Fear & Aggression

[aauld]

I have a miniture dachshund named Humphrey. He is now 11 months old. When he was 5 months old I left him at a kennel for 2 weeks while out of town. He played with other dogs and was fine. The attendants said he was a "sweetheart". At 9 months of age he fell onto a wood floor and broke his leg. He had surgery, they had to put pins in his leg. Now, when I take him to the vet and they have to keep him overnight he is very difficult. They can't get him out of the cage, they have to wait for me. He gets really mad and tries to bite anyone that gets near him. Once I get there, he is fine.
I dropped him off the other morning for x-rays and they asked if I would wait so they could sedate him before I left because they didn't know if they would be able to do it if I wasn't there. He gets really mad and doesn't like them.

I went out of town this weekend and had to leave him at a kennel for one night. The lady at the kennel said he was ok but she had a very difficult time getting him out of the cage. She said he would become very aggressive.

How can I get him over this?

Thanks
Aleks

[dutchman]

I would suggest enrolling in a beginning obedience class. The socialization that will take place in the class is a good starting point. I am working on a shy aggressive boy Tanner that I got as a rescue last July. I am finding him a more difficult challenge than my submissive shy little girl Aggie was. Once you start to learn some basic social skills (should be included in the beginning obedience class) you will need the assistance of as many friends as possible to help socialize him. My problem is finding enough dog knowledgeable people to work with Tanner as much as possible. Are there any training facilities near you that also offer doggie day care? While O haven't used the day care options yet the people where I took Tanner for basic obedience suggested that it would be good for him and they could help work with him w/o my being there.

Good luck,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[aauld]

I may try the doggy day care thing. There is a nice facility in my area that offers those services. I am going to enroll him in obedience training too. I know he gets nervous and the aggression comes from that.

Thanks!

Aleks and Humphrey

[dutchman]

Hi Aleks,

A question and another idea. If Humphrey is aggressive towards stranger in general including when you are out walking you might want to consider investing in a gentle leader. With Tanner's gentle leader on I have been able to trust him with older children as well as adults. He still requires close supervision but in makes me feel more comfortable. I suspect he picks up to some extent when I get nervous.

A couple of general hints if you want to start socializing him prior to beginning a formal class. With your volunteer have them get down low and offer him a treat presented on the fingers of an open palm up hand. If he won't come and take the treat it is OK for the person to toss it to him. With time decrease the distance the treat is tossed till he is taking it off their hands. Remind people to always approach him with an open hand held low so that they don't block his view of them. Dogs read people by their body language and if their view is blocked their anxiety level increases.

If the problem only exists when a stranger tries to get him out of a kennel you might want to borrow a strange kennel and have a friend set it up in their home. They can then work with him using the same food bribe technique to help boost his confidence.

Be sure to mention to any day care center his special problems and make sure they are prepared to work with him on this problem. Some day care centers may not be willing to take a dog with this type of problem.

Good luck and be sure to let us know if you find any techniques that work especially well for you. Those of us working with these shy aggressive ones need to share all the advice we can. The process for overcoming the problem may be fast or slow it's hard to tell in advance. You just have to be willing to take take to work with them and also be willing to adjust their public activities as needed.

Good luck,

Tom

[aauld]

Tom-

Thanks for all the good advice.

What is a gentle leader? Where can I get one?

Humphrey is pretty good at home. If a stranger comes to the door he barks, I say quiet a few times and after a while he stops. When we have friends come over it takes him a little while to get used to them but pretty soon he is sitting next to them and allowing them to pet him. If we know the person coming to the door he seems to be ok, if we don't then he barks a lot. We also just moved into a new home about 2 months ago. I notice he is more protective than he was at my last place. I don't know, it is hard to say. It is very sporatic. The other day the landscaping guy came over, he's been over before and Humphrey was fine. He was going up to him. Then there are the girls at the vets office that can't seem to control him. It is just funny sometimes how he is such a little guy but can get so mad and scare people.

Aleks

[dutchman]

Here is a web page for the gentle leader http://www.gentleleader.com/intro.html It is a type of training collar used with a leash. My trainer really believes in these and I do feel more comfortable in public when Tanner has his on. If you are going to buy one without someone who is experienced in their use to help you out I would suggest you also get the companion video. These collars can be abused and could cause possible neck problems for a dachshund if not properly used. You should be aware few if any dogs like the collars and will resist their use at fist. They learn to tolerate it's use. Tanner my tweenie dachsie uses a size small.

Tom