Is This Bad Temperament From Carried Down From Breeding?

[iluvlabs]

Hello

I have a 3 year old labrador. Typically I thought labs were friendly, outgoing dogs however my girl is somewhat different.

I had her flown up from a breeder down south when she was 8 wks old. Once she hopped off the plane she was very timid and scared and I thought this may have been because of the flight.

During her first few months she was very wary and scared of strangers. If someone she had not met before went to pat her she would run off or if she didnt see their hand coming to pat her on the head for example, she'd get scared and try to bite them. This carried on for a little while and I contacted the breeder asking what the dam and sire's temperaments were like. He said that it was unusual for my pup to be displaying this kind of thing because she was outgoing and friendly before leaving their kennel.

I took her to 2 lots of puppy preschool and Dog Obedience training as I thought she needed more socialisation with other dogs. She was very wary with other dogs at the start but by the end she wasn't too worried about them.

Since then her temperament has improved however she still growls at strangers and is very wary around new people visiting the house. She doesn't like other dogs and even growls at them if we're visiting the vet or sometimes walking down the road. Another example is if we're going somewhere in the car and she see's someone walking past she growls at them..for no reason.

Can anyone tell me why she is like this. Could this be carried down from her breeding or is she just an over protective labrador? She is a typical lab with people that are close to her and she knows. She licks, loves cuddles and all the rest. But when we're out its embarrassing when people ask to pat her because they think she's a friendly dog and she starts growling at them.

Thank you

edited for spelling mistakes

Edited March 7, 2010 by iluvlabs

[fifi]

Sounds like you have done lots to try & help your lab.

There are some fantastic trainers here who could advise you.

But I personally feel there is a huge difference between shy, which I feel is very trainable, and nervous - and through one dog I owned, and years of vet nursing I discovered and believe, that nervous temp may sometimes have an inherited component, or a sad accident of birth. sadly some nervous/fearful dogs can be fear biters.

I certainly wouldn't be blaming the breeder, rather work with them and see if they have any suggestions, some things just seem to come from nowhere.

I suggest you ask here for a very good behaviourist in your area who can assist you.

fifi

edited to make sense

Edited March 7, 2010 by fifi

[centitout]

Sometimes a fearful/nervous dog can be made worse by trying to socialise them too much i have found.But i think temp definately has an inherited component,otherwise we wouldnt be using temp as one of the measures in our breeding programmes along with health.

[sandgrubber]

Hello

I have a 3 year old labrador. Typically I thought labs were friendly, outgoing dogs however my girl is somewhat different.

The behaviour you describe is not normal for a Labrador. I agree with others about finding a behaviouralist. I'd say the problem could well be hard wired in the brain, if not hereditary. It would be worth discussing this with the breeder. Few Lab breeders would be happy turning out dogs with a-typical behaviour of this sort, and most would want to know about it. An honest breeder may also tell you if other pups of similar breeding have had the same problem.

[persephone]

Dogs can indeed be born fearful/nervous...and it is sometimes not noticed at first, until the pup faces new challenges/environments.

I would also suggest getting a recommended behaviourist in to assess her, and help you with strategies to minimise her fear/agression.

I owned a fear aggressive dog for many years... and it certainly takes effort to manage

[fifi]

Sometimes a fearful/nervous dog can be made worse by trying to socialise them too much i have found.But i think temp definately has an inherited component,otherwise we wouldnt be using temp as one of the measures in our breeding programmes along with health.

Totally agree with you Centitout, I knew nothing about the difference between nervous & shy back then wih my boy, and took lots of advice to 'get him out more', which I thought was the right thing to do.

No, it made him even more fearful, and the only time he was happy was in his own home with no strangers or break to routine.

fifi

Edited March 7, 2010 by fifi

[gundoglover]

I wonder if she had a nasty experience during the plane trip. At 8 weeks she may well have been going through a fear period & an adverse experience with a stranger during the trip may have triggered this fear of strangers behaviour. The breeder claims that the pup was normal & outgoing prior to the plane trip, so this may be an explanation.

[centitout]

I have had pups perfectly fine with me /re trained adults too,but with certain people they can negatively influence the dog into behaviours not seen with different handlers.These people arent rough or nasty,just some signal they give out i think,the dog is just not confident with them.

Not saying this is the case though,just something i have observed working at the vets and being their main handler for nervous/timid dogs as they seemed to be more confident with me.I dont pander to them,but neither did i force them to do something before they were comfortable.

[Incavale]

There's always a risk when you buy from a breeder if you don't inspect the merchandise before purchase and just as importantly, the conditions that the pup was whelped and lived in during it's first few weeks of life. Some breeders unfortunatley, don't socialise their pups at all during their first 8 weeks of life & it's not uncommon for a pup to have had no contact with anything before being freigted off to unsuspecting purchasers. It really p@%%^s me off.

[iluvlabs]

Thanks so much everyone for their responses.

The dog obedience training we went to was conducted by a behaviourist, she recommended that we keep up the training and socialising but not to force her into scary/uncertain situations. She said that she'd grow out of it..which she did to a degree...

After thinking about it, and everything I have seen in her behaviour compared to my other labs..I am leaning more towards the opinion that she has inherited this behaviour. She is not a puppy anymore and has been introduced to a wide range of environments (carefully and safely), animals, people etc. I dont think its normal for a dog to growl at the sight of a person 10 metres away while inside an aircon car?? Especially a labrador.

We purchased our lab specifically to show and perhaps breed later on after receiving her title and health checks were done.. but now that idea has gone down the drain because we cant show her as she wont let strangers touch her and I definetely dont want this trait passed down to any pups if it is hereditary.

Unfortunately we got burnt by the breeder, after the initial email from him saying that when the pup left she was fine and that the parents had good temperaments I never heard from him again It makes me mad when a breeder washes their hands from you as soon as there may be a problem. I have since learnt my lesson and will only ever be purchasing a pup from a breeder who has been around for many many years and is known to have a good reputation. Not old joe bloggs who is just out there trying to make a buck.

[gundoglover]

Unfortunately we got burnt by the breeder, after the initial email from him saying that when the pup left she was fine and that the parents had good temperaments I never heard from him again It makes me mad when a breeder washes their hands from you as soon as there may be a problem. I have since learnt my lesson and will only ever be purchasing a pup from a breeder who has been around for many many years and is known to have a good reputation. Not old joe bloggs who is just out there trying to make a buck.

Yes, that puts a different complexion on things. I do wish you a better experience with your next puppy.