Dog behaviour help!

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Nicola Smith — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 14:58:53 GMT

Hi, just revisiting this thread as problems again!! He went fine after the above posts, all back to normal, but this last couple of weeks been doing it again. I know what triggeed it this time - someone tried to catch him - grab his collar suddenely - as they thought he was a stray despite me being a few yards behind him !!! He leapt back startled and barked at the man. Snce then he has started barking again - mainly at people with a similar description but also when people appear out of nowhere. He is fine in crowded places - mainly when not many people about on country walks

He is also jumping back if anyone tried to stroke him. He will go over and sniff them waging tail then just leaps back as obviously thinks they are going to try to grab him! We have also got some issues with other dogs as he has had 1 too many dogs have a go at him. He is fine with normal dogs but if there is anything boisterous he will avoid them if possible, but if they race over he will scream in anticipation even if they dont do anything. We are working on this with lots of positives but then you always get one that ruins it again.

I can see this fear behaviour starting - he will freeze first - could I try distracting him at this point with a squeaky toy to avoid him focusing on the thing he is scared of?? Or is this doing the wrong thing and rewarding the freezing/fear?? I am also considering trying zylkene but although we use it i practuce havent heard any feedback on it - does it do anything?? He saw a husky at a distance today that was really boisterous and froze and so I just threw a toy for him then played tug while it went past - good owner put it on a lead as they saw he was wary- and he didnt even notice it so just wondering if I can use this tactic for other things and just squeak something in my pocket the minute he is unsure?

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Nicola Smith — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:47:27 GMT

Thanks everyone, we have had 2 really good days with no barking and very happy. He definitely seems better with the DAP collar off which we had put on him to keep him settled on holiday? We will definitely keep working with him and exposing him to hoodies etc as much as possible and will be monitoring him closely. If it continues I will definitely see a behaviourist before it worsens. Am trying to look for the triggers - loose clothing eg a coat tied around waist, hoodies and people suddenely appearing from behind things are my common factors at the moment.

It was interesting to see someone else has an issue with a whippet, I think as a breed they always seem to have that nervy tendency which is why we worked so had with the socialisation. His basic training eg sits are very quick so will try to use those when I think we have a moment coming on and will see how the next few days go! Thanks everyone!

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Siobhan Steven — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 03:00:32 GMT

My first thought would be to get his sight and hearing checked by a specialist. I agree with the others who have mentioned the potential of a 'trigger factor', know or unknown by yourself. My Bernese used to be swarmed by people wanting to pat him and I had to gauge exactly when to say to people, total strangers or not, 'he's had enough, thanks, goodbye.' Because I didn't want to end up in court because my dog had had enough of strange humans! Once you've had his S & checked I would seriously consider taking him to an accredited behaviourist who can help amend the behaviours before thet become a habit. Just like children, when we talk about our own (pets) we can be too close to the 'problem' and a bit of unbiased logic can help us have the confidence to follow through with the correct reinforcement.

Good luck!

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Katie B — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 00:12:18 GMT

Same with my lab, he is 16 months old. And recently he is weary of going to certain people. My sister came down and he was upstairs so he didn't hear her and the kids come in, he was terrified. Also screaming kids and arrogant loud teenagers, the other day he refused to walk by a group of them, he was off lead as was on a country walk at the time so no roads. I had to go over to him and coax him through. He just seems wary and very jumpy. Maybe it's a coming of age thing.

There are mixed opinions on this, some say he is cruel (Idon't believe this opinion, he is far from cruel) but have you heard of Cesar Milan The Dog Whisperer? If you haven't watch his programs, he seriously has a gift. I saw him at the O2 and cried when he burst into tears, as 8 years ago he was a poor mexican man who jumped the gates and was living in the usa illegally. Now he has sell out tours and massive stadiums like the O2. It's all about energy, if you feel nervous when a person with a hoodie is coming towards you, it spreads down to him/her. They can sense it. (I think in todays age, it's hard not to get nervous when you see a gang of lads with hoodies on though) It's hard to explain but watch his program and he has about 5 books out. All that I have read and understood. It's about calm assertive energy. Hope this helps.

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Tracey Ison — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:31:37 GMT

I have a similar problem with one of my whippets.She was "bomproofed" from 8 weeks onwards. we exposed to to as many different people as we could and she developed into an extremely confident dog , happy to approach anyone for fuss.

However , when she was about two years old ,a seemingly harmless incident ,caused a problem with her.There is an old guy who lives nearby us , he is a little eccentric but harmless.One day we were walking along a path near a bus stop , this old chap was waiting for a bus, spotted us and suddenly sprang out from behind a bus stop, waving his arms about as a greeting to both of my whippets.Older whippet went nuts , backing off and thrashing about like a wild thing , seriously thought that she would slip her collar and leg it.I am sure she thought he'd popped up out of no where!

Felt a bit embarrassed as he wanted tocome over as he does like my dogs but was making things much worse so ended up flapping my arms at him to keephim back.Restored order with dog , apologised to the old guy and ran off a bit red faced.

Since then "Izzy" ,the dog in question would not tolerate this guy within 100feet of her .if she saw him she would panic and start backing up.As he is a little odd , he does still wave and shout ( nice things) at her .I do shout an apology at him as he is genuinely upset that he cannot approach her.

