you had dogs being so rough in that same class .

So any ideas or tips will be appreciated as I want her to be a happy and be able to socialize without worrying or falling into submission for them!

Thanks

Edited June 24, 2009 by Tambaqui

[luvsdogs]

My dog is a bit the same way. She will grovvell to other dogs, wagging her tail & sometimes rolls on her back. i don't think its a real problem unless you pander to her & pat & cuddle her & say it's all right. The weeing thing is submissive urination & she has no control over it. My previous border April used to do it when I got home or she went to the vets. She grew out of it by about 1 y/o. Quite a lot of puppies do it.

She may be in a fear period. As I said it's not the time to give in to her. Ignore it & she will soon outgrow it. Read the sticky at the top of this forum by K9force on puppy developement calendar.

A tail wag isn't always a sign that a dog is friendly, you have to look at the rest of the dog. Such as ears, eyes, stance etc.

[CareyJ]

Hi Tambaqui, We also have a German Shorthaired Pointer who is just under 6 months old. She is really confident (except for the time a cat leapt from out of nowhere at her!) but is really submissive and also lies down and with her belly exposed whenever she meets new dogs and even some of the regulars at the park. I think she just realises the pecking order. I've also found that this helps when she meets dogs that arent quite sure of this crazy puppy and before we know it they are playing.

I have found the GSP forum on here really helpful - they all seem to have been through everything before so I'm in most cases things have been discussed and I'm now just waiting for them to happen.

Is she a little ratbag? Leila is so cheeky but great fun.

[Miranda]

She seems a little unsure and apprehensive, the incident with the GSD has probably influenced this behaviour. You may find that she'll improve as she gets older and gains confidence, positive experiences with other dogs will help. I'd avoid socialising her with strange dogs as you don't know how they'll react and any more nasty experiences are likely to make her much worse. Take it easy with her and let her go at her own pace, don't try to force her into situations where you know she won't cope eg. where two or three dogs are attempting to sniff her at once. I wouldn't take her to off leash dog parks.

Edited June 26, 2009 by Miranda

[Diva]

IMO, it may well improve with little intervention as her confidence grows with age and good experiences, especially if you stay matter of fact and don't make a fuss. She is just being super polite and showing her respect for the older dogs. Don't let dogs whose intentions you doubt near her or large groups of dogs overwhelm her, but don't make a big deal out of avoiding them either, just take charge and move away calmly. The weeing is just part of the submissive display.

I'm not sure why you descibe it as fear agression in the thread title though, to me it's not at all aggressive?

[persephone]

Sounds like a 'polite' ,submissive puppy

As said- leave her be... allow her to play with pups/dogs who are gentle..and she will build up some confidence.

It is not a bad behaviour at all , IMO.

[Tambaqui]

Thanks for the great response everyone! I'm glad to know I am doing ok and will keep a watch on her to make sure she is doing ok!

Is she a little ratbag? Leila is so cheeky but great fun.

Part of her is definitely a ratbag! lol But she is an absolute gorge and so outgoing and playful! But I can see that I am not the only one with a GSP that does that! (I was mainly worried because I've seen some GSP pups and they were nothing like my Bella! Being submissive and all!)

She seems a little unsure and apprehensive, the incident with the GSD has probably influenced this behaviour. You may find that she'll improve as she gets older and gains confidence, positive experiences with other dogs will help. I'd avoid socialising her with strange dogs as you don't know how they'll react and any more nasty experiences are likely to make her much worse. Take it easy with her and let her go at her own pace, don't try to force her into situations where you know she won't cope eg. where two or three dogs are attempting to sniff her at once. I wouldn't take her to off leash dog parks.

Thanks for the advice, and I won't let her off the leads with other dogs. I used to at my obedience club after training and let her off the leads to play with the other dogs, but I can see how it is best not to do it until she is more confident.

I'm not sure why you descibe it as fear agression in the thread title though, to me it's not at all aggressive?

Well I wasn't too sure as to how to explain it because when she was a pup at 12 weeks and socialize one night at a puppy socializing class, but everytime a pup went up to her, she ended up growling at them for some odd reason! Although she doesn't growl when she meets other dogs now, but I wasn't too sure as to how to describe what she was doing (One thing I'v learnt here is that it's a submissive behavior, not fear aggression).

Hope this makes sense and thanks to everyone for giving some tips in helping my new pup!