Growling and backing away from strangers.

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Ok the last few times we have been on walks and people approach Kaela with the usual desire to greet and fawn over her - she backs away and growls! She is afraid of them and I worry about this. I am used to Abby (and my past dogs) who loves it when someone approaches her and it puts her into a wiggling frenzy of wanting to love the heck out of that person jumping all over and kissing them. Kaela is opposite.

What is the best way to get Kaela to lighten up? It is menacing when you go to pet a cute dog and they growl and back away. I dont think she is protecting me as much as she finds strangers threatening.

I have been correcting her with a firm NO! and tug when she does it but this doesnt let her guard down, she just sidles behind me then. I have been giving the strangers treats to hold out to her, she doesnt go for the bait. She is only 4.5 months, but it is worrisome, I dont want to her grow up with a distaste for strangers. Advice? Thoughts? Experiences?

[Christine and Daisy]

Adina where can I find "that long winded description on steps to train a sit stay around strangers?"

My pup is exactly what Kaela is. She is 4 months old and afraid of strangers who come right up to pet her without asking. She is petrified of kids. I am going to start telling people that she is in training, as I read in this discussion, and no she can't be petted. At least I won't allow it until she is able to relax around others. I also read about giving strangers treats, but that'll be hard to do unless I pre-plan it with friends of mine who don't know her.

I know this will get a big reaction but we had an animal behaviourist come over today and she told us that we had a special needs dog and she may never be rehabilitated enough to be able to accept strangers without having some anxiety and possibly growling and/or nipping and if I haven't fallen head over heels in love with her yet could I possibly send her back and get another younger trainable dog??? I was totally, utterly flabbergasted that she would even suggest that. This is a near total stranger, how dare she come into my place and tell me these things about my poor little puppy who hasn't even had a freaking chance yet! I should have thrown her out right then!

I have been dealing with Daisy all week who has been growling and barking at strangers because I didn't have the tools yet to begin to help her understand & deal with her anxieties. Thanks to the Doodlekisses site, I now know that I need to train the sit-stay so she can feel protected. She is very good at sitting and laying down inside. I just began the 'stay' mode tonight and she did pretty well. The breeder must've started her on that. I figured it out reading on the different posts but she's not trained to 'heel' so instead I would stand in front of her, have her sit and put my hand in front of her and say 'stay'. I was able to get about 4 feet back. I am not sure if I am asking too much in one night. I have yet to try any training outside, but that will be a very good test as there are many distractions. I live on a street that is under construction.

In the end I have a wonderful little puppy who is not 'special needs' who will have a wonderful life because her owners love her and want to help her. We are going to start making her feel comfortable asap.

[TrevorDoodle]

I hope you get some good answers, b/c I am having a similar problem.
My doodle only growls/barks at certain people - almost always men?
Not every man - just random ones? It started about 1yr 3months (around this time
he was boarded for two weeks and I wonder about that) and still continues
at 1yr 7months. It is really embarrassing b/c I dont want people to think I have a
vicious killer dog. It happened to a female once at PetSmart. We were in the
store at least 30 minutes before and kids/adults/male/female were all petting him and he was
a happy goofy tail wagging doodle. Then, I had to ask an employee a question. She was a groomer there and was wearing a black 'grooming type' uniform. He just started barking/backing away/growling
at her for no "apparent" reason. Was it the smell of other dogs? The all black outfit?
Some kind of sixth sense about her personality? I don't know - but I would LOVE to
figure out what triggers the reactions to certain people.

[shelly]

This sounds just like our aussie doodle. I was beginning to think (b/c 'others' told me) that it was her guarding instinct. But she too picks and chooses. It could be men, women, kids, anyone, anywhere???? So this one is close to my heart as well. Shelly

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The minute you see someone who seems to be heading over to Kaela, start saying "Good girl" to her in a high pitched voice; do not say "It's okay" or anything that gives her reason to think there is actually something to worry about. (This was told to me by a behaviorist, and it really helps.) Make sure you are not giving off any nervous vibes about the approaching stranger, which is easy to do once a dog starts doing this; you are naturally apprehensive about what her reaction will be.
I have worked very hard with Jack on this problem; it is even worse when the adorable Disney dog weighs 82 pounds and lets out a ferocious bark as he leaps backwards! (I have heard "Guess he's not as friendly as he looks" more than once!) If I'm vigilant and start my cheerful "Good Boy"s in advance of the actual encounter, it really helps. Also, many dogs are uncomfortable with people reaching out over their heads to pet them...most dogs don't really want strangers touching the top of their heads at all. If possible, ask people to keep their hands at their sides until Kaela has a chance to check them out. "Never touch a dog until he touches you" is a good rule of thumb. And even then, it's better if they touch her on the chest or side than on top of her.
When she does calmly allow a stranger to interact with her, praise her to the moon and use some words like "You made a friend" or some such. After some practice, you can try using the word "friend" as strangers approach (There's your friend!", etc) to help reassure her.
Hope this helps. That girl is going to be a big doodle, we want to nip this in the bud now!

