My Fearful Fluffball...

[Chris & Boys]

Fozzy was totally fearless when he first came home. Then after about two weeks, he started to show some timidness towards people. He would back away from strangers, hide behind me etc. Then when I was at work, he started running away and hiding under my desk and give a liitle growl. Then it continued with the amount of growl continuing to grow. It happens at bome too. It continued to progress into a bark when a stranger would even come near my office, then a full fledged barking assault, from under my desk or behind my back. Now he has begun lunging at people. I am afraid the next step is biting.

I have done everything the vet and trainer have suggested, ignoring behavior, having the peron of the fear ignore Fozzy, have the person throw treats to him, have the person just hold odiferous treats, stand or sit with the person, But it continues to get worse. One of my co-workers even came to my office 3-4 times a day with special treats I bought just for him to give to Fozzy. He eventually accepted my co-worker and became very affectionate toward him. Once he stopped treating Fozzy, he started to grow leary of him again, little by little. It got so good, that Fozzy would run to him every a.m. when we arrived at the office. Now he is shying away from him more and more every day.

I spoke with our vet last night, and she is going to call me Monday so we can go more in depth than we were able to at that time. She did suggest an animal behaviorist. But I can't have someone come to work and watch us for three hours at a time.....my boss would hit the roof.

The wierd part of it is he is fine if people have other dogs with them, if not, he gets very aggitated.

[Patti]

My daughter has a dog that is "fear aggressive." It's akita/shepherd and she's had him since he was 5 wks. old. My daughter is very good with animals. She has her dog trained perfectly. He does all kinds of tricks, walks perfectly off leash, and she is the definite "leader." However, he exhibits the same traits as your Fozzie. He barks ferociously at people who come into her house (or even my house when he is here). He has lunged at people in my house. He is food aggressive with my dog. He has gotten very aggressive when toys are involved with other dogs. You'd never believe it if you saw him listening to my daughter, though. Then, he is perfect! I've suggested to her to contact an animal behaviorist to help her with him. I worry that he will attack another animal or person someday. I hope that you are able to get some good advice about Fozzie. I know how much you love him. He's about the age of my puppy, I believe.