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Dog is scared of everyone and anyone stepping on his feet



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 8th 05, 08:14 PM
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Default Dog is scared of everyone and anyone stepping on his feet

Hi!

I'm posting on behalf of a friend who's 3 year old Irish
Wolfhound/maybe Terrior/maybe lab mix, Milo, who was adopted from a
shelter has been having some problems. Milo was adopted from the
shelter as a 5 month old puppy.

If you walk past Milo while he's laying on the floor, even if you're a
good 3-10 feet away, he will often jump up, bark, and move his head at
your legs like he's going to snap at you, as if he's scared that you
will step on his feet. He also does this if he's sitting on a couch and
you sit next to him, near his feet, even if you're not touching him.

Milo hasn't always done this. This started about a year ago and has
been steadily getting worse. While a couple people have admitted to
accidently stepping on Milo's feet, I never have and he still does the
barking/snapping thing at me sometimes.

His paws on first look don't seem to have any particular problems. He
doesn't limp and he goes on big walks and hikes all the time.

Any ideas?

  #2  
Old March 8th 05, 08:59 PM
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Does he do this all the time now? Once in a while?

It started about a year ago, and was just occasional at first. Now he
does it all the time. I'd say 7 times out of 10.

With the dog's owners, too?


Yes. With his gaurdians, strangers, friends, everyone.

Can they otherwise touch his feet, say, to cut his nails?


I asked his gaurdian this and they said they can touch his feet (I can
too) but they don't trim his nails and he's only had them trimmed once
by the vet. This sounds like it could be the problem? They don't look
long or anything.


Has he ever actually made contact? Does he ever growl?


He does growl, but has not yet made contact. Before he lunges as if
he's going to make contact, he will growl.

He's never had obedience training before. I will ask his gaurdians
about that.

Thanks for the advice about the troll.

  #3  
Old March 9th 05, 12:25 AM
Michael A. Ball
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On 8 Mar 2005 11:14:15 -0800, wrote:

I'm posting on behalf of a friend who's 3 year old Irish
Wolfhound/maybe Terri or/maybe lab mix, Milo, who was adopted from a
shelter has been having some problems. Milo was adopted from the
shelter as a 5 month old puppy...

Any ideas?


We don't know the cause, and might not be able to determine it; but
"knowing" is a luxury--not a necessity. I do not believe this dog's
behavior is related to anyone's having stepped on his feet. Many of us
have unintentionally stepped on our pets' paws, and it rarely results in
this undesirable behavior. If anything, it causes most dogs to give us
even more room.

As Janet B stated, a vet check, including vision, is in order. In view
of the walking this dog is used to, I doubt that the length of his nails
factors into the problem--unless those long walks and hikes are far
between. Regular exercise keeps the nails worn down quite well.

I believe Handsome Jack pegged the problem: "It could be the beginning
of dominance aggression."

Based on the information we have, I think the dog is just training the
people that it encounters. Unless corrected, he might eventually train
his guardians to stay out of the house. Again, as Janet B suggested, the
dog's guardians might be reinforcing the misbehavior. I really believe
that is the case.

The solution is probably going to involve standing up to the dog,
teaching him where his rights end and their's begin; plus continued
love.

For my dogs, I consider no sacrifice too great, but we would definitely
have to have a meeting of the minds, if they ever decided to try to
control me (by intimidation or force).


When I die, I want to go where dogs go!
 




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