How to make my dog less anxious and protective?
ByI have a two year old Australian cattle dog mix, she used to be very friendly and playful with dogs unroll she was attacked by a dog twice and is now anxious of any stranger dogs, she is still confident and playful around dogs she knows but if we walk past strangers with a dog she sticks to me and stiffens up, if they’re friendly she slowly relaxs but if the dog is feral she gets protective, if
it’s a dog behind a fence barking then she goes absolutely nutz. Now with calm dogs behind fences she still goes nutz .
A few days ago she was off the lead at a park and two Maltese terriers chased after her, barking and growling and trying to bite, my dog just sped off with her tail between her legs, when the owner got a hold of his dogs n I got my dog back the other dogs calmed down and rass sat beside me, one of the little dogs took a step towards us and suddenly my dog let out a very deep growl
I never tell her off when she’s around dogs because I don’t want her to associate dogs with getting told off , so I simply correct her and walk away. She also gets praise when walking towards a stranger dog and I don’t force her to go up to the dog
2 Comments
May 14th, 2011 at 8:43 am
It sounds like you have the right ideas, but need to spend more time actually training the positive associations you are seeking. When you say you “correct” her for growling at dogs, but you don’t mention how. After the trauma of being attacked, it may take a long time for your dog to feel confident again. The best way you can help is to avoid situations where she feels stressed or threatened. Arrange some meetups with a non-agressive dog, so that you can give your girl lots of positive reinforcement for NOT reacting negatively when approaching other dogs. Praise is great, but you have to move on to treats if you want to balance out the fear issue. I also suggest joining the Functional Rewards Yahoo group, which focuses on training for reactive dogs. The list owner is an amazing trainer, and the archives will teach you more than you need to know to help your girl recover!
May 14th, 2011 at 9:31 am
You should definitely look into getting a trainer/behaviorist. I have a dog with similar issues and when I didn’t know what else to do, I contacted someone and ended up doing private training in our home as opposed to group classes or pack rehab. After only 3 sessions, everyone that knows my dog has said that he doesn’t even act like the same dog anymore. We still have a long way to go but he’s making excellent progress.
If you do hire a someone, please keep in mind that dog training isn’t something that’s regulated so anyone can read a book or teach a dog how to sit and then advertise as a trainer so do your homework. Ask for references and to see their certifications, etc.
What ever you decide to do, good luck, hope everything turns out well for both of you.