Fear of strangers
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| Let me start by saying THANK YOU for adopting a sheepdog in need, and that I'm very sorry that you're going through this problem.
I'm not the best behaviorist on this site by a long shot, so I'll leave that up to others to answer, but I would like to toss in my 2 cents on your overall situation. Should you ultimately make the decision that Benson is not the right dog at the right time for you, PLEASE contact an OLD ENGLISH SHEEPDOG rescue program. They will be the BEST to find the right situation for Benson. They have lists of people looking to adopt, and nearly always can match a dog with a suitable situation. Of course you can always come here for help of any type, both publicly like this, and privately through our PM and email systems. Many people here are willing to help. Thanks. |
| Ah - Poor Benson! He seems like he is a lucky guy to have you as his new family. Situations like these are difficult to deal with because you don't fully understand what the root causes are. I am so happy you're seeing a behaviorist - what a great step. Hopefully they will be able to evaluate the situation and give you and Benson good advice. Until then I would suggest keeping Benson at home or in places where he is comfortable to avoid a potentially scary situation! I wish I had better advice to give you but we're here to listen and offer support and advice. He has obviously come a long way under your care and with continued help from you and others I am hopeful it will be a very positive situation. BTW I love his name - did you pick it out? |
| How wonderful that Benson has found a home that allows him to interact with others. It's also great that you will be working with a behaviorist to try to understand his "issues".
Our circumstances aren't the same, but thought I'd offer some consolation maybe. Our wonderful Annie came to live with us at almost 6 years of age. She wasn't known to have behavioral problems but almost immediately we found that she gets nervous around small kids and other dogs. Sometimes she seems like she wants to "visit" but will then snap at them. Not aggressively, but snap and walk around in a circle. For a while, we thought she was "aggressive" but figured out that she just gets nervous and this is her response. After taking her into different scenarios to see if we could "alter" the behavior, we realized we couldn't and have just had to accept her social anxiety and need for limitations. Something that helps us is to ALWAYS have a toy around for her to stick in her mouth. My nephew knows that Annie needs to have something in her mouth or she will nibble at him. They are a hoot to watch now. |
| Thank you so much for such caring responses!! We will NEVER give him up. He's the coolest dog, but he's just all of a sudden having these problems. The thing is, we've tried to socialize him as much as possible. We used to take him everywhere.. he loves to ride in the car and go to the dog park, but we've stopped recently just to be safe. He also gets very excited around other dogs and sometimes I'm not sure if he's going to be aggressive or if he's just excited. His bark is hard to decipher. We've also noticed that he's scared to death of bicycles, roller blades, and skate boards. The family we rescued him form had two children so who knows, maybe they tormented him, we have no idea. For now, we're just being careful and working hard. I even had my husband ride around the yard on a bicycle to see what he would do and he bit his butt, just a little nibble, but it was actually sort of funny at the time. He's got tons of presonality so I hope we can find some solutions. Thanks again:) |
| One of my friends helped me pick out his name. I wanted a cool, jazzy name and she said this Benson person was a jazz legend so we went with it. It fits him perfectly:) |
| While we're waiting for the behavior folks to chime in, is he neutered? |
A few questions and a few comments, if I may. 
Quote: We adopted Benson a little over a year ago from a pretty sad situation. He was chained to a tree for the first 9 months of his life, and had absolutely no social skills when we rescued him . Was this the home he originated from, meaning you got him at just under a year so he is 2 years old now? Quote: We went through the basic obedience classes, spoiled him rotten, and have made a lot of progress in basic training. What kind of training has he been to? Positive-based or aversive-based? The difference being the first one is usually with lots of treats and no corrections, the second one is usually with a choke-type collar and corrections when the dog does not do it right. Quote: We did start noticing that he was fearful of some visitors, especially male. He would growl and bark, but his posture was that of a very scared dog. He is petrified of our vet and immediately releases his bladder and bowels as soon as he sees him. This speaks very fearful behavior. Not good.  Best keep him away from strangers until you see the behaviorist.Quote: We were so upset and now we feel like we can't take him out in public as much as we used to because he's so unpredictable. Good call. Keep everyone safe. There is a high likelihood he may hurt someone and that would be a death sentence for him. Quote: We're taking him to a behaviorist in a couple of weeks, but if anyone has had similar experiences, we'd love suggestions. Thanks:)
I would suggest you make sure your behaviorist has a degree of some sort in animal behavior. Anyone can call themself a behaviorist and do lots of mental damage. Any suggestions of force or pain or fear you should walk away. Socializing a dog can only be done in the early weeks or puppyhood. Past 5 months old you are doing rehabilition to make a dog social, but it is not the same thing. Rescue dogs go through a honeymoon period, which can last from a few days to months....sometime years. I have 2 OES's. One I have had as a pup, and I can take anywhere. He is gentle and loving, and totally trustworthy. My other one I adopted at 2/3 years old and had very little of a "normal" life. She acts fine most of the time but is not 100% predictable and I cannot ever trust that her instinctive reactions to fearful situations will always be acceptable. We NEVER leave her alone with kids or strangers, and closely monitor her interactions with adult friends and family. |
| Definitely make sure the trainer does not suggest any negative training. With a fearful dog, that will only make things worse and that fear will turn into serious aggression.
