How to deal with a very protective dog?

[BethIrish]

I'm hoping some of you wonderful, experienced pet owners can help me. All of the dogs that I've had in my life have been quite docile - more prone to licking you to death than growling or snapping!

I have a 27lb whippet/beagle mix who is 3 years old. We rescued her a year ago. When we got her, we were told that she was leary of teenage boys and some men. Honestly, in the year we have had her we hadn't really seen ANY of that behavior. Yes, she barks at people, but really, what dog doesn't when the doorbell rings!?!

On Saturday we took her to a BBQ. There were about 30 people there. It was hot. The first few hours we were there she was awesome - with everyone - kids, men, women...everyone. At one point she was sleeping in front of my chair - there were about 4 of us sitting around her and someone was sitting next to her, petting her. All of a sudden she jumps up, growling barking a snapping at someone behind me. One of the guys bent over to get something behind my chair and she must have seen him in her half awake state and thought he was going to hurt me. She scared the poop out of me! I had her on her leash - she didn't bite him but man, I think she would have taken his face off if she could have gotten to him!! :eek: (He didn't help matters - I actually had to ask him to please back off and don't try and make friends with her, she's obviously NOT happy with you right now!)

For about 2 hours after that happened she would NOT let any MEN near me besides my DH and one other guy. Any man who approached us would get growled at. Seriously, I think she would have bit anyone who tried to get close to me. (I took her to another side of the yard with my girlfriend and she was fine unless someone approached.) Later on in the evening she was her usual sweet self (with the exception of the chair guy above, she still growled at him)

Is this normal? How can I correct her behavior? She is a total love with DH and I...and most other people. Yesterday's incident jyst makes me scared to take her out to things like that. Is it normal for her to be this protective? She's been through obedience training etc. Should we take her back?

eta: Just wanted to clarify that I meant take her back to obedience training, not the rescue!! I just realized that wasn't clear :eek:

[southhavenjen]

I'm hoping some of you wonderful, experienced pet owners can help me. All of the dogs that I've had in my life have been quite docile - more prone to licking you to death than growling or snapping!

I have a 27lb whippet/beagle mix who is 3 years old. We rescued her a year ago. When we got her, we were told that she was leary of teenage boys and some men. Honestly, in the year we have had her we hadn't really seen ANY of that behavior. Yes, she barks at people, but really, what dog doesn't when the doorbell rings!?!

On Saturday we took her to a BBQ. There were about 30 people there. It was hot. The first few hours we were there she was awesome - with everyone - kids, men, women...everyone. At one point she was sleeping in front of my chair - there were about 4 of us sitting around her and someone was sitting next to her, petting her. All of a sudden she jumps up, growling barking a snapping at someone behind me. One of the guys bent over to get something behind my chair and she must have seen him in her half awake state and thought he was going to hurt me. She scared the poop out of me! I had her on her leash - she didn't bite him but man, I think she would have taken his face off if she could have gotten to him!! :eek: (He didn't help matters - I actually had to ask him to please back off and don't try and make friends with her, she's obviously NOT happy with you right now!)

For about 2 hours after that happened she would NOT let any MEN near me besides my DH and one other guy. Any man who approached us would get growled at. Seriously, I think she would have bit anyone who tried to get close to me. (I took her to another side of the yard with my girlfriend and she was fine unless someone approached.) Later on in the evening she was her usual sweet self (with the exception of the chair guy above, she still growled at him)

Is this normal? How can I correct her behavior? She is a total love with DH and I...and most other people. Yesterday's incident jyst makes me scared to take her out to things like that. Is it normal for her to be this protective? She's been through obedience training etc. Should we take her back?

I would be concerned if I were you. We took our dog through obedience class, too, and the trainer was very clear that some dogs - due to abuse or just their brains being 'wired' wrong - have these tendencies, and that it is very difficult to correct that kind of behavior in a dog. He called this type of dog "sharp". You might want to go to a trainer and see what they say. My understanding is that there is more to it than the dog being protective. A protective dog should stand down when it sees there is no danger or when it gets the word from you that everything is OK. It could be that the dog was startled, and coupled with the hot weather was being irritable. It also sounds like there may have been some abuse in your dog's past. Whatever the reason, I would definitely not take the dog to gatherings like this in the future.

.

[BethIrish]

We've definitely decided to keep her at home, at least until we can get back with our trainer and get things figured out :( We did go through obedience training with her with a very qualified trainer - she is a K-9 cop and also helps people who have aggressive and/or hard to train dogs. Like I said, this is the FIRST time we've seen this behavior and we will be addressing it ASAP. We mentioned to the trainer when we were working with her what Neala's foster Mom had said about her leary-ness, but she really didn't see any evidence of her being aggressive during our sessions.

I'm hoping that this incident was a combo of her just being tired and grumpy from the heat.

I'm going to contact our trainer today - hopefully we can get this figured out. Neala is such a sweet dog - I would hate to not be able to take her places with us because of this :(

[BethIrish]

Okay, I have a message in to our trainer.

Is it dumb that I'm that upset about this? I was in tears on Sunday when I was telling my Mom about what happened. I love this dog so much and I just want everyone else to see the sweet puppy that snuggles with me every night :(

[southhavenjen]

You did the right thing by calling the trainer! Keep us posted on what she says.

