Fear biting??
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| I would suggest getting in touch with a trainer, and perhaps look into something like Bach's rescue remedy to ease her anxiety.
Good luck!  |
| I agree with Willowsprite about getting the advice of a trainer.
Dogs are like kids. You don't see people for awhile, and when you do, you expect them to run and give auntie a big hug and kiss, and when they don't, you tell them to. If they still refuse, you tell them again, only this time with a little knudge toward the person. I always tell people, leave em' alone. They don't know me, it's not their fault we don't see one another often enough for them to remember. Give em' a break, I assure you they'll kiss and hug me before they leave. My point, sometimes our actions bring on the responce of the child or pet. No, I don't mean you, just my thoughts in general. If something we're doing seems to not be working, then we probably should take a look at how and what we're doing, perhaps we're accidently adding to the problem.  |
| Oh, that poor girl. She has really been abused, not socialized and heaven knows what else. You'll have to keep her isolated from strangers and slowly teach her the world again. You might also talk to your vet about something else to help keep her calm during the training. Probably she'll never be totally trustworthy of strangers, having to go with a person who understands the dog will have to be kept away from people including those coming to the house. I know of one dog like this, after 4 or 5 years he only trusts one or two "outsiders"...and the cleaning lady was not one, LOL. She does have a life, but it won't be as a social butterfly. |
Thanks for the responses. No, she will never be a social butterfly. I have talked to several trainers and they all said they could work with us to help her trust me in our home. They said it wouldn't tranfer over to others. The thing is she isn't mine to keep. She is adoptable if she is like this with everyone else.  She is very sweet and I know she would never bite me or my son but anyone else would be fair game for her. |
| The sheepdog I know in this situation was sent by rescue still in the frightful stage to the new owner who had sheepdogs for many years and knew what he was getting. Even then there were times he was frustrated. Hopefully your girl will find just such a saint to take her.
sheepieboss |
| I don't really have a good solution, but I can tell you I know how you feel. Our Buckley is a fear biter and will snap at anyone (other than my husband and I) who try to pet him. He is the biggest, most lovable sweetheart to us- just not anyone else. We've had him for 2 yrs. now- there is only 1 person he will allow to come into the house without problem. We crate him when people are coming over- if it's only2 or 3 people we can let him out (once they're inside) with his muzzle on and he's OK. Otherwise we have to leave him crated until everone goes home. When I start to feel bad about leaving him at home when we and Gracie go to the park I just have to remember that even though he's not a "social butterfly", his life is MUCH better than it was before he came to live with us. It may take awhile, but I'm sure you'll find the perfect, quiet home for her. Once they begin feeding her and she feels comfortable, she will open up to them as she has to you.
Cindy & The Monsters |
Wow, first good for you for helping this baby! Your girl is so lucky to have you!  I don't have any advice but really wanted to say this anyway! And since you are able to get close to Her, right now, please give her a kiss from all of us and tell her everything will get better!
A kiss for Buckley too! |
Thank you I will definately give her a huge and kiss and promise her that the future will be much better than the past!! She is the exact same. I hope that yours gets better and starts to trust your friends and family!! Would you like a friend for her??!  |
Anonymous wrote: I have a foster that is a fear bitter. Has anyone had experience with that before? I never have and I am trying to break her of it but she only seems to be getting worse. The more she is comfortable with us the more protective she is with others.
