nervous dog??

[peta]

Hi im new and was seeking some advice. I have a 5 yr old desexed male kelpie who doesnt like people (except his familly whom he loves to death!). We have done much training and such and he was socialised from a young age. We have had him since he was 10 weeks old and nothing bad we know of has happened to him. The propblem is he wont move away from a "threatning" person. He just freezes. He lifts his lip at them and sometimes growls then snaps at them as they take their hand away. He's never actually bitten any one but still, its not aceptable behavoiur and i feel he could be an accident waiting to happen. Sometimes he surprises us and befriends total strangers - but not very often!

He doesnt like other dogs much either. He sees them, gets excited, wants to play , gets there, then gets agitated, his hackels go up and he growls. He doesnt take it any further than that but i worry another dog will turn around and have him.

The thing i want to be able to teach my dog is that he can move away from a threatning situation, i feel this will give him more confidence as he will be in control of a situation that scares him. Can anyone tell me how to do this?? or does any one have any other input? We love our dog but have a little baby now and she will be crawling soon. Help! What do i do??!!
Peta

 

[Mutt Luv]

What might in your situation is to teach him a on by command, this command is used a lot by dog mushers but I have found it a VERY usefull command for pet dogs.

What you can start doing is just work on the on by, get some yummy food I suggest some chicken sothing he just LOVES. Then with him walking by your side, heel works well, get the chicken in front of his nose and say "on by" as you walk by a famley member get him so he looks at you as you say on by, pratice that lots so he really understands the command, not put a meaty bone on the floor and as you walk by say "on by" by this time he should look at you as you say and walk on by, because he wants the food, when he goes by it give him the treat and lots of praise!!

No that you have a STRONG foundation on the on by command and you are SURE he understands it, now get a person out side the home that he doesent like, then as you walk by have the chicken let him know you have you have it then hold it at your eye or on your chest and tell him "on by" if he truly KNOWS that on by command he should show some intrest but then walk on by and be looking at you when you have walked by the person give the treat and just explode in praise lots of good boys and high voice, lol get him all excited and let him know that was a great job!!

Pratice and pratice that some more, then pretty soon you can fade visible treat and just give the command and he will be walking on by like a pro!!!


I hope that works for you, that is my suggestion, let me know if you have any questions

 

[peta]

thanks heaps, i will definitely try that training method. Do you think it will help in situations where someone may approach him when we are not looking? when we are not there to give the comand?

Also, does anyone know of anything safe and calming that i can add to Harrys dinner? If only he could chill out abit things may not bother him so much!

Thanks again
Peta & "hurricane" Harry

 

[Spiritus]

He's a Kelpie, not really a "chilling out" kind of breed

I really like the on-by idea. As for when you're not looking, if he's with you, you need to be looking. With a dog not comfortable with strangers, there should never be a time when you aren't available to give him the command. At five years of age, his habits are ingrained. You can't "make" him like people or being approached by strangers. You can tell people your dog does not like strangers and insist they not approach him.

 

[Mutt Luv]

For calming him down I have heard some good things about Ultra Clam although I have never used it, you can see it on Dr Foster and Smiths web site, its said to really calm them down, you can get them in cruncy treats, a plug in or even a spray, it contained a thing in it that is like the hormone that a lactating female releases to the pups to calm them, no matter what the age of the dog it still is said to work. It is some what pricy IMO, but its worth checking it out

I also agree with Spiritus on the fact that you should always be looking and just tell people that he really doesnt like strangers. But I do beleive that at any age you can train a dog to do what you want and even chance a previously learned command, it will just take time and detacation, a lot harder then training a puppy.

Good luck, I'm gald you found my info helpfull