I have done an excellent job trying to introduce my guy to new social situations and make everything a positive experience but over the last few months he is fearful of random strangers. He seems to be head shy when they just reach at him unless he know them. If he is off leash he will avoid them. He has also discovered his voice and barks when someone is at the door. We usually just have the person give him a treat then he is fine. Nothing negative has happened to him, it seems to have gotten worse with adolescence. I thought labs were supposed to love kids and people?
My two older Labs are nervous, too. They really dislike children, although have learned to tolerate them now - but at that age, they would have barked ferociously to keep them away. A stranger reaching towards a dog's head is really threatening (think about a stranger doing it to you), so you need to stop people doing it. Let him approach them, not the other way round, and don't force it if he doesn't want to. No, not all Labs live up to the stereotypes, but that's not a bad thing
Well I wish my Cassie wasn't so determined to involve herself in everyone's life with or without invitation , I guess she is the stereotypical lab in that regard. I'd love it if she would avoid people! But, that said, she really doesn't like having her head touched at all, if people have to fuss her I ask them to stroke her along her back, which seems to calm her.
My boy is incredibly friendly, and very excited when he meets new people, but if he's off lead he will usually ignore strangers, sometimes will be uncomfortable if someone reaches directly towards his head, he's not scared of children but does find them confusing because they are noisy, they stare and are unpredictable, and if there are sounds outside the door he sometimes barks! I think to a certain extent this is normal dog behaviour, and it's us humans who are strange and think it's ok to make physical contact when you've only just met! As already suggested, you can protect him if other people are making him uncomfortable, by asking them to not pet him. Then he'll learn that he can rely on you to help him in difficult situations. If he's barking or growling at strangers when they are in your house (not just the other side of the door) or on the street, then you might want to meet with a trainer/behaviourist, but what you've said sounds normal to me.
Don't worry, it is natural for all dogs to be a little head shy, more so when they are playing..or out on a walk. Even my totally goofy chocolate lab dislikes his head being touched when out on a walk...it's like "hey mum I am busy dontcha know?" I have a slightly nervous bitch, she is young just 18 months old, it really wouldn't take much for her to become reactive. I reward her for looking at people, but I don't allow her to engage/meet them on a walk. Alternatively we work on our relationship, and engaging with me instead. Saying that I do feel it is important for her to acknowledge people (meaning a quick glance..) and not feel intimidated or nervous.
Thanks everyone. His behavior seems really insecure. He is in level 2 of training but where he trains he is a confident dog! He is also confident when he is with his "dog friends" just alone he is insecure. I'm glad other people's dogs are head shy. He isn't like that towards me or people he knows but I've had several people say "oh buddy why are you being weird" when he shys away from them
Oh Selina, I feel your pain...Harley is little Miss Stick-Your-Nose-Where-It-Doesn't-Belong...without permission of course!
Coco is not especially fond of head touching (except for OH), but when people approach like that, and it is natural for strangers to do it, he will wiggle about to get what he wants. He will initiate contact with passing strangers with his nose, so I get why they go for his head. He manages to work around it. He lapped it up last week, when a little girl messed with his ears - ears are different to heads apparently.
Poppy hates people touching her head, or staring into her eyes. She will endure it from people she knows and loves, but will duck her head away from strangers... I think it's perfectly understandable. Imagine how we would feel if completely unknown giants kept bending down to us, staring in our eyes, patting our heads and pulling at our ears. I think we might duck our heads away, too...
I had/have the same problem with my boy Max, he too became nervous around a similar age. I kept him in training until he was 3 but in class and with his doggy pals he was super confident,I guess over time he got to know the other people so saw them as his food givers (constantly begging for food) I'd recommend a good recall and to see a behavourist just in case they have any tips. I saw a behaviourist when max was 1 and a half just to get what I thought was expert advise, she said it'd take months until I saw any improvement (I wasn't into training like I am now) any who she said to click and reward when he looks away from people. If your dog is anything like mine if the stranger stares at him he'll freeze or worse...bark! Also in the house she told me to lock him up in the kitchen until he's calm then release him, which made everything so much worse! He was becoming more reactive to strangers than ever so tag along a year later I met this lovely lovely behavourist named Tracy. She showed me that everything I was doing was wrong and not helping max but adding to his anxiety! I felt awful! So skip ahead to now, yes max will always be wary of strangers but out and about he's 70% better, what we've been working on is his recall from distractions, we've mixed him with super confident dogs which rubs off on him, and he's almost getting the hang of "under". Under is where he sits or lies "under"/inbetween my legs and he feels much more comfortable because he knows nobody is going to pet him! We also used the LAT (look at that) technique which is where I get him to look at the scary object/person and reward him for being calm. I think that's helped a lot as before he was constantly looking for strangers whereas now he happily potters along and isn't all that bothered by people walking by. With children it's another matter he has to stay on lead as kids are unpredictable,noisy and too hands on, in his eyes they are torture! Edit: in the house we use "go to bed" and only reward calm, quiet behaviour which is still a struggle some days especially with men. It Can be quite frustrating to tell guests to go out and come back until he's quiet haha
My girl also really disliked children after a few incidents with over zealous little ones patting her head. I'm so proud of her now as we have just got back from the pub and she went and sat by the next table who had a little six year old he sat on the floor with her, put his arms round her and she licked his face. It was beautiful. It has taken 18 months as she would have definitely barked to keep them at a distance before. She is still nervous of children who behave in an erratic manner. I have a rule I don't let children randomly approach her. I keep her on the lead in areas where there are children. If I think the children maybe too rough with her I tell the parents she has rolled in fox poo. I also find I have to be very careful with the older generation I find they can be very childlike and try and man handler her. I have also found LAT invaluable.
