TheCheekyMonster Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 I have two mannequin heads sitting on my working table I am a face painter part time and i use them to practice on,,, any who Gus was upstairs and noticed them.... I have NEVER seen him more scared of something he was barking furiously and very very unsure, any move that was made he would get worse and standing his ground kind of? kind of like a bow but not.... and he would not let me go near it every time i moved he was standing across my feet looking at the heads and just going nuts!! i tried to get close to the heads, and just touch them and not make a big deal out of them.... it didnt help so i walked away and tried to distract him with his squeaky toy... it took a while for him to break focus and play with me, then i tried again... he seemed a little better didnt start barking again... but it scared the day life out of me! did i do the right thing in terms of dealing with it? I really dont want him to ever do this to a person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steph M Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Perhaps he didn't even make the connection between human head and mannequin one, do they have hair? fairly lifelike or are they more just the bald, plastic detached heads? Sounds like he just wanted to know where on earth the rest of their bodies where or what they even were! Poor dude! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Did you ever get Nala to approach it first so Gus can see her response? If he sees Nala being calm and rational in confronting such a bizarre and scary thing it might help him decide it's no problem after all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Have you never had a dog go off at a mirror the first time they saw themselves in it, or raced behind the TV to find out where the "whatever that caught their eye" is hiding? It's the same thing, relax, he's not about to attack someone. You can put them somewhere else so he sees them more often and gets used to them if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 I really wouldn't worry about it! Sounds like you dealt with it well. Probably just something weird that hes never noticed (if hes still young he could only recently have gotten to a height where he can see them?) and it well an truly freaked him out. I remember when Roscoe was about 6 months old and he suddenly noticed his reflection in the tv (when it was turned off), funniest thing watching him bark at himself, the run to me for reassurance, then bark again, then run back :laugh: I have a video of it somewhere too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovemesideways Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Have you never had a dog go off at a mirror the first time they saw themselves in it, or raced behind the TV to find out where the "whatever that caught their eye" is hiding? It's the same thing, relax, he's not about to attack someone. You can put them somewhere else so he sees them more often and gets used to them if you want. I love this moment..Am I a bad person for deliberatly setting up a mirror so I can have a giggle at the puppy going "WTF!?" :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Rusty Bucket Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 TCM Do not leave your dog alone with the mannequin(s). I knew a dog that killed a beatrix potter mouse door stop - because she felt threatened by it. Snuck up to where it was when nobody was around and ripped it to pieces. When she was in the same room as it and supervised - she acted completely freaked out by it. Maybe - supervised - if you give him some time to have a sniff and get used to what they are - he might get over it. Or he might sneak back and kill the threat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Have you never had a dog go off at a mirror the first time they saw themselves in it, or raced behind the TV to find out where the "whatever that caught their eye" is hiding? OMG yes, it was absolutely hilarious, Jarrah wasn't scared though - just desperate to find these weird scentless dog spirits of the mirror and televsion so she could play with them! She was sooo excited, she kept running behind the mirror, then back to the front of it again, back and forth till finally she realised there was no dog to play with, what a huge let down, same with the television. :laugh: Gus sounds really scared though, and Cheeky Monster has another dog who I suspect probably takes all these things completely in stride, so may as well use that advantage since it's there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCheekyMonster Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 Gus has never gone off at his reflection or the tv so this is why I was a little suprised at the strong reaction he gave, they have no hair they are just bald heads with a straight stare.... just the look on his face was so god dam serious i was trying all sorts of things to distract him. Nala has seen them but Gus wasnt around, she doesnt react to much... except for possums and the dog next door (she was attacked by a possum as a pup and it took a good chunk out of her nose) but yes I just wanted to know if i handled it ok hahah nothing worse than encouraging the situation..... im going to try bring it out again today and see what he does with it..... The first time Gus reacted like this was around 6-8 months old and it was when leaves moved in the wind but i put that down to fear period and he got over it pretty quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 I'd be plonking them in the middle of the lounge room floor and leaving him to it. Let him check them out in his own time and way. I've had one go right off at the dog in the mirror, can't remember which one. It was the dressing table mirror and for several days they would bark and growl until they got over it. Which they did if they wanted to sleep in my bedroom :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Poor Gus :laugh: Don't worry, sometimes they just freak out at things, Lili has done this over a plastic bag in the street....scary plastic bag..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCheekyMonster Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 (edited) Poor Gus :laugh: Don't worry, sometimes they just freak out at things, Lili has done this over a plastic bag in the street....scary plastic bag..... ..... come to think of it they are pretty freaky... but the last thing i want is him going nutz over some bald person walking around..jezz try explain that one!.. um... my dog is scared of bald people Edited August 29, 2012 by TheCheekyMonster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teekay Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 Gus has never gone off at his reflection or the tv so this is why I was a little suprised at the strong reaction he gave, they have no hair they are just bald heads with a straight stare.... just the look on his face was so god dam serious i was trying all sorts of things to distract him. Nala has seen them but Gus wasnt around, she doesnt react to much... except for possums and the dog next door (she was attacked by a possum as a pup and it took a good chunk out of her nose) but yes I just wanted to know if i handled it ok hahah nothing worse than encouraging the situation..... im going to try bring it out again today and see what he does with it..... The first time Gus reacted like this was around 6-8 months old and it was when leaves moved in the wind but i put that down to fear period and he got over it pretty quickly. I think I would freak out if I suddenly came across two disembodied heads staring at me. Sounds like a Gus had a perfectly normal reaction to me :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
W Sibs Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I'd be plonking them in the middle of the lounge room floor and leaving him to it. Let him check them out in his own time and way. I've had one go right off at the dog in the mirror, can't remember which one. It was the dressing table mirror and for several days they would bark and growl until they got over it. Which they did if they wanted to sleep in my bedroom :laugh: Yeah, this is what I would do too :) I introduced Em to the mirror and she ran into into the mirror and nearly knocked herself out. She was 10 weeks old. Charlie approached it slowly and started to paw the mirror and he got bored and walked away. Skeeter hasn't shown any interested in the mirror.. we have mirror at the end of the hallway and it's like be is very oblivious to it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheridan Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Have you never had a dog go off at a mirror the first time they saw themselves in it, or raced behind the TV to find out where the "whatever that caught their eye" is hiding? It's the same thing, relax, he's not about to attack someone. You can put them somewhere else so he sees them more often and gets used to them if you want. Grumpy and Mini do this. I was walking Grumpy somewhere once and he got very annoyed at a statue. And Mini has become very curious about ... well, anything really. She's a bit of a goldfish at times. 'Where did THAT come from?!' and then later at the same thing, 'Where did THAT come from?!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wobbly Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 I have just bought a roomba - one of those little auto vacuum things - why o why did they have to make it so frisbee shaped... :laugh: I haven't introduced Jarrah to it yet, she's gonna go think it's the best chasey toy EVER. :/ I'm still deliberating about how to go about the introduction. She's calmest from about 8pm onward, so good timing will probably help, and I will make sure she's had a lot of exercise so she's tired too. Beyond that I'm thinking I will get her to do her tricks for lots of awesome treats - sausage or something really good like that - at the other end of the room when I first switch it on in her presence. Fingers crossed. Hopefully our strategies work enough that your mannequins & my little robot vacuum can survive our canine friends unscathed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noisymina Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Kaisie play bowed and barked at Roomba for a while, then gave up when it would not play with her. The the cat stalked it for a while and freaked when it turned and chased her. Eventually, she lost interest too. Kaisie did put on a good show at a statue at the nursery once. :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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