Nervous Of Strangers

[teekay]

Luka, my Aussie Shepherd, is getting more and more nervous of strangers, I am beginning to get worried.

I know the breed characteristics say 'reserved with strangers' but this is much more than that now.

For a while now he has not liked people coming into the house he doesn't know. He will huff and puff at them (sounds like he's coughing at them :laugh: )and back away. Not a huge problem I thought so I didn't bother too much about it. He is never aggressive and as long as the person doesn't try to approach him he quickly settles down and although is obviously reserved with them, he will approach them, on his own terms.

A few times he has done the same thing in the street if someone has approached him but I have just moved on and ignored the behaviour. Today while out on a walk (without my other 2, as I am working on loose lead walking) this little girl approached us and asked if she could stroke Luka. I said no as I was training him but he started his coughing thing which escalated into very loud barking and terrified the poor girl. I tried to get his attention but it was hopeless so I just dragged him away. I felt awful, my other 2 dogs are so friendly I don't really know what to do in that situation.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how to tackle this problem. It's worth mentioning we live next to a path and he barks like crazy at anyone who walks past too.

[persephone]

First off, I would suggest a thorough check up , eye/vision check, and hearing test ....., then maybe a consult with a behaviourist like jane harper?

[The Spotted Devil]

How old teekay?

[teekay]

He is 10 months old.

Have looked at the jane Harper website and like what I see. Would love to go and see her.

he went through a period when he was smaller of being very nervous of cars so I took him to a park next to a busy road and we settled at a safe distance and treated him for being calm and gradually moved nearer the road. Worked a treat.

i am wondering whether to do a similar thing here, but with people. We live on a pretty quiet development so when we see someone out on our walk, it is out of the ordinary. Maybe if we went somewhere busy, at safe distances etc he would get more used to people.

Does this sound like a good plan do you think?

[sheena]

He is 10 months old.

Have looked at the jane Harper website and like what I see. Would love to go and see her.

he went through a period when he was smaller of being very nervous of cars so I took him to a park next to a busy road and we settled at a safe distance and treated him for being calm and gradually moved nearer the road. Worked a treat.

i am wondering whether to do a similar thing here, but with people. We live on a pretty quiet development so when we see someone out on our walk, it is out of the ordinary. Maybe if we went somewhere busy, at safe distances etc he would get more used to people.

Does this sound like a good plan do you think?

You could "set" the situation up using some friends & practice some LAT. There is a lot of discussion on LAT on this forum...the latest being "Kelpie herding stalking" just below. It does help with LAT if he is familiar with the clicker & I would be starting with just one helper at a distance, clicking & treating everytime he glanced at them, but before he reacts...then gradually decrease the distance & use different people. Just take it slow & make the training sessions short, then put him away for a rest to let him "think" about it before you do any more training.

[cowanbree]

I would suggest that he is going through a fear period and these need to be handed very delicately. I believe Steve has a article on his website about how to handle these. I have aussies and they can be reserved by nature. My very first one was a happy outgoing bitch who loved everyone until about 9mths old when she got a fright at a dog show because a judge whistled at her. I immediately started getting her out and about and intensely socialising her and she just got worse and worse.

I now know she was going through a fear period and I handled it completely wrong and ended up with a fear aggressive bitch

[persephone]

I would suggest that he is going through a fear period and these need to be handed very delicately. I believe Steve has a article on his website about how to handle these. I have aussies and they can be reserved by nature. My very first one was a happy outgoing bitch who loved everyone until about 9mths old when she got a fright at a dog show because a judge whistled at her. I immediately started getting her out and about and intensely socialising her and she just got worse and worse.<br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247);"><br style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: verdana, tahoma, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(238, 242, 247);">I now know she was going through a fear period and I handled it completely wrong and ended up with a fear aggressive bitch

yes- and another good reason to have a professional observe and offer aid .

[mixeduppup]

My kelpie bitch just came out of a month long fear period, she was shying away from everyone and would only let me touch her. She's now back to being her friendly self just slightly more serious than her previous puppy self. I didn't do much, just kept up with her usual routine and let her work through it.

Edited December 27, 2012 by mixeduppup

[The Spotted Devil]

Yes, it could be a fear period. It's so hard to diagnose over the internet - a mild reaction for one person can be a severe reaction for another. It's all about perception.

I do like LAT - but you need to train for it specifically and keep the dog under threshold. Timing is important and this is where a good trainer might be worth while.

I have noticed that the reserved dogs are the ones the humans often want to rush up to and cuddle! And visitors generally don't listen to your instructions to just ignore them *insert rolly eye man*

So - when visitors come I would put Em in her crate - she was so much happier not be set upon by all these crazy people! When the peole settled on the lounge I'd let her out and she'd walk straight up to everyone for a cuddle. The crate is away now but the in-laws arrived on Christmas night - now Em knows them but MIL can't help rushing up and standing over her which can be intimidating for a dog that wants to go through polite sniffing protocol first. So - the dogs were locked out on the deck - got to see everyone arrive at a distance, recognise them and then be let in the house to say hello.

Edited December 27, 2012 by The Spotted Devil

[teekay]

After a recommendation, I have downloaded The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell. I will give that a read before I do anything and I am going to email Jane Harper and see how much a consultaion would be.

I had wondered about fear periods but it is difficult to know if it is this or not.

He is obviously not happy when strangers come but his reaction is not extreme and as long as the people leave him alone he is fine. So far everyone has been good about leaving him, they just fuss the other two.

While out on walks, for now, I will just walk in the opposite direction if he starts his huffing and puffing and try not to make an issue of it. I think this is what I did wrong last time. I spent too long trying to get his attention on me when I should have just walked away.

Thanks all for your replies :)

[The Spotted Devil]

Good luck! Do let us know you get on :)

[MarieEvans]

You might probably want to go and visit a behaviorist. Your dog might just one day jump up on someone and that would be a problem.

[Simply Grand]

You might probably want to go and visit a behaviorist. Your dog might just one day jump up on someone and that would be a problem.

I'm not quite sure what this means, do you mean attack someone?

Teekay, if it were me I would want to have a least one consult with a behaviourist, if you can afford Jane Harper that would be great :) I have no idea what she charges and only know of her from DOL but it sounds like she knows her stuff.

As you know, Aussies are clever and good at learning things even if you don't actually want them to learn that particular thing *eye roll* so I think it would be valuable to have someone knowledgeable watch you interacting with him to make sure you're not inadvertently reinforcing his behaviour. He's been such a lovely boy you'd hate to have a negative characteristic become part of his temperament.

I do agree with what you and others have said about keeping him under the threshold where he stops listening to you. I do LAT with Quinn because she gets TOO excited (happily) around people, especially kids, but if I don't catch her before a certain point she stops listening to me, goes and does the self rewarding behaviour of jumping all over them, which then reinforces her behaviour, sigh... She is getting better at controlling herself as she gets older thank goodness (she's 13 mths now).

Good luck from me as well!

[Erny]

I would suggest that he is going through a fear period and these need to be handed very delicately.

I agree. During this period I tend to work on what the dog CAN cope with, using repetition on repetition on repetition as my means to "progressive training" (believe it or not, it IS happening) during that phase of development.

[ness]

Teekay - I also have a similar nervy reserved dog and would definitely recommend a behaviorist if you can afford it. Even if you think you know what your doing its much better to get guidance if you think it could possibly be a problem in the long run. My only regret was not doing so sooner.