Spooked A Lot

NELIA1313 · #1 06-15-2001, 06:36 AM

My boxer is spooked by just about everything. He's afraid of men during our walks, especially if they try to approach him, women in caps & sunglasses, horses, etc. People always ask what's wrong as he backs away and trys to hide behind us. Has anyone had this type of experience? Any advice how to overcome this? He developed this about 2 months ago. I thought he would outgrow it but it seems to be getting worse.

joanna · #2 06-15-2001, 07:05 AM

I am interested in all your replies as well. Maggie has the same problem, she has gotten better as she gets closer to her 1st birthday. But is very warry of new people either on a walk or when they visit. She will stop and watch someone as they pass but if they reach out to her she jumps back and gets away. If the person happens to have a dog with them she's fine, though. She loves to meet new dogs and is very sociable with other dogs, plays well, and will let a " dog walker" pet her. Once she gets used to a new person there isn't a problem either.

tedjax · #3 06-15-2001, 08:59 AM

I would like to hear replies to this as well. Indy is afraid of things, not people. Anything unfamiliar and he is reduced to a little frightened 105 lb puppy!!! Loud noises, sudden movement, etc. I recently bought a new queen size mattress set and it is much higher and bigger than the old bed. Well, that was an ordeal getting him to go to bed that night! It's like anything out of place or new and he knows it immediately. We've tried everything - ignoring it, soothing him, playing music, etc. Nothing seems to work. I think it's something that he was born with or maybe something traumatic happened before we got him....thanks for the suggestions.

NELIA1313 · #4 06-15-2001, 09:13 AM

I noticed the change about 2.5 months ago. Clyde was at a job site with my brother 'n law when someone (male) came up from behind him and grabbed his hind legs (jokingly). He was freaked out and immediately ran behind my brother 'n law for cover. The rest of the day he ran behind him whenever a male entered the job site trailer. Ever since then, his problem has progressively gotten worse. Yesterday, we were walking to get a close look at some Monted Police on horseback, they were performing at the nearby park. As I approached them, he refused to go quietly. He sat down, pulled back. It was quite the sight to see. We are the joke of the neighbourhood. Everyone tells us what a great protector he would be if ever we were attacked.

DOES ANYONE HAVE ADVICE????

nabatie · #5 06-15-2001, 12:31 PM

Rocky is afraid of anything unfamiliar. He's OK around people as long as they don't try to touch him before he's had a chance to check them out. But anything new and he will run. We've just gotten use to it and laugh at him. I think when we laugh it calms him down somehow. Also, getting Chance who isn't afraid of anything seems to have helped relax Rocky a bit too.

Claudia807 · #6 06-15-2001, 12:41 PM

I have read that this is a very common stage of adolescence, where dogs can develop various types of fears that seem almost irrational. I think they often outgrow it. I'll see if I can remember where I read that and dig it out.

Albie · #7 06-15-2001, 05:20 PM

I thought Lacy was the only wimpy boxer around. She's scared to death of adults, but she's fine with kids. She barks when the doorbell rings, but if the person enters the house, she hides in the bedroom. When we go for walks, bicycles and garage doors have her hiding between my legs. I've been trying to figure out when this all started or what could have triggered her being such a fraidy cat... but I can't come up with anything. When we were interviewing trainers, one guy told us we would have to be careful of her because timid dogs can turn into dogs that snap or bite. Boy, did that make me mad!! Needless to say, we didn't use him. Lacy doesn't have a mean bone in her body! We did find a good trainer, who is helping us through training to desensitize her to some of her fears (like bicycles, loud noises...) So far, all we have done is go outside (with Lacy on a leash) and stand near a bicycle. It seems kind of silly, but we'll see if it works. It is reassuring though to see others have this problem too.

carogers · #8 06-15-2001, 06:42 PM

To those with timid boxers--
We have one boxer who loves everyone and is very sociable.
However, our 3-year-old female wants to hide behind me when someone approaches and tries to pet her.
Although not perfect yet, we have seen quite an improvement in recent months. We started taking her to the pet food center PetSmart) where dogs are allowed to come in to shop. There are always "pet people" in these stores who are willing to help you out with this problem. I have my dog sit (then it's not so easy for her to hide or jump back) and then let the people come to her (with no quick moves). She has gradually become more and more comfortable allowing others to rub her under her chin (that seems to work better than petting her on top of the head. It takes time, but it has proven to be very helpful.
So. . . take your boxer shopping.

Brutus and Amaya's Mom · #9 06-15-2001, 09:05 PM

The fear factor is related to confidence and the ability of the dog to face the unknown. Brutus is very confident and scared of nothing...if he hears a loud noise he runs to check it out, if the vaccuum is running he tries to attack it.

Amaya is the complete opposite. She run from the vaccuum, loud noises send her running etc. In her puppy class we learned how to deal with these fears and overcome somewhat. The first thing you need to do is socialize so the dog is exposed to more and more(shopping is a great idea). The first time we opened an umbrella in puppy class Amaya about died. Yesterday in class (1 year later) she was a little annoyed when the instructer opened an umbrella during a come distraction but she completed the exercise.

When the dog is frightened do not pet it, sooth it etc. This rewards the behavior and reinforces it. Also if you can use a leash to get the dog to research the event they will learn it was not that scary and build up confidence that they can handle it. (Drop a pan on the floor and get the dog to touch it...when they do reward them with praise.)

Obedience classes and agility are also great ways to increase confidence. Although not nearly as confident as Brutus, Amaya is 100 times more confident than when she was a puppy.

Krikkit · #10 06-17-2001, 08:07 PM

Nelia, it sounds as if Clyde's problems are getting worse

Have you given any thought to consulting a behaviorist about this? How is his seperation anxiety problem going? Will be thinking of you.

Here are some sites about shy dogs which might help:

Shy Dogs FAQ website http://www.goof.com/~pmurphy/shy-k9s-faq.html - there is a Shy Dog mailing list there you may like to join.

http://www.interlog.com/~infoland/petland/dog/pd4.html

http://www.doggiedoor.com/confiden.shtml

http://www.marin-humane.org/html/be...l#Modifications

You can read a little about the Calming Signals work here http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers...ves/calming.txt

Sharon