Odd Reaction From Puppy

Tinker_Belle

Tinker_Belle

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I've just got back from walking Harley (the Irish Setter puppy) and he reacted really oddly to a man while we were out
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We were waiting at the crossing just up the road from us and this man was waiting on the other side. The minute Harley caught sight of this man, his hackles went up, he started barking and snarling, his lips were peeled back and he was straining at the lead and placing himself between me and this man who crossed over. The closer the man got to us the more agitated Harley got.

Harley wouldn't let me take a step towards this man and I had to calm him down after this man had passed as Harley was really wound up.

I've never known him have a reaction like that before, he usually strains at the lead to say hello to people
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Do you think the reason he behaved like it is because he sensed something wasn't right with this man?

Harley is 7 months old and not at all vicious. He is very well mannered for his age.





On the plus side, I am walking him in a chest harness and it is much, much easier to stop him pulling and rearing up
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This is also in SB but I'd be interested if anyone could shed any light on it?
 
Have you had him from a puppy?

Did you stop dead when his behaviour started? In that situation I would treat him like a nappy horse - you must remain confident, firm, onwards, forwards, no hesitation.
He doesn't 'let' you take a step? Nope. You step wherever you want.

You should not have 'calmed him down' - this will reinforce the fact that he was right to act angry and scared. Not criticising, it is a natural human response but it will confuse the dog.

I bet you acted scared right? Don't. You are in charge and he does not protect you. You must remain calm and confident because dogs are great at picking up tension and fear - but he won't know why, he will just defend.

If it were me I would have tried to distract him, if that did not work, a very firm correction of the aggressive behaviour and a walk on. That's enough of that silliness, not acceptable let's keep going.
Snarling and growling would get mine a hand clamped over his muzzle to boot.
 

Yes. We've had him since a young puppy.

I was waiting to cross so we were already stood still.

I did pull him back but he was behaving quite dominantly.

When I say calmed him down I don't mean make a fuss of him but make him sit down and focus so we could cross the road safely rather than him hurling himself about.

I actually wasn't scared at all, just a bit bemused at his behaviour really because he's never done that before and he was fine passing everyone else on the way home.

To be honest, I do treat him as I would a horse because he is so tall and I have been training him from as soon as he could go out so as when he gets older and bigger, he is easy to control as acceptable behaviour has already been instilled.

As the man passed behind me I did pull Harley back and turn him round to face where I wanted him to, made him sit and wait and focus before we crossed the road. As for not letting me move, it's not that he was being dominant with me but pressing himself against my legs and then pulling at the lead again towards this man.

He has never, ever done anything like this before and showed no sign of doing it. To be honest, I am kind of glad he did do it as there are some rough places and not nice people around me so at least it shows he is willing to protect if he has to.

I don't think he'll make a habit of it as he's never ever done anything like it before. We passed a variety of people on the way back and he was fine.

All of his training is going well, he sits and waits at crossings and road signs, he doesn't pull towards people to say hello anymore. He doesn't pull as much as he did and I'm able to walk him on a loose lead nearly the whole time now.
He's stopped rearing up almost, he just tries it on if he feels like getting his own way which I put down to his age but I just walk him on and ignore it. I find that works better than me telling him off.

Just baffling behaviour from him tonight really.
 
Just to add, if there wasn't something 'right' about this man....then maybe he was protecting you.
But it is more likely this was a man who was crossing a road.

He may have been giving off vibes. Dogs sense people who don't like or are fearful of dogs and are more likely to want to investigate them.

Fact is, from his first sign of worry, you got worried, he got tense, you got tense.

The most important thing now is that the next time you are out, if you see this man or any other man approaching - positive, confident, active, animated, Hey Harley! Look at me! Let's have fun! And do not make this into an issue for you both.
No fear, no stress, no worry.

He is at an impressionable age, work on getting his focus and attention on you now because I can tell you it is bloody hard work when they are older
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Don't let him slip into the role of protecting you from allcomers when it isn't needed.