"Izzy" can now be very unpredictable with elderly/grey haired blokes and i cannot tell which ones will affect her,some she will tolerate,some not.She does not bark , she will either back away or will back off a little way, play bow,jump forwards , tail wagging and then leap away as if its all a big game.She did this whilst on a walk this week.Elderly couple , she approached the lady , wagging her tail and accepted fuss but as soon as the old chap reached out and said hello, she started this daft play bow and jumping behaviour.She had every opportunity to just come away but kept on returning to him, jumping towards him but remaining a short distance awayeventually i ,had to attach her lead and take her away.

So,from a seemingly harmless event , a problem has developed.

In order to help , i have looked out for the old guy that triggered the original problem and walked "Izzy" as close to him as i can get without her getting agitated ( early sign for her that all may not be well is an ear ***) , i will also get her into a "wait" stance ( my whippets are slow to sit , i find a wait command with hand signal works faster when you need a quick response) and will get her to watch me ( treat held up to my face will get her to focus)>ifi get no response to this guy , she gets praise and reward.Things have improved but she cannot get really close to him, his eccentric mannerisms scare her badly.

It may be that your whippet,like mine ,experienced some event , that at the time , seemed fairly minor , that has caused this current problem.Being sight hounds , they do focus well on distance but can be pretty hopeless at things close by so it may be that a hoodie or similar,suddenly popped into his field of vision and really spooked him .He has learnt that barking "drives" these people away so is self rewarding.

I would advise the use of "stooge hoodies" ask a friend to wear a hoodie and move away to a distance where your dog can see them but where the dog is not reacting ( look for early triggers such as an ear ***).Praise and reward the non barking,calm behaviour.Have the stooge ( or a person , whose type seems to trigger the problem) gradually move closer and closer ,only when he is calm and focused, i would also advise to begin with that the hoodie is not completely covering the stooges face to begin with as faces can be completely covered by them, increasing a dogs anxiety if they cannot see a face.

When you are out and about , again , if he is barking at people , try to get his attention and focus - wait or sit ,praise and reward the good behaviour.Again if you can recruit strangers ( i have done this , people will help) if , when we are out , Izzy backs up or play bows and jumps, i aplogise for her behaviour and i ask if the person wouldnt mind getting down low and doing nothing , allowing her to approach in her own time.If they dont speak or try tomake a fuss , she will then approach , be it a little warily and will then accept fuss.Once the ice has been broken she is fine.sometimes i do have to attach her lead and move off

Like you , i am saddened by this change in her as we put so much effort into her socialisation and have maintained this throughout her life.We were so proud of our fearless whippet!

It is also a really difficult problem to tackle when you are out and about , especially when it is so unpredictable

It is the unpredictability that is the problem.i have worked out that it is old/grey haired blokes with loud voices that cause izzy to get in a knot,at least so it is worth trying to memorise as many aspects of those people that seem to cause a problem - tall,short,long hair,short hair,pitch of voice.If you can identify triggers, you can apply the focus exercise before the barking starts.

Zylkene may help his nerves when you are using a stooge hoodie for training

It is embarrasing when it happens , it pays to try to explain and hopefully people will understand and help.

hope that helps

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Emma Purnell — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:53:02 GMT

Please do, I am racking my brain for more to help you!

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Nicola Smith — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 16:37:11 GMT

The only thing I can see is that they either appear suddenely or they approach very quickly but then doggie senses are much better than ours so there may be a link I cant see or smell!! I have took off the DAP collar just in case and today he has not been too bad - had a few woofs at someone then went over and greeted her but she did the right thing and ignored him - the main problems are people who want to stroke him and just come really head on - I think I need to try to get in first and ask them not to and to let him go to them instead.

Will keep you posted.

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Emma Purnell — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:40:21 GMT

Is there any link between these people at all - wearing glasses or anything at all you can think of? Even a colour of clothing?

Again, try to get the person coming towards you to chat with you and ignore him completely, its not easy though. My parents dog used to do a very similar thing with no real link, it took time but she is much much better now

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Nicola Smith — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:16:19 GMT

He has just done it again at a woman who has come over to say hello to him - realy barking and jumping backwards, tried to stand and make him settle but no chance just freaking out - yet a few seconds before a group of 4 children all made a fuss of him and he stood wagging his tail. I just cant see what is setting him off as he saw this woman approaching. Me and OH definitely think he is worse with the DAP collar on so have took it off. He is also increasingly barking at anyone approaching the haouse yet is fine when they get indoors. Any more ideas anyone?? If he doesnt improve in a week or so think we had better book to see someone as dont want this to continue to get worse. Really upset as we have socialised him so much and just dont know where this has come from.

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Nicola Smith — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 07:56:20 GMT

Hi, thanks for that - I think maybe I just need to persevere a bit when he is barking -I find he does not want to approach that person and backs away so think I need to just stand my ground and try and chill - I think me being embarassed by it means I flee too quickly. I definitely think he is worse with the DAP collar on - whether that just gives him the confidence to bark I'm not sure?? but it runs out in 10 days so think will stick with it til then and see how he goes. He is always fine when it isnt unexpected and generally loves people except people in hoodies!! and he does get lots of socialisation and always has. Will let you know how things go. Thanks again.

Re: Dog behaviour help!

Emma Purnell — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 14:20:19 GMT

If it is happening when people appear suddenly the best thing you can do is try to get that person to then stick around and wait until he settles. If they move along or he does - that is exactly what he wanted to happen and will be re-inforcing it. Easier said than done I know! Also, ignore the barking and explain to the person he is barking at - most people will then be ok with it if they feel included!

Other than that just keep him meeting new people and get them to praise him lots, the more comfortable he becomes with people the more likely it is to settle down.

Good luck!