Ridgeback Now Has The Fear :(

[RidgieAmy]

]Hey.. So i need some advice on this situation that happened today. I was at work and my boyfriend's friend, and his girlfriend were coming over, my boyfriend was outside hanging out the washing (well trained ;-) ) and Kobie was sleeping in the living room, my boyfriend's friend then knocked on the door and WALKED RIGHT IN!! Kobie started howling so my boyfriend ran inside to see what had happened, and his friend and friends girlf standing in doorway, Kobie ran straight to my boyfriend still howling, obviously scared sh*tless. My boyfriend said after 5 minutes he was sooking in to the girlfriend, but still wary of the guy, When they went to leave the guy went to pet Kobie and he huddled right down, scared again!!! I know that this guy would not hurt Kobie, Kobie obviously just got a big fright. and so did they at his howling!

I got home and my boyfriend told me i was so pissed off he'd just walked right in, and annoyed at my boyfriend as i'd explained this morning that Kobie was going through his fear period and this is a very influential time, anyway have just come back from our evening walk where he was fine, until he ran over to a couple and the girl patted him, wagging tail the lot, the guy has went to pat him and hes screamed and ran back to us!!! Obviously today has freaked him out, and I need advice on how to go about getting him to deassociate all guys with this incident that happened today, I won't know till tomorrow if it's going to be a recurring thing with guys or if he was still tense about what happened this afternoon.

Our puppy trainer is a male so hoping this will help the situatuon aswell but he's met him a few times so it might not count the same!

Any advice appreciated :-)

[Tralee]

Kobie is gorgeous BTW

How old?

Worse can happen, and touch wood it won't, but I would take odds on that it will.

Fact: If you want to be in control of the development of your dogs temperament then get yourself a compound where people cannot interfere with it.

Sounds extreme, but let the sense of an old head on old shoulders linger longer.

My dog was seriously traumatised by a gardener at just 10 weeks old.

It took years for her to become desensitised.

My second dog was traumatised by a Vet. and his problems became extreme and persistent over the next year.

My fourth dog was being interfered with by a neighbor who had serious anger problems, and one day she came to me with her toe sliced into two. She became too reactive after that and I had to have her euthanased.

So, if you want to be in control of the development of your dogs temperament then get a compound where people cannot interfere with it. A compound would be as simple as a fenced yard inside the property boundaries.

You know those dogs who rush the fences along the street. Well, actually its an offence and just around the corner from me, two dogs; a young Siberian and a Malamute who were absolutley lovely dogs 12 months ago, have recently been seized and euthanased because the owner used to let them run up to the fence but kids and other people made them reactive and they bit a few people.

So, your choice.

Take control or lose it.

Regards

Edited February 9, 2013 by Tralee

[RidgieAmy]

Hes 12 1/2 weeks! Thanks!

He has his puppy pen where he sleeps, eats, he goes in their himself, but my boyfriend lets him do whatever when i'm not home which annoys me more, as if he had been in there, he wouldn't have felt so terrified. Normally he's in the pen when people come round and he wags to get out and when hes calm he gets out and right over for a pat and a sniff of our friends.

I don't want to not take him out to the park, i mean a situation like if i approach a guy and tell him to stand still and let Kobie sniff but not touch him, and then drop a treat so Kobie starts thinking guys have treats, you know what i mean?? I understand where your coming from, and i DO NOT want a dog like that espeically as we're showing him it would not be possible so I need him desensitized to men as soon as he'll allow really, i just need tips on how to go about it without making him more scared.

[Topoftheheap]

You know those dogs who rush the fences along the street. Well, actually its an offence and just around the corner from me, two dogs; a young Siberian and a Malamute who were absolutley lovely dogs 12 months ago, have recently been seized and euthanased because the owner used to let them run up to the fence but kids and other people made them reactive and they bit a few people.

What do you mean it is an offence? What law is it breaking? Im just curious because we have a 9 foot colorbond fence on one of our property boundaries, and one of our cavies rushes up to it, and barks when people walk by? She was not like this always, but was absolutely harrassed by kids in our street, and it has made her a nervous wreck. She is not aggresive, just barks in a protective way, but I have never heard of a rule that bans your dog from barking from inside it's own yard, when restricted by a fence? Perhaps the dogs were seized because they bit people?

[Leema]

I would not be taking chances and blaming this fearful behaviour on a 'fear period'. Dogs and puppies should be happy and confident with all people from 6 weeks and up. Any puppies that aren't happy and confident towards people worry me.

I would immediate start a process of classical conditioning / desensitisation with your puppy.

Take his meals out with you morning and night and stand outside the shopping centre. Get people to feed him his breakfast and dinner. He'll learn that strangers are good.

Invite plenty of people to your home, and get them to feed him.

Here's a blog post on how Dunbar suggests fear behaviour be treated in dogs:

http://leemakennels.com/blog/dog-behaviour/dog-training-dog-behaviour/fearful-dogs-dunbar/

[Dogsfevr]

So are you saying your friend knocked on the door & walked & did nothing but the pup had a hissy fit & started howling for no reason except it wasn't locked in its pen??