There's a huge clue right there in your last sentence. She needs lots, and lots and lots of fun and positive socialization. Your dog may be this way because of previous abuse, but there are several things that can cause this and unless you have knowledge of it or were there when it happened, there is no way to know. It's a long road to improvement and a lot of hard work, and you may be never totally satisfied with the degree of success you achieve. This is why some people suggest putting the dog down. That's an option that only you can answer. If you chose to work on this problem start small. Think of ways you can make every encounter with others enjoyable, pleasant or at least bearable for the dog. Have strangers toss her treats and eventually hand her yummy treats. Down the road, walk the dog with a friend and in mid walk hand the dog off to the friend and slowly start separating yourself. Make it very short and have the friend walk back to you, creating greater and greater distances and time away from you. (Treats optional) Always reward good behavior and make sure the dog understands your discontent with bad behavior. Have the dog progress through varying stages of agility. School yards are a great place to start. (When kids aren't around) Have her go up, over, under, through and around every thing you can find or image. You're trying to build her confidence, which she has very little if any of. Use your imagination and look at everything you see, every where you go, as an obstacle for your dog to negotiate. Around others Do NOT coddle her and 'protect' her but this doesn't mean to force her towards them either. Again start small. Maker her stay in the same room with them without being able to run away and hide, including behind you. Neither you or the stranger should push yourself on the dog at this point. And don't allow any barking or snarling. That is not to be tolerated. Don't over do the good dog bad dog stuff. Converse with the stranger, but as far as talking to the dog, keep quite as much as possible. Saying things like "Friends"... see, friends... is useless because you are using the wrong tone of voice and sending the wrong energy. You can say, good girl, once or twice at the most, or NO if she shows aggression. But that's about it. On leash (Which she should be on 100% of the time while training) have her walk past strangers. Just be content to walk right past them, no slowing down. And don't even talk to her. Just walk right past them. As she progresses, have the strangers offer her a quick treat as they keep walking past her. Again, use your imagination. I've barely touched the surface here. If you're serious about saving this dog, seek help from someone knowledgeable in this area. You have a serious problem and no one can teach you everything you need to know on this message board. Not to mention that you need a professional there to observe to make your that your timing and focus is correct. Training dogs is easy. It's training people that's the hard part. Good luck. |
| Hi,
Panda, (who is in my avatar with me) arrived with a lot of issues and one was his mistrust and fear of people. What helped overcome his fear and now he's Mr Social Butterfly is the following. I took him on numerous walks to introduce him to our surroundings. I often sat with him in parks or bits of grass where we observed people, but would be FIRM and warn people not to approach or touch him. The entire time we observed people walking down the street or mowing their lawns (Panda's other fear was of the sound of lawn mowers) I sat next to him and spoke softly...eventually he was able to become desensitized to the sounds of traffic and lawn mowers which he was also fearful of. If people approached I would cross the street but always kept calm so the dog did not pick up any vibes from me. Spoke softly to him and praised him. I got the assistance of a few dog savy friends who I made arrangements with to meet us on these walks. They remained still or spoke softly and offered a treat. Eventually Panda saw that not all people beat him with sticks. Some would pull up in their cars...get out..offer a treat and go back to their vehicle. Walk calmly, speak softly, and always end in on a postive note. If your friends offer their help do NOT extend it for long periods as you may think it's going well. It's always better to end any encounter with a positive note. Your friends may want to wear gloves just in case and place the treat on the palm of their hand. It took Panda 6 wks for me to be able to touch him and about a year before the majority of his issues were erased as part of his desensitization. It was important that I was always aware of who and what was going around me. Lastly, yes I know I'm bragging but I was so darn proud!!! 3 years after Panda came into my home he placed 4th at our National Canadian Pet Idol contest. Noises, crowds, people walking around with parrots, horses, sheep, and 100's of dogs and cats didn't phase him at all. The top 4 won potential movie contracts and their portfolios with an agent that deals with animals in the movie industry. I didn't take advantage of this, as I was just happy to have a buddy that I can trust 99.9% around people, kids, bunnies, cats and a host of other critters. My heart was swelling with pride that my boy was one of the calmest amongst the 125 animals there and caught the attention of the judges whom noticed his calm demenor amongst the organized chaos that was going on around us. Ha! If they only had seen him a few years prior! I can now hose my garden (another of his issues) have people stand next to him with those ball flinging things at the offleash park (resembles sticks) mow my lawn, vacuum my floors, and a host of other things without him becoming stressed. It all took time and I only worked on one issue at a time. Just remind your friends...soft calm voices only..not excitable..allows the dog to trust people. Even sitting in close proximaty but no interaction is one step...take baby steps with everything. It took a long time but it can be done with desensitization, commitment and consistency. Lastly, (I work with children with autism) and it's very much the same thing in some ways. The first time it may only be 1 min, next 2 mins...then extend the time by perhaps a few mins. Do not try to accomplish everything all at one..break it down, end everything on positive note, pick priorities and only work on one thing at a time. When it's successful three times in a row, you may then go on to something else. If not successful then go back a few steps. Remember for every step forward..sometimes it's a couple back..keep persevering but do not force. Even having someone enter your home...sit down for 1 min and then leave is a start, next extend the time to 2 mins..ect. Best wishes to you Marianne |
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