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#1
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What to do??
I've been working on a fear aggression issue with my 1-year-old German
shepherd dog (Lexi) for quite some time now. I've been doing real well with her after ruling out all medical reasons and then seeing an animal behavioral specialist. Following her instructions of putting Lexi on the NILIF program, desensitizing and redirection she’s improved 90% to the point where she greets my mom with wagging tail and licks. She accepts all people who have dogs but is still a bit suspicious of those that are dogless. People that she sees on a regular basis (that have followed my instructions) have even been able to pet her. My problem now is not so much with Lexi, but with the people that just won’t listen to me when I tell them to let Lexi approach at her own comfort level. There’s this one person in particular that Lexi has encountered a few times that persists on walking up to her with out stretched hand to pet her. I try to avoid this as it tends to make Lexi bark and lunge and she has done this with this person in the past so you would think that they would know better. I’ve told them over and over not to do this. I always try to keep myself aware of what’s going on around me at all times and so that I can give Lexi a command to concentrate on when something is going to happen that I know will make her uncomfortable, but when this person sees Lexi sitting quietly, they just assume that everything is okay now and I can see Lexi's comfort level dropping visably. There are always people who think that they are the special ones that can make a connection with a problem dog. The only thing I can think of to do now is to turn and walk Lexi away from this person when I see them coming. This may look rude to the person, but I don’t know what else to do. Lexi’s well being is at stake here and I can’t risk her nipping and having to go back to square one. I thought I would post my dilemma here to see if any of you have any suggestions as to how to handle people who won’t co-operate. This person lives in the same building as I do, so it’s not a matter of avoiding them completely. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 11/1/04 |
#2
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"Pam" wrote in
: She accepts all people who have dogs but is still a bit suspicious of those that are dogless. Well, those people ARE pretty suspicious!! People that she sees on a regular basis (that have followed my instructions) have even been able to pet her. My problem now is not so much with Lexi, but with the people that just won't listen to me when I tell them to let Lexi approach at her own comfort level. There's this one person in particular that Lexi has encountered a few times that persists on walking up to her with out stretched hand to pet her. I try to avoid this as it tends to make Lexi bark and lunge and she has done this with this person in the past so you would think that they would know better. I've told them over and over not to do this. I always try to keep myself aware of what's going on around me at all times and so that I can give Lexi a command to concentrate on when something is going to happen that I know will make her uncomfortable, but when this person sees Lexi sitting quietly, they just assume that everything is okay now and I can see Lexi's comfort level dropping visably. There are always people who think that they are the special ones that can make a connection with a problem dog. The only thing I can think of to do now is to turn and walk Lexi away from this person when I see them coming. This may look rude to the person, but I don't know what else to do. Lexi's well being is at stake here and I can't risk her nipping and having to go back to square one. I thought I would post my dilemma here to see if any of you have any suggestions as to how to handle people who won't co-operate. This person lives in the same building as I do, so it's not a matter of avoiding them completely. You have my sympathy. I have had similar issues with Zoe, and have been having her sit and stay while strangers pass by. People on this newsgroup advised me to be quite blunt with people, announcing clearly that Zoe is not friendly and does not want to greet them. So that might be the first thing to try with your neighbor. In my case, no one has approached Zoe when they see that I am trying to keep her calm by having her sit -- so that has been good. If you know which apartment/unit the person lives in, you might want to drop by without Lexi so you can have a straightforward talk without worrying about keeping your dog calm. I would just lay it out for the person as you have here, that Lexi should not be approached and that it's very very important that when Lexi is sitting calmly she absolutely must not be approached. There may come a time in the future when Lexi feels more comfortable with this person (Zoe tends to get used to people after seeing them a few times) and then the friendship may be able to progress. But it sounds to me like you are doing all the right things and you are right to want to preserve your hard work and your dog's trust in you, and that might mean having a pretty blunt talk with your neighbor. Keep us posted! --Catherine & Zoe the cockerchow |
#4
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"Pam" wrote in message ... [..] square one. I thought I would post my dilemma here to see if any of you have any suggestions as to how to handle people who won’t co-operate. This person lives in the same building as I do, so it’s not a matter of avoiding them completely. Sorry, but this is the bain of my life too - my dog is too friendly and will really offer 'her all' greeting wise, and I've been 'rude'; been cold; been argumentative; been subtle; but what ever I've tried, I cannot get the average person who likes dogs to simply turn & look away if she's being overwhelming / darn right rude & obnoxious. Dogs would be easy to train, if it weren't for the others we have to share our environment with... to prove it, now, how much is preached for the 100% recall??? try it now, but not on your dog - call your partner or nearest friend, bet they don't drop everything and come running either? :S Diana |
#5
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Thanks alot for your support and advice. It's good to know that I'm not