OK and if it were me again, waiting at a crossing or not, first sign of tension from him, move. Go a few paces, do a couple of directional changes until the lights are green, no Mexican standoff.

Glad to hear everything else is going well with him x
 
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As for not letting me move, it's not that he was being dominant with me but pressing himself against my legs and then pulling at the lead again towards this man.


[/ QUOTE ]

Tough
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keep moving! That does sound like a mixture of both dominance and insecurity.

I think I replied to you in a SB thread a while ago, that I thought you should up his exercise a bit, I can't remember, how much is he getting?
 

I don't know. This man may well have been giving off vibes not sensed by me as Harley has never reacted that way to anyone before.

I didn't get scared, just made him sit and the closer this man got, the more upset Harley got.

As the man passed behind us I did turn Harley in a circle and made him sit before we crossed the road.

We passed loads of men while we were out, groups of hooded boys, men on bikes, two men stood at a different crossing at the same time as us, a man in a baseball cap and padded jacket and a few other men as well as women and one or two children and didn't bat an eyelid at all.

Yes, this is why I'm teaching him boundaries and right and wrong while he is young and not too strong!
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If he does it again I will walk him in a few circles away from the roadside.

Everything else is going really well, he is extremely well behaved 90% of the time and I am very pleased with him
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He's a strong little character so it was hard work in the beginning, a couple of months ago, to make him respect people!
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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

As for not letting me move, it's not that he was being dominant with me but pressing himself against my legs and then pulling at the lead again towards this man.


[/ QUOTE ]

Tough
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keep moving! That does sound like a mixture of both dominance and insecurity.

I think I replied to you in a SB thread a while ago, that I thought you should up his exercise a bit, I can't remember, how much is he getting?

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I will next time! Had nwohere really to go this time as didn't want him getting so wound up he ended up in the road and to walk away from the roadside would have been to go in the direction of this man. At least if he does it next time, I shall be prepared.

He gets between a 30 minute and 60 minute walk a day. Sometimes 90 minutes split in to two walks, one in the morning and one in the evening plus free access to a reasonable sized garden and plenty of toys to play with indoors.
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I didn't get scared, just made him sit and the closer this man got, the more upset Harley got.


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Yep, that's why it was good to get him moving again, like I say, Mexican standoffs are never good!

No worries, sounds like you are on the right track with him. Sounds like one to keep on top of
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Exercise sounds about right for his age.
 

Yes. I was taken off gaurd this time but if he does it again, then I'll just walk him away.

He is certainly a strong character. And rather stubborn and hardened so definitely needs a firm hand
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We seem to be on the right track and Harley has now got the respect for people he should have and is definitely more responsive than he was a month ago
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Don't remove him entirely from the situation, though, like you said, just a few circles or paces left and right, walking 'away' altogether from the person, dog, trigger, is not a good idea - dog will thing 'grr, he was scary after all' or 'yay, I won'.
Go in the direction you were always going to go, just mix it up a bit and keep him active.

(Sorry, I hope you knew I meant that)
 

Yes, I know what you mean. It's hard to explain but the way this particular crossing is set up gave me three options; go across the road as the lights were about to change knowing that drivers tend to speed down this road. Go towards the man. Walk completely away and down past a rough block of flats
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In the day time I wouldn't worry but this was 6:00/6:45 so not the most appealing options.
It's not a rough area but there are some dodgy characters around (drugs problems etc)

That's the other thing, he isn't at all concerned with other dogs passing or if he sees cats. He'll prick his ears up and prance a bit but nothing more than that.
 
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It's not a rough area but there are some dodgy characters around (drugs problems etc)


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Not wishing to cast nastursiums
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but maybe this guy had a smell about him...? Drink / drugs? You never know...
 

To be honest, I am convinced that there must have been something off about this man. Harley has never shown even remote signs of this behaviour and didn't on our way back once we'd passed this man. He was absolutely fine on the way back and we passed a dozen or so people, one of whom was carrying a baseball bat and Harley wasn't bothered at all.

There is no other explanation for his behaviour as he hasn't shown this behaviour before, not even at home, and he didn't on the way back.
 
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