Stella snapping
Any suggestions on how I practice greeting people without putting the people she is practicing with in danger? I hate how unpredictable Stella has become, and it makes me afraid to have her around anyone. She is sooo cute, and when people see her their natural reaction is to approach her and want to pet her. She used to love this, but now it's suddenly a problem. Any suggestions? She is fine with my kids, and with Sampson. She snapped at my boyfriend a couple of weeks ago, but he stood his ground and she stopped, and has been doing just fine with him ever since. I'm stumpped. |
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| I would suggest stella needs socialisation now, she is only a youngster and you have that unexpected snapping at people issues to work through.
Important time now in their developement, is there a puppy obedience class of some sort that you can take stella too? It would be an absolute great socialisation for her now and then a trainer can teach you and stella techniques to work on to stop this sort of behaviour before it gets worse & really causes a huge problem as she grows bigger. Looking at how stellas stance was with someone she knew already,the way she snapped at the vets, how she is with the unknown and people she does not know, It sounds like a bit of fearful agression setting in that needs to be worked on now before it turns into a really bad situation, it is more then just play nipping now from your little girl and you really need to attend some sort of training classes with her 
That way you are taking into all sorts of new situations, new people, other dogs etc and working with a trainer on her not being fearful of the unknown under the guidence of a professional who can monitor her as she progresses to being a good socialable, adaptable sheepie exploring the wonders of the big wide world around her, without the fear of snapping at the unknown. |
Feel free to come and train Mullie with us! 
We can use all the help we can get. Be sure to be here as the mailman drives up to the mailbox and Mulligan sees him and starts jumping, pulling and barking non-stop. Mulligan loves the mailman. |
| You have had Stella for only a couple of months. The "honeymoon period" is over, and her real character is coming to surface. At first she was withdrawn, and not sure of what her role is, and how to react to situations. Now she is back to normal, I suspect. The folks who you got her from said they didn't want her anymore as they couldn't handle her. This is probably what they were referring to.
She was over a year old when you got her, so it to too late for socialization. She needs rehabilitation, now. It can be done in the same way as with a young puppy, but with some major differences and lots of management. Socialization is getting a puppy used to the environment that he/she will be living in by exposing him to new things in a positive manner. With an adult you are dealing with engrained fearful behavior. New things are normally reacted to in fear by an adult dog. New things are scarey. There is also the chance that she has been exposed to things in her past that have already frightened or hurt her, so she is defending herself from them. This is NOT HER FAULT. It is to be blamed on the family who had her before you, and did not socialise her properly. You will need to get the advise of a behaviorist, to guide you on what steps you need to take to make sure everyone is safe, and Stella learns not to fear. This can only be resolved by changing her perception from scarey to fun and enjoyable. This take a lot of work and lots of time and effort. Good luck. on jrengrsome |
I did take Stella through Puppy Manners II (a class for older "puppies" that did not go to puppy classes, and need to start at zero. Naturally she didn't start the snapping until AFTER that class. 
She seems OK with animals, but it's people that is the problem. Today my daughter was play-fighting with my boyfriend, and Stella growled at her as if she were protecting my boyfriend (obviously her priorities are way mixed up, lol). Perhaps I'll look into a behavior specialist that could help me with her... I'd ask my friends to help, but I'm afraid they'd get bit. |
| Sorry I thought stella was a little puppy by your picture of her in your avatar.
See a behavourialist if you can and work through the fear she is displaying and this way too you are not putting your friends or family at risk as you will be under the guideance of a professional to help you and stella bloom. It really is important you get help to fix this sort of behaviour now |
How old is Stella now? My 8 month old started doing some of that nipping routine too. Just as you said, not enough to bleed but enough to hurt and leave a black and blue...and on my butt!  It usually happens when we are playing outside and he get wild but he's too big for it to be cute...
First, beware of Stella around strangers and especially children right now. Unfortunately, no matter what, in this world now if anything happens its always the dogs fault. Doesn't matter what somone might have been doing to the dog, when a dog nips or bites, everyone blames the dog so keep that in mind... Stella sounds like she may be fearful of strangers. Continued training will help socialize her. Have new people approach her slowly and not rush up to her with hands flopping all around to pet her. Have them keep their voice happy but calm. That high pitch voice can make a dog crazy!!! Be patient with her. She's had a hard life before you and surely needs time to become a "secure" dog. Good luck. |
| The picture in my avatar is Sampson... he is our 16 week old baby (he was 9 weeks in the picture). Stella is about 18 months old (so she's still a puppy, just a much bigger puppy than Sampson). I got Stella when she was about 9 or 10 months old, so i have actually had her for almost a year. I am not sure what has triggered this, but I definitely think it's time to seek some professional help before it gets worse. |
IheartStella wrote: The picture in my avatar is Sampson... he is our 16 week old baby (he was 9 weeks in the picture). Stella is about 18 months old (so she's still a puppy, just a much bigger puppy than Sampson). I got Stella when she was about 9 or 10 months old, so i have actually had her for almost a year. I am not sure what has triggered this, but I definitely think it's time to seek some professional help before it gets worse.
Just curious here, did the snapping at people happen prior to sampson coming home? Or has it started after the new addition has arrived? |
| Stella had some of this behavior prior to Sampson, but it was not very frequent (she snapped at someone who walked too close to me in a campground bathroom once). It seems to have increased with frequency recently, but that could also be because I have taken her out much more since her training because the trainer said to get her out and expose her to new things. I definitely think I need to get a professional involved who can help me with her but who will not freak out when she snaps. She doesn't actually bite (other than my boyfriend's brother's butt, but it really wasn't a bite, more like she scraped his butt with her teeth, without clamping down). The fact that she doesn't actually bite makes me think it's more of a warning or dominance thing rather than aggression. Could it also be her teens coming out? My almost 12 year old daughter seems to be snapping at people a lot lately, too... |
| It sounds like a warning with her and probably too she is getting older and now taking on quite a dominant role with a bit of fear mixed in there. It is still something that needs to be trained out of her before it gets worse. She has had a change in her home life now, with the new addition and it is coming out more now.
So yes you do need to spend time with a trainer to help there and learn to re-direct her behaviour. The other thing I would do also, is make sure she has one on one quality time with you to keep her feeling special and secure. That is put sampson away for a little while and spend a bit of time just with her. Cuddle time, maybe just throwing a ball in the yard, playing with her on her own and use another part later in the day for the more serious side of things, her training, walks etc with a behaviourist there to assess how she is and help guide you and stella through that side of her issues. |
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