Unsociable dog

JavaJaneW

JavaJaneW

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 January 2009
Messages
950
Visit site
I rehomed my dog when she was 5 1/2, sadly for her she had been mostly kept in a large crate, ill-mannered with people and never socialised with other dogs.
When I took her on, I also took the crate as she had known no different, happy to say she never once went in it at home so that was scrapped. She had the run of the house, making herself at home straight away.
She was a nightmare on the lead, uncontrollable, lunging at people and when a dog was in sight went crazy.
Thankfully, in a short time and having being introduced to people is good and accepts people, especially the grandkids, very well.
Dogs, however, no such luck. We walk her very carefully and have to be ten steps ahead, if we see a person we have to assume they have a dog and either walk another way or have tight control. The only leash that makes a walk pleasant is a figure of 8 over the nose, it gives us control (although she is adept at sneaking it off by walking backwards and putting her head down.)
She is 9 1/2 now, a smashing dog mostly, funny, talkative and a bit bonkers, she fits in well here.
Still, other dogs are a problem, she just sounds demented when seeing one or passing one and we look like we can't control her, pretty sure she would attack with intent if not on the lead. Usually walk her in a massive scrubby field where not many people go, horrible when it's wet and muddy but safer for her.
I'd love to be able to walk her normally and enjoy it, it's quite stressful when out! She's a GSD. Maybe I should get an expert in to try and mellow her behaviour, although as she is approaching 10, not sure she can be mellowed, or if anyone would be willing to use their dog to socialise!
Anyway, she was a bit scraggy when I got her, a change of food, brushing and environment transformed her..
IMG_2918.JPG40586121_10156243713726311_7956102478305427456_o.jpg
 
Honestly, there is not much you will be able to do with a dog of her age, just enjoy her as she is and accept, like a lot of human beings, that she will never be a social butterfly and that you just have to manage the behaviour.
It may have been the lack of socialisation or it may have been genetic (nerves generally are) - but you'll never know.

Things to remember - you are probably passing stress down the lead to her - your post sounds stressed, you've mentioned the stress word, you don't sound as if you enjoy walking her, she will pick up on this and feel your tension. Try to relax. If she's well contained (you could use a double-ended lead and attach the other end to a collar or harness for safety, then there's really no point in worrying about the noise or theatrics. Sing a song, speak to her in a light tone, tell her that there's nothing to worry about. She should be taking her lead from you.

You say she would attack off the lead - she might, or she might not. This behaviour often stems from extreme insecurity - it's what a lot of people call 'hold me back' syndrome. If the lead were gone and she had the choice, she would probably either run away or make a defensive bark or shallow snap to drive the other dog away rather than attack to do harm. I agree, it's not worth the risk to wait and see and someone else's dog might get hurt, but a lot of dogs who look rufty tufty are actually just scared and feel like they have nowhere to go because they are on a lead or behind a fence/being restrained in some way.

If she will carry a ball or a stick or something, let her do so. My older GSD does not like other dogs, but the ball is most important to him and he generally ignores other dogs unless they get up in his face/backside, when he will tell them to do one, which I don't mind, because unbidden approaches are rude.

Some trainers will use a stooge dog, but like I say at her age, what happens in the training class is unlikely to transfer to other random dogs out and about, if the behaviour has been ingrained for so long. Think of it from her point of view, she sees a dog, reacts, and they disappear (either because the other owner took them away or you took her away) - so, it works for her.
 
You've had her 4 years and made a difference to how she deals with people but not other dogs. I'd suggest it's only likely to change much now - you clearly aren't a numpty as she wouldn't have got better with any of it! I'd just live with it for now - sounds like you've managed her quite well up to now so keep doing what you are doing.
Yes with training you might get her to a point where she isn't as bad with dogs, but she's likely to always have issues and never be reliable so why stress yourself and her with it
 
I’ve had a lot of rescue dogs over the years and I’ve learned that you can change some behaviours and not others..... you’ve clearly made huge improvements with her in the time you’ve had her, but some dogs are never going to be ‘dog friendly’ and it sounds like she is one of them. I would walk her in a collar and lead as well as the figure of 8 head collar in case she backs out of it, and avoid other dogs ?

Thats what I do with my 5 - the terrier will actively attack any other dog he sees on a walk, which encourages less desirable behaviour from the lurchers/greyhounds who otherwise really wouldn’t bother. So we walk in the woods where quite often we don’t meet a soul, it’s far more chilled for all of us ??
 
Last edited:
I can understand the wear and tear of owning your dog for years and being permanently worried about her possible reactions. I have also found myself experiencing this as I got older and a bit less physically able to cope with a frantic largish dog. My solution has been to walk only in open spaces where I can take early evasive action or go to out of the way places where nobody walks and I walk away from footpaths but then I am lucky I have the New Forest on my doorstep. I also hire a fully enclosed dog walking field for our sole use a couple of times a week where the dogs and I can enjoy games and some training without any disturbances. My three dogs go from dog neutral to a potential bully to all out agression. I have made some progress with the latter one by taking her to places where all the other dogs are on lead and letting her watch from a distance (NGS large open gardens but be careful the owners do not have a dog roaming the grounds!). Once she was reassured nobody was going to come near her she relaxed enough to now be civilised anywhere other dogs are kept on lead and give her space.