If thats the case i would say this pup needs more exposure to the world & less sheltering .

I am not a fan of the fear period aspect, i think like Seperation anxiety people use it to quickly asa reason for behaviour issues when it isn't

You say you have a trainer does the dog have issues ???

Has the pup been in a show yet & if so how did it behave??

At this age my show pups are encouraged & exposed to every thing & anything,there not sheltered & taught to be confident.

Edited February 9, 2013 by showdog

[RidgieAmy]

He has been out since 8 weeks old, To friends for bbq, stayed over at our other friends one weekend, To our familys houses, he has been out everywhere we can possibly take him like city farmers, he's met children from babies to teenagers, he's been outside my work at a shopping centre getting patted by everyone he has not been sheltered, his sisters who we met again at show training were very timid compared to him and have not been socialized as much as him. he LOVES people and dogs, and we had show training the other night and he was right up getting pats from men and women, No he doesn't have issues at all with our trainer, this happened today, At show training he wanted to meet everyone, he's very friendly. I'm not saying this is going to be an issue, I just want to go the right way about it if it has spooked him a bit?? which going by his reaction to the man going to pet him and he has bolted it has.

[Greytmate]

From the time you bring your pup home until 16 weeks you need to be exposing the puppy to lots of new things and people in a gentle and controlled way.

Your story sounds like something is not quite right. Either the friend did something that really frightened the puppy, or the puppy is abnormally fearful.

Treat your puppy normally and it will probably be fine. If it is as good with people as you say it is, what happened today is unlikely to have any lasting effects.

[Nekhbet]

I agree don't worry at all. Fear periods do NOT mean the dog is going to freak out, but that they start exhibiting 'abnormal' or more extreme behaviors in response to stimuli that normally would be quite normal to you or I. Your pup needs to be exposed to those scary things and you need to show him how to deal with it. If he has a fit or a loud session just calmly tell him enough, show him the alternative behavior of something like bed or crate and reward for decreasing anxiety and losing interest. The fear is not permanent unless you make it that way. Trust me, I have a breed that clings onto fears something fierce and even my beaten within an inch of breathing Malinois now shows guarding and prey drive like she should. Unless the genetic basis of the behavior is severely flawed, don't think puppy experimentation will be permanent.

As I tell a lot of people, stop aiming straight for positive associations especially for some breeds around strangers. Aim for neutrality - so the human has no rewarding nor frightening aspect. It's easier to achieve for a dog then jump straight from bad to good because that inbetween step will always exist there mentally. Your dog should show little reaction except acknowledgement and no raise in excitement levels be they good or bad. Keep focus with interaction and a treat and remember, always reward calm behavior, you wont have a problem.

[RidgieAmy]

Thanks for the advice and link!! I'm sure he'll be fine he is very friendly so maybe waking up and being alone with a stranger standing there when he woke was a bit scary, i would be scared if it happened to me, lol. Just the park incident was my concern, he was fine passing people on the way there, but will see how he goes tomorrow on his walks. :-)

[Nekhbet]

Thanks for the advice and link!! I'm sure he'll be fine he is very friendly so maybe waking up and being alone with a stranger standing there when he woke was a bit scary, i would be scared if it happened to me, lol. Just the park incident was my concern, he was fine passing people on the way there, but will see how he goes tomorrow on his walks. :-)

Exactly right. OK he got a scare but he has to learn to deal with it because they will happen in life. There's a rather sterile notion of raising dogs recently and it's creating more problems then answers. Stress in dog training is not a bad thing at all UNLESS you let the dog decide the reaction and roll with it long term. That is how you create a reactive dog, because dogs make up some wonderful behaviors that make sense to them, and cause us quite a bit of distress :laugh: If you help a dog deal with the bad behaviors it possibly exhibits, teach it, guide it, long term you dont see problems. All puppies go through phases, how those phases exhibit themselves depends on gender and genetic temperament. There is variation even within a breed so don't think your dog is 'not normal' compared to what others may say to you unless they are very worrying behaviors like extreme fear, aggression, shyness etc that you cannot control whatever you do. A ridgeback is a hunting hound, a dog that is vocal and will show it's emotions through sound. The fact it may howl or bark at something that confuses or stresses it is a sign for you to step in and go, OK you don't need to do that right now, how about you earn a really awesome reward from me by doing X behavior I show you how to do instead.

Your just had a howl and a bark, mine bailed the breeder up in the entrance hall at a few months old :laugh:

[RidgieAmy]

:-) Thanks your advice is very helpful, yeh i know, ridgebacks are not labs and don't welcome strangers into their home with wagging tails, they watch and approach when they want if they want. Sure he'll be fine, just wanted clarification on how to approach it, glad i got answers

[sheena]

Did the friend or this other person have sunglasses on or a hat by any chance.

[stari]

No advice on the pup's behaviour, but I would start training your boyfriend to lock the door if he is out the back. People entering the house when he was not in there is a bit of a concern. Lucky it was friends, but it could easily have been a stranger with less than honourable intentions.