Sucess Stories of rehabilitating dogs with fear agression

[Kimchi]

Hi every one, I need some happy stories and advice, just under 3 months ago I adopted a 9 month old, who knows what breed pup. With in the first week of bringing him home he showed fear aggression. I found a very capable great trainer, who works with aggressive dogs frequently and she has been so helpful and we were making wonderful strides forward, but last week some relatives came over and my dog was being aggressive to every one who tried to pet him, I felt like this was a big step backward. And I am having such a hard time reading him!

I really need my dog to be okay being around new people, so I just need to hear your success stories because I am so discouraged right now.

[Sswor]

You just need to know your dog. Perhaps inviting people to pet him is not going to work for him. I have a dog who can be tricky but also can be wonderful. He has a strong sense of his own personal space bubble and is very funny about who is allowed to enter it. He does best if completely ignored by strangers. Then, given a little time to become comfortable, and it may need to be 2 or 3, or even 4 separate instances, with days in between, he will invariably decide that the new person is wonderful and new person needs to wear him as a scarf. Same dog will be all fur and teeth and snarling if a new person tried to “make friends” with him in any conventional way. God forbid new person offers to let him sniff their hand–oh my. So learn what makes your dog tick. Learn what he needs to be comfortable, and especially learn his warning signs, not all dogs bark, growl, or even show their teeth. Mine will go rigid with the hard stare and the tight lips and I know to redirect or remove him. I do have to watch him extremely carefully. I have to be really careful to set him up to be successful. Don’t put him in situations that will trigger him. Learn your dog, know your dog, and advocate for your dog and all will be well. It is good you are working with a trainer. Finding the right trainer was key for me figuring out how best to manage my dog and manage my associated anxiety regarding the situation.

[horsenut_8700]

I have one of these. We have worked very hard at making her more confident and redirecting but the behaviorist we worked with told me that I can’t change who she is. She’s never going to be like my social butterfly Lab and it’s unrealistic for me to expect that. She we work on bonding her to people she needs to be ok with and she’s allowed to have her space otherwise. I never try to force her into interacting with people or other dogs and she’s very happy in “her” room when I have people over.

[retiredhorse]

My dog likes meeting people, but he does not like hanging out with a big or noisy crowd (and “crowd” to him can be like 3 people he doesn’t know). Like, he’s happy to say hi, but if it’s like a party or something, he’s much happier going to another (quiet, empty) room and sleeping after the initial greeting. This is especially true if he’s tired and wants to sleep – I think strangers make it hard for him to relax enough to do that, and being tired makes him grumpy. I’ve said that the dog gate isn’t for him, it’s to keep people out of his space.

If it’s someone who is going to be around for a while, playing it cool and letting dog go up to them (and leave again) works well. So is going for a walk with him. He loves walks, almost as much as he loves sleeping.

What doesn’t work, in any situation, are high pitched voices/baby talk or getting in his face with too many pats or hugs. Or being woken up. Or if it’s someone I’m projecting discomfort/anxiety/fear about – he won’t even take food from them, if that other person is making me nervous or upset. Also does not like being cornered/backed against something, with someone looming over him/bending over his face to say hi – he’s fine if I do it, but not with anyone else.

[S1969]

Do you use a crate? I would definitely have a crate for him, and it may help to have a few around the house in different places so that he can be with people without being too near them. You would want to talk to your trainer about this because a possible negative effect could be that he becomes protective/aggressive of his crate space. But if not, it might just be the sort of slow and safe introduction to people that he needs. He can observe but knows he is still safe.

But again as others have said above - you need to learn what he can and cannot do safely and not exceed his comfort level unless you have to (e.g. vet trips, emergencies, unusual situations).

[2tempe]

Some years back, adopted a young (8 month) chow mix. He was generally a very sweet dog, but wary of strangers and did not like to be petted on the head. I had another, more social dog also. For several years i would tell people “dont pet him, ignore him.” It worked for him, he would go in another room most of the time. Eventually I relocated to small town warmer climate and he got a lot more socialization . He would watch people pet other dog and eventually would push his way in to get attention. So I was able to say " let him come to you, but dont pet his head". The biggest challenge for him was he was so darn cute, everyone wanted to hug him!
As others said - know your dog. Try having just one or two people over. Baby steps. If someone stops by, have them ignore the dog. Also consider having the person put a treat on ground while you hold him, no eye contact. Let dog get treat. idea of good things coming from strangers.
Whatever strides you are able to make will take time - but you have started the right way by having the trainer.

[dani0303]

We had a 7(ish) year old heeler mix thrust upon us by a “friend”. Turns out she had been terribly abused which led to fear aggression.

Two years later she’s a completely different dog. It took a lot of time and patience. The key we found for her is simply stability in routine which created a predictable environment. We crate trained her and that is her “safe space” for when she’s feeling overwhelmed and over stimulated. She hardly ever uses it anymore.

We introduced her to strangers slowly. They never approached her and we allowed her to come to them without them actually touching her. It didn’t take nearly as long as I expected for her to come around to new people.

I still don’t entirely trust her in stressful situations. I avoid dog parks and crowded public areas. I muzzle trained her for the vet. She’s turned into a great dog though after all of the hard work!

[Dr_Doolittle]

OP, counter conditioning is your friend in this situation. I highly recommend Patricia McConnell’s book “The Cautious Canine”, available on Amazon. It’s short (less than 40 pages), and lays out a training/desensitization protocol that’s easy to follow and that will help your dog learn different responses to triggers.

Good luck!