Not having seen your dog though it may well be that she is too reactive or set in her ways even for this low level of stimulation and the only possible course of action is management which you have now done for a long time. You have my sympathy, just hang in there and, on the days you feel less able to cope, be kind to yourself and perhaps find a completely safe place to hire where you will be absolutely sure to meet nobody. I know it really helps me and the dogs relax.
 
I would continue as you are, you have made good progress with people but she has spent 4 yrs with you practising an unwanted behaviour over and again, I would think it would take a lot of time, effort and energy to try and resolve the issue and you may or my not be successful but whilst trying she will be dealing with a lot of stress. As she ages she will find it harder to deal with dogs as she potentially will feel less able to defend herself or move fast to keep herself safe.
I feel it would be a bit unfair to try and change the dogs outlook now.
Enjoy what you have.
 
As others have stated, this behaviour is part of her character and the best thing you can do is accept it and manage it. I used to own a dominant bitch who despised other dogs apart from the ones she lived with. She was walked with my calm bitches in areas where I knew it was unlikely to meet other dogs. That’s how I managed her. ?
 
I doubt her behaviour will change now, it’s ingrained. Mine is 9 and a half. He would attack, although he doesn’t approach other dogs, but there’d be blood if they approached him and got close enough.

I know exactly what you mean about the stress of walking her. Mine needs to run, sniff, work or he’ll be a trauma at home. Luckily, he is obsessed with retrieving and ignores other dogs when ‘working’, even if they’re inches from him. My trick is to exercise where I can get a barrier between us and another dog (tennis courts/kiddie playground behind railings). The red mist descending is scary to witness but once hauled off, he’s like a lamb and wants to befriend the dog. ?

I think the best thing is to carry on walking on the scrubby field and keep her safe, she’s relying on you to look after her.

I nearly stopped the car recently to shout at an idiot owner whose dog was going nuts at another dog, clearly distressed and the owner was making it stand to confront the other dog. Really not the way to help, IMO. ?
 
CorvusCorax said:
It may have been the lack of socialisation or it may have been genetic (nerves generally are) - but you'll never know.

Things to remember - you are probably passing stress down the lead to her - your post sounds stressed, you've mentioned the stress word, you don't sound as if you enjoy walking her, she will pick up on this and feel your tension. Try to relax. If she's well contained (you could use a double-ended lead and attach the other end to a collar or harness for safety, then there's really no point in worrying about the noise or theatrics. Sing a song, speak to her in a light tone, tell her that there's nothing to worry about. She should be taking her lead from you.
Click to expand...

my GSD is I suspect a little genetically like this when out. However he is young and I am pretty strict on his behaviour in this area and constantly working on it so he is improving. I can understand the stress part. My fear (probably largely imagined) was of him going for other dogs especially if they came running up to us. Not his fault as he was leaded but I am sure others wouldn't have seen it that way.
I use a fig. 8 lead but also a harness. They are both attached to a belt on me. That way I feel pretty safe he is not going to get away. That is for my own confidence levels but it reduces stress considerably for me and therefore for him.

My friend has an older rescue GSD. That dog was largely unsocialised with other dogs and had only ever run around a garden. She uses a harness and a lead but also a muzzle. She carries the muzzle and pops it on in a difficult situation. That gives her confidence but it also means other dog owners with loose dogs take one look and keep away. She has found a significant difference with the muzzle, She feels that dog is completely safe towards other dogs and people. Even if he got close to them he cannot attack.

I haven't tried the muzzle but may give it a go to see if it curbs people letting their pooches run at us. If another person with a loose pooch running up to us barking tells me that their dog" likes big dogs" I will scream. :rolleyes:

as I doubt you will change her at this age would a muzzle give you peace of mind that nothing terrible is going to happen?

she looks magnificent in the 2nd pic. :)
 
I wrote this very recently, possibly not on here. A muzzle made no difference to Zak. He still brought down and attacked a bigger dog, just used his feet rather than his mouth.
 
I have to muzzle Rose when we have to risk the tight spaces of my vet's surgery to get in and out and it definitely makes her more tense as I guess she feels even more vulnerable.
 
Muzzles can make them feel even more defensive/restrained. Depends on the dog. And they definitely have to be introduced properly and positively and be used randomly so they're not seen as a cue for a stressful situation.
 
If a muzzle is used as CC says it needs proper introduction.
Using just at times of need/stress is counterproductive though as it will become an indicator of negative situations.
Also a dig that instantly behaves with a muzzle in is more likely to be in shut down than 'behaving', shutdown is not a good place to be and is riskier for those around the dog as it creates a false sense of security.
 
She is lovely. Well done for giving her a great home and your dedication and commitment. As others have said, sometimes the best you can hope for is to manage the behaviour. At 10 years she is unlikely to change, although you may find she can't be bothered to act as energetically reactive as she ages further ;) One of my old shepherds was very dog reactive and I spent years trying to change his behaviour until it finally clicked that pushing him into those situations was as stressful for him as it was for me and so I stopped walking him in dog heavy areas and instead we walked in quieter, less populated areas and worked on fun training and scentwork at home and he was a far happier dog.
 
I had my dog from a pup and she was always like this. Let her breed type down massively lol but it was just the way she was. She was fine with our other dogs and my friends dog, but any other dog was fair game. Just had to cope with it and arrange my walks to suit her needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top