((Hugs)) Don't worry about being upset! My German Shepherd/Lab mix is a big lovebug, too - to everyone except other large dogs. It is embarassing and upsetting to me when we go on walks and meet another dog, and after the first cursory sniffs, he tries to lay into the other dog. But we've adapted. We (sadly) don't take him places we know lots of other dogs will be - like the Humane Society dog walkathon. If I see another person walking their dog, I will cross to the other side. You will learn what you need to do to adapt for your dog.

[flygirl]

I don't think you have too much to worry about. Since this is the first time in a year she's shown this type of agression, it may be a semi-isolated occurance. However, I do agree that speaking/working with your trainer a bit more is a good idea. You don't want to train the protective instinct out of her, but you do want to be able to control it.

[jesvet]

Well, you're talking to a trainer so that is the best thing you can do!

Avoid those situations until you have talked to him or her. There are ways to train a dog to decrease their anxiety (desensitization and counterconditioning) but it can be a complicated process and you will want someone knowledgeable to guide you through it.

[BethIrish]

Thanks, jesvet! I was hoping you'd chime in!!

[BethIrish]

Hi ladies -

I just wanted to update you all after speaking with our trainer last night.

She wasn't overly concerned with Neala's behavior at the BBQ. She and our dog walker are friendly and she called the dog walker to talk about it with her as well. They both feel that Neala is a great dog, but that she just needs more exposure to other people and dogs. So, we are going to be joining a group doggy training class so that Neala can review her commands and also interact with other dogs in a controlled environment. (Her original training was one on one with us and the trainer.) The hope is that she'll gain more confidence in herself AND in us. I think we will also be starting her in Doggy Day one day a week at the end of the summer :) (Her "cousin" Bailey is spending the summer with us - so she'll have plenty of play at home with Bailey this summer!) Also, after the group class we may do flyball or agility with her!

Thanks for reassuring me yesterday, ladies. I was so upset but after speaking to the trainer I feel better that we have a plan in place :D

[southhavenjen]

Great news!!! Sounds like you have a good plan.

[fuzzy]

BethIrish -- I just skimmed really quickly...is your dog agressive towards humans AND dogs?

I've got a pooch who's great with humans...but is really agressive with other dogs. Your post has got me thinking that more exposure to other dogs might help, but...

I'll need to keep her on a lead. I can't just let her go because I don't trust her -- she will bite other dogs (not people, dogs). Our trainer always kept her separated from other dogs, saying she "had issues with other dogs" but never told how to resolve those issues.

We live out in the middle of no where, so I'm guessing her relative isolation is part of it. I'm willing to work on it, but I'm just not sure what those first few steps would be b/c I'm most concerned about keeping the other dogs safe. Any thoughts?

[jesvet]

Glad to hear that!

[BethIrish]

BethIrish -- I just skimmed really quickly...is your dog agressive towards humans AND dogs?

I've got a pooch who's great with humans...but is really agressive with other dogs. Your post has got me thinking that more exposure to other dogs might help, but...

I'll need to keep her on a lead. I can't just let her go because I don't trust her -- she will bite other dogs (not people, dogs). Our trainer always kept her separated from other dogs, saying she "had issues with other dogs" but never told how to resolve those issues.

We live out in the middle of no where, so I'm guessing her relative isolation is part of it. I'm willing to work on it, but I'm just not sure what those first few steps would be b/c I'm most concerned about keeping the other dogs safe. Any thoughts?

She's mostly aggressive towards people - namely males, and namely when she thinks they are going to hurt me. She actually does like other dogs - for the most part, and as long as she doesn't think they are threatening me. Actually, it was ME who had to just relax when she was around other dogs. Dogs play, and sniff, and get to know each other....it scared me at first, but once I realized they weren' hurting each other I felt better ;)

I think you should try and find a trainer who is willing to work with you on your dog's aggression towards other dogs. Our trainer actually brought over HER dog when we were working with her. Neala was little leary at first, but by the end of the session our 27lbs pup got along well with her 100lb german shepard. Our dog walker also would bring over some of her other dogs when she walked Neala regularly (she only walks Neala occasionally now.)

I think it's worthwhile to work on it, Fuzzy. Call your vet and see if (s)he has any recommendations. OR - call your local police. Our trainer is actually a K-9 cop and trains all of the police dogs! She is wonderful. (We actually found her through our dog walker.)

Good luck! I'll keep you all updated on Neala's progress. We go to our first class when we get back from vacation in July :D

[BethIrish]

Hi ladies,

I just wanted to give a quick update on how Neala is doing. We are currently doing a Saturday group dog training class at our local doggy daycare. Neala is doing great! Our trainer knows her and knows how to push her buttons. We are dealing with her reactions to them and I honestly think she is getting better at listening and trusting my commands.

I had a bunch of girlfriends over on Saturday and she didn't even bark when they came in the door!! It was amazing :)

Now we just need to work on her socialization with other dogs..... :cool:

[southhavenjen]

Great news! I am glad things are working out and that Neala is doing so well in class! :D