I would also talk to the vet about anxiety medication for him, either prescribed, or herbal, like Bach's Rescue Remedy. |
| Poor Benson. He sounds like an extreme version of my Jack. Neither boy had a great beginning and it has marked them for life, I fear. I can't trust Jack with new situations or with stranger, just like Benson.
He can't greet visitors like the other dogs, he has to be let in separately and then on lead. He must sit quietly for awhile. Then he realizes all is well and can be let off. Vet visits require a muzzle........I can't trust Jack not to snap at strangers. Benson will have to be desensitized to everything, including the vet. Can you go and weigh him and not be charged? Maybe a weekly car ride to the vet and get weighed would help. Talk to the vet (w/o Benson at your side) to find a way for the two of them to meet in a less intimidating way. It would help if Benson had been exercised heavily before a vet visit. It helps drain off that extra energy that's over stimulating his mind. Same thing with the bicycle. First exercise Benson. Then while he's still a pooped pup, have your husband push the bicycle along on the walk. Finally progress to where your husband rides while you walk Benson. Next time reverse, you work your way up to riding a bicycle while husband walks Benson. Actually the dog park is a good place for Benson.........the other dogs would help him adjust......HOWEVER, you'd also need a good behaviorist there with him and dogs who are well versed in pack life and uprights who aren't ready to sue at a moment notice. That's not going to happen, so follow your instincts and stay away for awhile. Little steps.......that's all Benson can do. When he surmounts one obstacle, move on to the next. |
| I agree with the previous poster when mentioned breaking down activities into small segments and try to make each segment positive and successful for Benson.
As for the veterinarian, if Benson seems fearful of men, is there a female veterinarian that you can take him to? If so, let the staff know that Benson is frightened and ask them to work with you so that Benson will be more comfortable. When bringing him to the pet store (or other activities) try to go when it is fairly quiet. The activity and noise at the races may have just overwhelmed him. By the way - there may just be some places that you decide that it isn't in Benson's best interest to accompany you (such as the races). Good luck and please keep up informed on Benson's progress. Jennifer, Baxter, Cassiopia and Sharkey |
| Wow... so much great advice. I'll try to answer as many questions as I can remember.
- Yes, he is neutered - He is almost 2 years old - The behaviorist my vet receommeded is a veterinary behavior consultant. She comes highly recommended, but we had to wait forever to get an appointment. We just got married and got back from our honeymoon so time was limited and she was really booked up. We're taking Benson on August 22nd. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but am excited to hear her take on things (I was so glad it was a female). My vet also thought the behaviorist might prescribe some anti-anxiety meds. - The obedience classes we took him to were through PetSmart, and were a terrible disappointment, but we were naieve I guess and should have looked around more. It was completely treat-based and I thought it was useless. Benny only came home each week with a stomach ache from all the treats we were supposed to give him. We eventually switched to dog food and he didn't even care. He's not too motivated by any food other than the "cookies" he gets at home, and we had to work at getting him excited about those. - We had a great breakthrough last night!! I was so excited. We took Benny for a walk and there were TWO bicycles. He got a little bit excited, but walked right next to them without jumping and yelping. It was a huge improvement. At the end of our walk we did see another dog, which sent him over the edge a little, but baby steps... I was still excited about the bikes. Thanks again for all of your support. I love this site  |
| Sounds like you are doing the right things and getting lots of good advice.
My input is, try ( it's hard sometimes ) not to get frustrated. He sounds as though he's making slow steady progress. Best of luck.....Kathy & Chauncey |
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