Skittish Aggression?

[Heather]

Hubby and I are currently staying with my parents-waiting to close on our new home. With us is 4.5 yr old stand smooth Hans, and 1.5 yr old mini smooth Beanie.

Beanie has always been skittish, and very submissive, but does have a pretty loud bark for strangers.

Last night, my niece(7) and nephew(2) were over and Beanie was barking at them. He has done this before, and I gave the kids treats to give to the dogs and they seemed to relax. They have never bit anyone and took the treats nicely from there hands.

Last night, Beanie just would not stop though. He even started to growl. Fierce enough for me to remove him from the room. I really think that if I had of let it go, Beanie would have jumped at my nephew, and likely nipped at him.

Hans is fine with them, just likes to lick alot so we have to be careful he does not knock over the younger one.

Was Beanie just jealous? I was holding my nephew quite a bit? Is it a combination of the odd surroundings and our unsettled life right now? This really concerns me. THe kids love the dogs, and I give my nephew credit, he was timid, but when I asked him to give Beanie a cookie, he did so.

I am taking Beanie to obedience school starting next week for 8 weeks, but I am not sure this is an obedience problem?

What can I do to help Beanie cope? Suggestions are really appreciated.

[Penny's Aunt]

Socialization problems & obedience problems often to hand-in-hand.

Dogs are wary of things they haven't been exposed to very much. We have no children in the immediate family, so I have to go out of my way to get my pup used to children. It is not easy, because kids move so fast that they can appear threatening.

Obedience classes are excellent, but make sure you aren't in the jerk-&-hang type classes. Those are archaic now, & those methods are bad for dogs that are prone to spinal problems, & dachsies are #1 for those.

You need to make a point of getting both your dogs out in the real world. Maybe watching people is best to start. You know your dogs best.

Take treats along. Since your dog will be on a leash, only hold the handle. Don't force your dog to be nice to someone. Tell the people he is shy. Let him back off if he wants. Dogs only know 2 ways of dealing with fear: running away & acting aggressively. Take away one option, & they will use the other. Force & socialization don't really go together. It all takes time. The window of best socialization closes at 4-5 mos of age. After that it is slower & more difficult. It will be an on-going thing.

One thing you can do on your own is teaching your dog to shake hands. Then give people a treat & ask them to tell him to SIT, then to SHAKE HANDS. They should take his paw in their right hand & give him the treat with their left. Often, the dog will concentrate on the treat & behave better than you expect. But again, no force. Some days will be better than other days.

[Heather]

Thank's for the advice. We will certainly work on those things that you mentioned. We went to the obedience school last weekend and just sat in on the class to make sure we were comfortable with the environment and the technique. We thought it was good, and they definitely used praise and reward techniques rather than jerk and pull.

Oddly, we left the boys with my mother in law while we went on vacation. She babysits in her home, and beanie was fine with the small children. It is just my nephew, in my parents house that is a problem. Eric and I were out last night and beanie was growling again, but when they took him outside, he was fine around my nephew.

We are hoping that the obedience classes, and settling in the new house and environment will help to calm him down. It is just strange because he has never done this before. We always make it a point to bring them wherevr we can take them, and have always brought them around other dogs, big and small.

Thanks again for your advice. I will let you know how the classes go.

[Penny's Aunt]

Since it is a family member that he is growling at, try having your nephew doing all the dog feeding when he is there. If it seems safe to you, give your nephew your dog's entire meal of dry food & have him feed him the whole thing, one piece at a time, by hand. Once a dog realizes that a person is a source of food, it can change their whole attitude.

[Heather]

I tried to have Ryan feed Beanie, but he is only two, and I did not want to make him afraid of dogs for the rest of his life. My 7 year old niece did a little better, but Beanie did not seem to make much progress.

MRS F-I noticed in your birthday message you wrote that one of your furkids can not be around young children? What was your experience?

[Mrs.F]

Heather, I tried to answer you here, but I couldn't keep my post short enough! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif
I sent you a private message instead.
Heidi

[Heather]

Thanks Heidi. For some reason, I get kicked out each time I try to open up your private message? It may be the computer that I am on, I will try again in the morning.

Heather