[LuvMyAbby&Kaela]

Thanks Karen! I am going to do that. I can start praising her when I see them coming in. And if she lets them greet her without being wary I will prase the heck out of her. If she growls I guess it is just best to ignore the growl and say "she is wary of strangers - she is just a puppy...I am working on it".

Yes that is why I am worried and want to nip it in the bud, because she is going to be huge and I dont want people to think she is ferocious when she really isnt, she is just a big scaredy cat.

I like the key word "friend" Great idea!!!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

These are great tips. Peri has started this recently when she sees anyone on a BIKE. It scares her and she growls, which is unlike her. I am going to give all of the advice a try.

[shelly]

Thanks from me too Karen ~ I'm going to try "the friend" thing too. I try to do that when I can catch someone coming to the door. I say "look who's here Tori" in a 'cheerful' voice. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But people do say the darnedest things. One thing they say to me is.... "Wow, I never had a dog not like me". Guess she's not a people dog! " I feel bad b/c she really is such a sweetheart (to those she WANTS to be a sweetheart to)

[Kyoko]

Me three !! . Charlie started this around 6 ~ 7 months, and now she is 10 months, still doing this despite of me taking her to the school bus stop, pet store, etc.... I was thinking that it was because of the fear stage....But looks bad and sounds bad. I am do ing the private lesson with her trainer in regard to the issue in 2 days! I am curious to see what she suggest. ( I really like this trainer.)

[F, Calla & Luca]

When you think about it I wouldn't want a stranger touching me much less patting me on the head.

[shelly]

Oh My Gosh! We have the same problem with our aussie doodle. I have posted a couple of times. But Tori does it when 'strangers' come to my house, when I bring her to be groomed, at the vet. She even works herself up so bad that she has a very loose "BM". She is able to sit, stay, waits for food with a whistle,etc. But she really gets beside herself when this happens. It's not everyone, just some she picks and chooses. I tried everything from treats to putting her in her crate, on a leash (both which seem to aggravate the situation). When she did it at the vet, he said let me take her away from you to examine her. She went in the other room and she was totally happy. He said due to her "aussie - istics" she is trying to protect us??? I don't know. I'll be watching YOUR post to see if there is anything I didn't try. Shelly

[Heidi]

My "Bear" was a fearful dog. Like you, nothing tragic in his life to make him this way. He is still a little shy around adults he doesn't know them but not all the time. He picks and chooses who he likes to be around. His first night of puppy classes, he sat under my chair and wouldn't come out for anything. His trainer had me continually take him around people and I would let them know he is fearful or shy and he needs to go to them if he feels secure enough.

I went to the local pet store 2 or 3 times a week since pet people understand what I was trying to accomplish. They would take the time to let Bear come to them and I would give them treats too so eventually he would go to them. He was fearful of dogs too. So she had me go to dog parks over and over. That was scary as dogs would pick on him and he didn't know how to react. He just turned 6 months on the 10th of this month and he is doing so much better. But we're still working on it. It took a lot of socialization to have him come out of his shell.

My thoughts would be to go to a puppy class, because I was told a fearful dog can be very dangerous to others as well as themselves. She may bite out of fear and if she was to get out on her own, she would run away from anyone who came near her trying to help her. Bear has been doing a puppy class since he was 4 months and it is helping tremendously.

Good luck.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Children go through stranger anxiety at certain ages and so do some puppies. Calla will bark at people she doesn't know on her turf, inside or out. She doesn't do this on a walk. Yet she'll even bark if a neighbor she knows approaches her through the fence if she's alone. If Luca or I am out she won't do this. But they are all different. Luca never met a stranger he didn't eagerly (ofter too eagerly) greet expecting attention. I think calla is getting somewhat better about strangers perhaps just through maturation. I think being a little leeery of strangers is a good thing but the growling and barking is not.