Re: Socialising adult dogs I could do with some tips regarding socializing my 4 year old lab, I took him on at 7 months from a home where he had never been walked (no, never!) so had never met any other dogs and we lived in a very remote area at the time, this meant that the dogs he did meet caused huge excitement for him. At the time I was not as knowledgeable as I am now and also went through a very difficult family trauma so I didn't put enough work in to researching how to deal with him around other dogs and his excitement when he did meet them usually caused him to be snapped at! Cutting a very long story short I have since worked very hard with him and now he is very sociable with all dogs that are smaller than him and most that are his size and not too boisterous but he is extremely afraid of any dog that is bigger than him regardless of their temperament to him. I keep him at a comfortable distance from these types of dogs on a walk, working him the whole time and I can now get quite close to them without reaction as long as the other dog is on the lead but if a loose large dog comes up to him he goes very stiff and with no other warning (no growling or noise, just lip curling) he will bite them usually on the face! when I say bite, he hasn't ever injured anything so I think he has a fairly good bite inhibition but it looks very nasty and needless to say it sends the other dog off which is obviously what he wants. I totally understand why he does this, he is afraid and insecure with anything that could possibly take him in a fight and I do my best to avoid him being put in this situation but seeing as he is walked twice a day without fail and I walk him in populated areas to continue his social skills with other dogs, the occasional encounter is unfortunately unavoidable! I would love to take him to classes to help his social skills but I cant put him in a situation where he would have to face larger dogs in a small hall like environment because I feel it would be detrimental to all the work I have put in and because he is so stressed if he is too close he wont even eat so it just wouldn't be fair! My question is how to handle these situations when another dog rushes up to him, normally with small/med dogs I work him with sitting and watching me when the other dog approaches so that he only sees it at the last minute otherwise he stalks them as they approach and this leads to a very tense meeting for both dogs and this method works really well because he is relaxed when they come up to him because he hasn't noticed them so doesn't have time to get tense and i am able to keep the lead loose when they check each other out so as not to influence his feelings but if it is a large dog and he hasn't noticed it he will immediately bite after about 2/3 seconds of stiffness therefore I cannot let the lead go loose because I don't want him to be able to get a hold of the dog but the tight lead is obviously making him more tense. If he sees the large dog before I do I can't even get his attention, he wont take food and obviously turning him away from a dog that is running toward him is not fair and not going to do anything for his confidence either. Any ideas, comments gratefully appreciated.
Re: Socialising adult dogs Hi there, and welcome to the forum It sounds as though you have made some fantastic progress with this dog so far. Have you talked to a behaviourist about how to work with the problem that your dog still has with bigger dogs? It might be really helpful to you. I have a few thoughts but am not an expert in this field. The ‘biting’ even though not serious, is working for him in the sense that it gets rid of the other dog. So he has an incentive to carry on doing it. And you must be worried that sooner or later he will hurt another dog. Have you thought of a muzzle as a temporary measure? If he doesn’t find it too upsetting to wear one, not only will it prevent an injury, it might help you feel more relaxed when another dog approaches and just lessen all the adrenaline that is probably floating around. As a side effect, other dog owners tend to keep their distance from a dog wearing a muzzle. But perhaps you might feel that this would interfere with his natural behaviour and undo some of your efforts? It is quite a complex situation isn’t it, that’s one of the reasons I think a behaviourist would be helpful. I have also seen an interesting technique using food as a distraction when strange dogs approach a fearful dog. The food is not for your dog, but for the strange dog. Literally throwing a handful of treats at the strange dog as it approaches which then changes the behaviour of the approaching dog so that your dog does not find it so threatening, and the other dog is busy munching around on the ground whilst you explain to the owner that your dog needs some space. Obviously you don’t want to then start a ‘food fight’ so it might not work if your dog is very possessive over food. I am sorry I cannot be more helpful, perhaps others will have some more suggestions, but I wish you every success with your dog. He is lucky to have found such an understanding owner. Pippa
Re: Socialising adult dogs Hello Pippa, Thank you for your suggestions, I have not ever used a muzzle on him for various reasons, he hates a halti and although he will wear it without too much protest, he isn't really comfortable with it so I would imagine a muzzle would be worse, also I would worry that he would feel so inhibited that he would be likely to react even worse than he is at the moment. The encounters I talk about happen very rarely so it would be a real shame to make him wear one on the off chance that a large dog might run up to him and trying to put one on at the time of an encounter would probably be hard to do in time so I have ruled that out. Having said that if I was ever in a situation where I could set up such dogs to meet him then it would be definitely worth habituating him to a muzzle and doing a 'training session' with it on, sadly I don't know anyone with a bigger dog than me so I havn't yet had the chance to put this into practice. I am not going to force the issue with him anyway because he has made such fantastic progress that he is now perfectly safe with everything that is his size or smaller and it is so rare for us to meet a dog bigger than him that his fear doesn't interfere with him leading a full and happy life. A behaviourist is out of my price range at the moment but I am starting a course with The Clever Dog company in April and because part of this course is practical I have had to get in touch with an APDT trainer to mentor me so I may be able to get some help from her when I finally meet her next week. Your idea about throwing the treats on the floor I think is brilliant! I always have treats on me anyway because I clicker train with Bailey so this is definitely something I will try, may work a treat for certain dogs. Thanks again for your advice, I will keep you posted on our progress.
Re: Socialising adult dogs Cant add to the good advice but wanted to wish you well with your boy, sounds like you have made a massive difference to his life, well done.
Re: Socialising adult dogs Thank you Kate, sometimes I am so proud of him I could burst! I do quite like that he has a few issues, only because I like to have something to work on, seeing the progress I have made with him keeps me from getting down when we do have a mishap. I will keep working with him and I may get lots further after I have completed the course I am doing. Thank you for the words of encouragement, I am a member of other forums but this one by far has been the one that has given me really positive feedback and its really nice to get that, we all need a bit of positive reinforcement sometimes don't we?
Re: Socialising adult dogs We certainly do !! I think that because there is so much conflicting advice out there, we get confused as to what we should be doing and no doubt you are like me and many others , terrified of taking the wrong route ! Thing is , they may all be Labs but all are so different so their needs vary , but there are some superb articles here , stick at it and loads of luck !
Re: Socialising adult dogs Hiya. Yep - we need our dose of positive reinforcement just as much as our dogs do! And it sounds like you have definitely earned some praise - you're doing a great job. )
