Hi all. Have a question about fear aggression, or what I suspect is fear aggression in my dog. I know most will automatically suggest a trainer or behaviourist, havent found any in my area that are suitable, knowledgable ( using outdated techniques), and others are ridiculously expensive! Still looking, but for the time being I would like some friendly input/ advice, thoughts or any books I could read on the topic :-) I have already posted what has happened to my dog but I will recap everything again anyway. This will be quite a long post! It all started nearly two years ago. My sighthound got attacked by a pack of 5 or 6 antisocial spaniels. I was walking him on the lead past a house and they all came running out, jumped over their gate and attacked my dog. He nearly lost his eye during this attack, and now has numerous body and facial scars. (The incident was reported to the police and warden). My dog, Scrap, had a complete meltdown following the incident. He has turned into a nervous wreck, extremely skittish toward everything (most of which is entirely new). He constantly holds himself in a very insecure way, even when in the comfort of his own home. he holds his tail between legs, he is haunched up, ears back with a very worried expression on his face and even shivers. He also paces.ive also noticed for one reason or another, he stares up at the sky nervously too..? He is now nervous of bikes, cars, trucks (anything on wheels), he was hit by a car at a young age but had since trotting along side when I went cycling. It is since the dog attack that he has suddenly become nervous around bikes, cars etc. When it comes to other dogs ( and this is where I suspect nervous aggression) - at first he barked, snapped, almost hyper/ adrenaline related. It didnt matter what dog or breed, or their behaviour at the time, he just attacked anyway. Through a lot of hard work, re- socialising and patience, I have slowly gotten to the stage where he can now greet other dogs, and even play with them but each session has to be short, positive and rewarding ( lots of treats and praise). He has a low tolerance for very bouncy, hyper dogs, I avoid these type. He is most uneasy around dark dogs, presumably because it is harder for him to read their body language/facial expressions..(??) When approaching or getting another dog, whether on lead or off (muzzled; and with other owners permission to approach), he is quite submissive, head low, ears back, tail low or tucked and wagging. No hackles, but he does turn to the side rather than front approach, and he offers his bum which in my understanding is polite in the doggy world, less confrontational. However, he can suddenly snap even if things look good behaviour wise. He will go from a nice calm approach to suddenly snapping. It isnt a full on attack, he lashes out and retreats submissively. He will also whine and wag his tail when he sees another dog but that can suddenly result in him snapping like described above - quite lash out then retreat. He even goes as far as putting his head under the other dogs after and licking their muzzle. Further note: he gains a lot of confidence Through my other dogs. He watches them interact with outside dogs and then feels more confident in a nice friendly approach too. He also is more reactive when in a collar and lead vs a harness and lead. (?) He has a I need space bandana and wears a muzzle when out on walks.
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 15:54:05 +0000
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