Question:We have had her for 8 months and she is wonderful except she barks and growls at our sons. They treat the dog with total love and kindness. It seems like maybe she was abused by a young man before we got her. No matter what we do, she continues to growl.
Answers:
the most common problem in siturations like this is that people think they can make friends with a dog who is fearful or aggressive. The trouble is the dog is all anxious and in "fight or flight" mode, and not at all receptive. No matter what they do trying to befriend the dog she's going to see it as something she should resist. So the answer is easy. They should stop trying to make friends with her.
THey should walk her. THat's a normal activity that requires no face to face interaction. She should start to relax with them on a leash, and as she spends time with them in a non threatening situation she'll relax overall. In your house they should pretty much ignore her. She will eventually approach them to sniff and check them out. They should continue to ignore her. When she actually sits or lies down beside them...is relaxed...they can start to touch her and talk to her and pet her. You'll be surprised how easy it is when you don't try.
dont have your sons come over anymore! duh!
glad i could help!
HAVE HIM GIVE DOGGY TREAT EVERY TIME HE COMES
MY ICE CREAM MAN COMES WITH TREATS. THE DOG HATED THE TRUCK -BUT NOW HE BEATS THE KID TO IT
Have your sons interact with the dog
let ur sons put there hand next to the dog's nose
and if he starts jumping pull him back
with a leash
or have ur sons feed him something yummy
We had the same problem when our dog met someone else...we just put a full cage muzzle on her and had the person take them for a walk..after a few days she became freindly with those that she had positive contact with.
Every time your sons come over, have them give her a treat. Just give her time and she will open up to them eventually, when she sees that they don't hurt her.
you are absolutely correct, something happened to make her weary of adult men. I take it you are their mom, different reaction to females. Does your dog growl at ALL adult men? if not it may be something about your sons smells, ask to not use any odorous sprays or colognes and then approach the dog. if she is still growling she has to "learn" that they are not meaning harm. it takes time, period. they have to interact with you and her as much as possible, and keep a leash on her in their presence to establish who is the boss and to potentially restrain her if necessary. if you can, correct her as soon as she acknowledges the boys don't wait til she growls, she is gets the idea to growl seconds before she growls, you want to change her thinking not just her actions or reactions. a correction by the way is quick, sharp tug on the leash with an assertive, not shouting or screaming or whining "NO". Good luck I hope all works out for you and way to go for rescuing!!
total love and kindness will not show the new dog who is pack leader..which should be you and your sons...its important to establish now, so that later there isn't anarchy in the household.
when the dog growls, you should break his concentration by making a sharp noise and tapping him, make him understand he is Not the leader. taking him by the back of the neck and gently but firmly making him lay down and assume a submissive position will help show dominance, at that point, your sons should walk around him and touch him, remaining above him in a dominant stance. it shouldn't take too long for him to get the pecking order right.
if your sons dont come around alot ask them to stay at your place for a couple weeks so the dog can see them and learn that they are friendly if they stay for a long time the dog will make them her friend and think they are there to stay and then when they come over she will be as happy as heck to see them
It is very common for shelter dogs to react this way to men. Most dogs who are feral (living on the street) end up with a wariness of men in general. There is also the opinion that dogs respond better to a softer higher pitched voice than a lower one, because mom corrected them in a low voice and comforted them with high-pitched tones.
If your dog is only growling and not snapping, moving forward, or showing any other signs of aggression, she might just be stating that she is nervous around your sons. Watch the body language. Are her ears back while she growls? Does she let your sons pet her eventually? Does she show teeth?
It takes some time to get a rescued animal emotionally stable. The environments they come from are usually not pleasant, and you may never know what happened to her in her past. Take it slow, and make sure your sons don't use dominant body language with your dog. They shouldn't stand over her, or use a loud voice while she is in the room.
Crouching down to her level and holding an outstretched hand will usually bring a dog to someone for a pet.
Also, don't push her-let her come to them when she is ready.
I once rescued a Katrina victim who had spent her whole short life on the streets. She was completely feral. We had her for a blessed 10 months, and in that time she growled at every male visitor and my husband. She never showed any signs of real aggression, though, and when my husband had his back turned, she would sneak up and kiss him. For all we know, she may have been teasing him all that time, and laughing when he backed off!
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