Could Dogs Have Anxiety When Guests Leave?

[shelly]

Okay, so I have this GREAT dog!  She's smart, lovable, agile, a snuggler! BUT - she turns into Cujo when some people come over, and when my son plays outside with friends. Here's my tale of woe.... There are some people Tori just barks at constantly when they come over.  People say "Wow, I never had a dog NOT like me".  And these are DOG people.  I don't think she doesn't like them, she has no reason not to... perhaps she picks up a scent on them - their dog????  Sometimes she loks like an attack dog at the door, that people are afraid to come in.  Once they come in (if they're brave enough to attempt it)she's usually fine... until they leave.  She barks right up at their legs nudging them with her nose.  Once they leave, she runs to the window seat, jumps up and barks fiercely.   I'll try and  video tape her and upload it.  Forget it when a delivery person comes she totally freaks out barking and running from one window to another with the zoomies like you've NEVER seen before sniffing and pacing everywhere.  And just tonight she did 'her thing' (which I mentioned before) - herding my 5 year old nephew barking at him all around the house.  I really have to have a behaviorist come and see it... just hope it's not too late

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think a dog has to be have actually worked or practiced a particular activity, such as herding, to exhibit the behaviors associated with it...I think they're instinctive. It just might help to know what instincts a particular dog has when developing a training or exercise program for them.

[shelly]

True! I really was thinking that the mom (the aussie) may have been a herder, which may have been genetically passed along - ???? Guess I'm thinking too much! LOL

[Deirdre]

I have an example. A friend of mine is in construction he took his Aussie Cody to every job he worked on. One day the job site was way out in the country 1/2 way through the day a truck pulled up to the site and a rancher jumped out with Cody in tow. The rancher yelled "one of you guys own this dog?" Erin said "my dog." Rancher "want to sell him?" Erin "no" Rancher "to bad, he's the best herding dog I've ever seen, he's been herding my cattle for well over an hour!" Cody was 6 yrs. old at the time and had never seen a cow in his life!

[shelly]

Yay for Cody! Guess it's true - instinct!

[Lesley, Wellington & Bingley]

Yup - she is herding your guests and doesn't want them to leave. Im sure a behaviourist will help - it doesn't sound like it's too late.

Good luck, let us know how you go =)

[shelly]

Thank you! (my DH really isn't thrilled with spending the $ for another training class, bu....) I hope we can curb this behavior - or we may not have any friends left - lol

[shelly]

Too bad you don't do webinars on training Lesley! Love to hear what thoughts you have! I will definitely keep you informed!

[Ginny Nightingale]

My ALD that acts the same way as Tori came to me at 8 months and had not been well socialized at that point. I did everything to get her more acclimated to people and she slowly came along--but is still not very outgoing. I even got her through therapy dog training, but I know that without constant work, I would never be able to take her out as a therapy dog. She needs a lot more time out with people. Now that I am retired, I am hoping to get that time, but we live in a rural area, so there aren't that many options! I'd love to think that I can train her to change her personality, but it will take some time and may not even be totally possible.
She does love the dog park and shows no signs of herding or guarding there--she is too interested in the other dogs to notice people. But at home, she loves to sit by the front drive and watch for any signs of movement so she can bark at the "intruder". She has a huge bark and sounds very scary. My other doodle is nothing like that and may join in for a bark or two, but then just walks away. Since the "guarding" doodle (Lyric) has been home with my retired husband all day for over a year, she has some bad habits of racing around the yard barking whenever anyone goes by or comes to the house. She even barks at our cat, who is smart enough to stay outside of the invisible fence area. My husband just ignores her. I am hoping to break those habits by interrupting the behavior and redirecting her to something else whenever I can. For example, I sprinkle dog kibble on the grass when I go out to feed the cat so that Lyric won't bark at her--that works well. I am also keeping her on a leash and rewarding her for sitting quietly when someone comes over. She is released when she calms down. That has been successful so far, but it is impossible to know when someone will walk by the house! I also have to watch her when people get up to leave--it helps to anticipate the behavior and stop it before it becomes a habit. I have a long way to go to undue what she has learned!

[shelly]

something tells me, I do too!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Many years ago, I brought my schnoodle to a backyard barbeque at the home of a family who had an Old English sheepdog. This dog was a pet who had never done any kind of herding, never lived on a farm, and did not come from working parents. She had also not spent much time around other animals and was not very friendly toward them. My schnoodle kept trying to play with her, and she would growl and move away. She spent most of her time under the picnic table, where my dog couldn't bother her.
This yard was not fenced, and at one point, my schnoodle started to run toward the furthest corner of the yard as if she were going to leave the area. This OES got up from under the table, ran past my dog and headed her off, then herded her back over to the patio area. She then proceeded to lie back down under the table, away from the pesty schnoodle she had just prevented from leaving the yard!
There's a reason certain breeds are used for certain purposes; those instincts run really deep!

[F, Calla & Luca]

That's impressive!

[shelly]

Wow! Guess it's just pick of the litter as I know many aussiedoodles (now) that don't herd at all. Guess I just got 'lucky' I guess! :-)