alone with the feelings I have. I was beginning to wonder if I was being biased towards Lexi's side of the issue and unable to see other people's sides of this, but after reading your posts I have become reinforced in my stance to see only Lexi's side. It doesn't matter what other people think as long as they're not thinking about how much that bite they just sustained hurt!! Lexi is a loving and gentle dog that doesn't have a visious bone in her body. I realize her fear is what makes her a possible danger and we've come a long way in overcoming that issue. She used to be afraid of everything except us. I don't know what caused this unless it was something that occured while she was still with her littermates as we have been her only owners, but that no longer matters. Getting her to be more confident and happy is the order of the day now. I used to feel so sorry for her as I couldn't imagine going through life being so afraid of everything. There was even a point in this ordeal where my husband was ready to give up. He wanted to give her to a family that lived in the country where she wouldn't be exposed to people so much, but I couldn't do that. I wanted to do everything possible to give her every opportunity. I knew she was a good dog and I would rather have had her put down than to give her to someone else who maybe wouldn't have been as patient with her. I had visions of her being yelled at, or worse being hit or beaten. Just for being afraid. I still feel this way. No one else will ever share Lexi's life. I don't worry about that anymore though, Lexi now is nothing like the Lexi of even six months ago. Hurray for Lexi!!! --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.788 / Virus Database: 533 - Release Date: 11/1/04 |
#6
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"Pam" wrote:
Lexi now is nothing like the Lexi of even six months ago. I'm not a gsd expert, but I have seen more dramatic turn-arounds in temperament in that breed than I have just about any other. It seems that depending on who you talk to, gsd "fear periods" are a myth or a fact; but it sure looks like many of them go through one or several. Starchaser, one of my all-time favorites, started out afraid of her own shadow. She is now one of the most relaxed, confident gsd's I've met. --- Canine Action Dog Trainer http://www.canineaction.com It's A Dog's Life http://hometown.aol.com/dfrntdrums/m...age/index.html Get Healthy, Build Your Immune System, Lose Weight http://www.re-vita.net/dfrntdrums |
#7
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ceb wrote: If you know which apartment/unit the person lives in, you might want to drop by without Lexi so you can have a straightforward talk without worrying about keeping your dog calm. I would just lay it out for the person as you have here, that Lexi should not be approached and that it's very very important that when Lexi is sitting calmly she absolutely must not be approached. There may come a time in the future when Lexi feels more comfortable with this person (Zoe tends to get used to people after seeing them a few times) and then the friendship may be able to progress. But it sounds to me like you are doing all the right things and you are right to want to preserve your hard work and your dog's trust in you, and that might mean having a pretty blunt talk with your neighbor. Another thing you can do if this is a reasonable person is to explain that the dog is in training. If s/he thinks s/he's so special, s/he'd probably be quite flattered if you offered to let him/her help you with training by doing this or that. Which includes keeping hands OFF for a while until your dog learns to relax with the whole idea. Might work... Tracy |
#8
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"Pam" wrote in
: I thought I would post my dilemma here to see if any of you have any suggestions as to how to handle people who won't co-operate. This person lives in the same building as I do, so it's not a matter of avoiding them completely. This is rather extreme, and a bit confrontational, buut it may be a step that you have to take. Find some ppictures of dog-bite victims. Ideally as graphic as possible. If there are visible stitches and lots of swelling and/or bruising that is great. Find a lawyer (or notary public) and have them draw up a waiver form absolving you and all your heirs from any and all damages resulting from bites caused by Lexi due to them not following the rules you have set out for interactions with Lexi. Make sure to have phrases llike "Up to and including death" and "extreme disfigurement" included in there. Or, if you don't feel like doing that, carry a water pistol or a tennis ball in your pockets. Any time that the person approaches, wither throw them the ball to catch it, or shoot them with the water pistol. If they complain, tell them that you will stop shooting them with the water pistol if they will stop approaching Lexi. -- Marcel and Moogli |
#9
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Marcel Beaudoin wrote:
This is rather extreme, and a bit confrontational, buut it may be a step that you have to take. Find some ppictures of dog-bite victims. Ideally as graphic as possible. If there are visible stitches and lots of swelling and/or bruising that is great. Find a lawyer (or notary public) and have them draw up a waiver form absolving you and all your heirs from any and all damages resulting from bites caused by Lexi due to them not following the rules you have set out for interactions with Lexi. Make sure to have phrases llike "Up to and including death" and "extreme disfigurement" included in there. Or, if you don't feel like doing that, carry a water pistol or a tennis ball in your pockets. Any time that the person approaches, wither throw them the ball to catch it, or shoot them with the water pistol. If they complain, tell them that you will stop shooting them with the water pistol if they will stop approaching Lexi. I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think that such a waiver would have any meaning. Squirt-gunning them probably wouldn't be a good idea; even though it's pretty harmless, it could probably be called assault. If I were the OP, I would seriously consider putting a muzzle on my dog when there was a chance we'd run into a lunatic like this. flick 100785 |
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