Hey everyone

We have had Angel almost three weeks now.

When we first got her we were informed that she has a tendancy to bark at strangers especially men and this was all a big front, she never actually carried through any threats.

We think Angel's nervous aggression is getting worse so we want to ensure we are doing everything correctly getting her socialized.

We were stood talking to a man with two Collies who said his girls were the same when he first got them. The man looked at Angel and started to talk to her, she immediately growled, barked and tried to nip his leg! We had her on the lead, the man just said, arr yes that is nervous aggression that is.

When we see other dogs Angel goes flat on the floor when she first spots them, and when closer she is stood bolt upright trying to get to them, we slowly introduce her, they sniff and as soon as the other dog turns to go she nips them! and will growl too

So I think we are doing something wrong somewhere so we want to get the correct way put it place before she learns this too much.

We have never owned a dog with aggression before so we need some help.

Angel is not at all aggressive at home, she is a complete sweetie, I think she is just so scared of people that she just wants them to go away.

The lady coming to see Angel is coming on Wednesday evening, I so hope we have picked a good one to help us wish us luck.

Loops x

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Make sure she is qualified. Although there are some non-qualified behaviourists that are good, it is not worth the risk.

I would, preferably, look at APDT, APBC or COAPE qualified trainers/behaviourists for safety. Hope the session goes well. Please tell us how it goes to make sure you are on the right tracks with her.

Aw thank you Rottie

Well just looking at her card and all it says is "Dog Behaviour specialist" so maybe she is not qualified?

I will email her now to find out

Thanks very much.

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Hi and hope all goes well, would be interested to hear how you get on with your appointment. How old is Angel and where did she come from? I'm assuming she's a rescue dog, especially if you were given some advice about her behaviour before you got her? Easy to get bogged down with stuff though, so keep an open mind when you see the behaviourist and make sure that whatever you do works for you and Angel.

Good luck,
Sara.

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Thank you Sara

I will let you know the appointment is tomorrow evening. Angel is approx 2yrs old and yes a rescue.

The behaviourist said she is probably getting worse because she can feel that I am not calm, and I am making her nervous and feel like she has to protect me. I don't know how we can stay calm when she gets on the floor lay down and just will not move, then when the dogs get to us she lunges, growls and will nip.

We got her from Birmingham RSPCA

Loops x

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To be honest, alarm bells are already ringing for me from what you've said about the behaviourist. Whilst how we are feeling can affect a dog, this problem is most certainly not with you- it's with how your dog perceives other dogs.

Any word of you having to be 'pack leader', or the like, should be a sign that this person may not be the best choice.

However, I am not writing her off just because of that

She isn't behaviourist and she doesn't call herself one on them
Sorry but that games of words always evokes a smile on my face.

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Hi guys

Thought I would update on how the lesson went.

Ok she said that we need to make every situation with strangers a positive one, so get some people we know and get them to give Angel a really great treat like sausage.

With dogs we basically need to walk a little faster and confidently past other dogs with a loose lead, which is quite impossible lol because she will not move, and then she snaps at them.

Like today we bumped into someone with two collies we chat to regular, so we had to stop.

Angel immediately tried to nip the other Collies, and was lunging at them. Then she growled and lunged at the owner. I just don't really know what I am supposed to do in that situation, eventually she did calm down a little, when she was not growling, lunging or snapping I gave her a treat and some fuss. I also got the man to throw her a few treats (when she was good)

Any comments on this please?

Loops xx

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Good advice. I would set up situations where strangers can just nonchalantly give her some food a walk away again- they can throw it at first, then progress to calling Angel over to them and treating, then walking away.

Whilst a loose lead would definitely help, it is not a behaviour modification programme in itself.

Your job is just to avoid any situation like the above that's going to make her feel uncomfortable. Allowing her to get to the stage where she needs to growl and lunge is counter-productive and is only prolonging her fear of strangers and other dogs.

Find a good distance that she can see other dogs and people without reacting, and reward her for looking over at them quick and fast, with high-value food- like hot dog, cheese, chicken etc. She should begin to look over, then voluntarily look back at you. It's helpful to use some marker like a clicker or a word like 'Yes', which she knows means a reward is coming from prior conditioning, so you can immediately mark the looking toward another dog or person as a good thing, and give her a treat when she turns to look at you.

So, say you see another dog on the side of the road with its owner:
1) Position yourself so Angel can see the other dog, but not too close that she will bark or lunge, or become too fixated.

2) As soon as she looks over, say 'Yes!' or click and treat her, giving 5 small pieces of high-value food.

3) Wait for her to look again, and repeat. You do not always have to give so many treats, but 'jackpotting' the first is helpful to create focus.

4) Carry on walking, rewarding her for coming with you.

This will take a lot of time and work, but is needed to build your dog's confidence.

Being able to read her body language is very important too. If you haven't already, read the dog body language sticky on here, paying particular attention to calming signals. As soon as Angel spots another dog or person from a nice distance, watch her to see when she offers a socially acceptable signal, such as sniffing the ground, looking away, lip licking, head turn, scratching etc., and immediately reward.

You can also use the 'functional reward' of turning in the opposite direction from the thing she's scared of, and treat as you go. So, as soon as she offers some calming signal, say 'yes!' and go the other way- try and re-approach and repeat this, getting closer ever still.

It's great to have someone with another dog that can help you out by standing calmly in the distance, which you can use as a platform to work from, but I appreciate this isn't always possible.

I'm not a behaviourist, in fact I really have no idea what they are, dog trainers I guess but I can relate a true story to you that may or may not help.
Around six months ago I met a really nice couple with an 18 month old G.Shepherd bitch. We stopped to pass the time of day, dog was on lead, without thinking I bent to give her the back of my hand and she nearly snapped the lead in her attempt to get away from me. The lady said that she had always been like this and 'Everyone had tried to cure her of it, the training classes they'd taken her to had basically given up and they had resigned thenselves to having a terribly nervous dog for the rest of it's life.
I offered to try and help them with her and arranged to meet them, same place, same time, for as long as it took. Over the next couple of weeks we met up, I told them to let her of her lead and I sat on the ground completely ignoring her, this went on for about a month my own dogs were with me and she was fine with them, eventually over time, when I called my dogs in she became curious and started to show less signs of nervousness towards me.
Then one day she came close enough to have a sniff at me whereupon I gave her a treat, still avoiding eye contact, she sort of took it at full stretch the first time but over the next week or so she gained confidence and got less and less wary.
I've seen this couple and their dog this evening, she's spent half an hour playing silly buggers with my pup, something they were always frightened to let her do, and has decided that my pocket is the treat store which can be raided if I give her the chance,. Odd isn't it. all I did was ignore her and let her natural curiosity do the work for me.