Help! My Grey Frightened Of Other Dogs

[Guest lovemyblackgrey]

hi All,

 

I have a nearly 5 year old greyhound who has been with us for approx. 8 months. She is absolutely beautiful, absolutely LOVES people but has always been very wary of other dogs. We've been to socializing classes (in which she tried very much not to interact with other dogs). When I walk her and other dogs are approaching, she pulls away and tries to avoid eyecontact. She's pretty smart as she is now even using an avoidance tactic; every time another dog is near she pretents to sniff something hoping the other dog will leave her alone!

 

Her fear seems very random to me; sometimes she shows interest in other dogs passing by but mostly she pulls away, acts nervous (tail between legs),cowers until there is a fair distance between us and the other dog or dogs. The type/size of dog doesn't matter, a couple of days ago we ran into a puppie and she was absolutely petrified - today a young dog ran towards her (just wanted to play) and she completely froze and was a nervous mess afterwards..

 

does anybody know what to do in a situation like that? I have read that it is not a good thing to pet/comfort her as this rewards the behaviour of fear but I don't know what the right thing to do is. I am taking her to public places with other dogs on purpose to socialize but she just keeps away from the other dogs and shows no to little interest. She is an only dog. Any tips would be greatly appreciated as i am a bit worried about her behaviour.

Cheers!

[krissy]

When does she get nervous? Is it as soon as she even sees another dog or is there a distance that if they get within she becomes nervous? If it's the latter and she will take treats on walks I would start feeding her treats as soon as you spot another dog. Hopefully soon she will realize that other dogs = treats and she will be comfortable letting them get closer and closer. At first she will stop taking treats and get into her fearful state once they get within her threshold distance which will probably still be quite far. That's okay, but the idea is to make her realize that a dog showing up that far away is a good thing.

 

Summit used to freeze up when this particular noise happened in our neighbourhood. Still no idea what it is. He no longer really cares about it. He would statue and totally ignore me and treats. When something loud or potentially scary happens I always say "What was that!?" in a really happy, excited voice, and then give treats. If he statues and won't take treats I tuck them into his cheek and once they're there he usually eats them.

 

It's important to not coddle her when she's fearful because that makes her think it's okay to be afraid. For this reason I never use the phrase "It's okay". They're just words, they mean nothing to the dog, but it's completely counterintuitive for a human to say "It's okay!" in a happy, excited, confident way. You automatically say it in a soothing, comforting tone. Hence the reason I use "What was that?", you can also use another word or phrase that is suitable.

[GeorgeofNE]

I kinda of feel that as long as she is behaving (not lunging, barking, being aggressive), if she's not interested in socializing, why push the issue?

 

My dog only likes other Greyhounds. Doesn't bother me in the least. He too is an only dog. I guess we're fortunate in that another couple in my small condo complex adopted a Greyhound, but unless I take him to a Greyhound walk, George has no dog-on-dog interaction (except with our neighbor, Dante) and I don't think it bothers him a bit. Heaven knows he gets enough attention from ME, in addition to daily long walks--and a couple of cats to keep him company!

[OwnedBySummer]

Many greys aren't interested in other breeds and often display disinterest or nervousness. I wouldn't get too stressed about it and if she doesn't want to mingle with non-greys, I wouldn't push it. I'd find a local greyhound playgroup and let her run with other hounds.

 

Edit: IMHO, a young dog running towards Summer who "just wants to play", wouldn't thrill her! And she's very tolerant of non-greys! Greys don't usually interact/play like "normal" dogs so those "normal dog" behaviors aren't usually appreciated. Neither is jumping, putting their feet on a grey, barking in their faces, etc. I make sure that when Summer meets non-greys, that those dogs are very well behaved and leashed. My job when she is on a leash is to protect her. If someone's dog doesn't look suitable, we don't interact.

Edited April 22, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[Time4ANap]

We have a greyhound snob here too - and the funny part is that even though he likes other greyhounds, there are times he's not interested in playing with them either. Just not interested...would rather sniff the area, or walk, or hang with humans. He's pretty unpredictable - I think it's what makes him a greyhound.

[krissy]

I think there's being "disinterested" and then there is fear. And I think if this dog is truly afraid of other dogs that makes it an issue that needs to be worked on. If she just has no interest in interacting with them then I can agree to just leave well enough alone.

 

A fearful dog is liable to bolt suddenly and rip a leash out of its owner's hand. A fearful dog is less confident in its surroundings. A fearful dog could turn into a potential biter. Whenever Summit is afraid of something I take the opportunity to expand his horizons. I have a helium balloon that has been slowly dying. My BF took it off it's string so that it could "wander", but it's so out of helium that it wanders at just about dog eye level. Freaked Summit right out. He's afraid of a balloon. Whatever. When else is he going to have to interact with a balloon? Well, how about one day we run into a child, or we have a baby (ha, that'll never happen, but just for the sake of argument let's say that I was planning on children in the future), and the kid has a balloon. If Summit is afraid of a helium balloon he could easily freak out and potentially bite the kid. I doubt he would. He'd just try to run away. But what if? Anything is possible. If I take the opportunity now in a controlled environment to desensitize him to the balloon then I have one less variable out in the world to worry about and he will be that much happier and safer.

 

If another dog can walk up to this greyhound and she just turns her head or wanders off then yeah, she just doesn't want to interact and that's not a big deal. But it sounds like she freaks out as soon as she sees another dog at a distance. To me that's not okay and I feel sorry for her, because when is she going to go out and NOT see another dog? That seems like a sad way to live life to me. JMHO.

[Guest twhitehouse]

Lexi is also afraid of other breeds. Shes fear aggressive though and goes into a growling fit when we pass by dogs or off leash dogs come up to her (who blames her!).

 

We've tried working with her with the "look at me" command and treats and she's gotten better. I find I still avoid places where there will be off leash dogs. I still have to talk to her in an excited voice the entire time another dog is in view when were on walks or she focuses in on the dog and shows aggression.

 

We've just come to except that about her. She's our dog with lots of issues anyway so....

 

But I wish you luck with your training. The treats should help and lots of patience.

[Guest Giselle]

Can you locate an experienced trainer in your area? Where are you located??

 

Fear is intricately related to aggression, and it can easily slip into the latter. It is easy to fix if you're familiar with the problem and if you've had a lot of experience counter-conditioning fear/aggression, but, if you're a novice or inexperienced owner, it's very hard to correct on a consistent basis. Your most foolproof option is to find a GOOD trainer and have them guide you through the steps.

 

I find that SF SPCA generally produces trainers who are well informed in the science of animal behavior and who've undergone an impressive amount of training themselves:

http://www.sfspca.org/resources/library/for-dog-owners/dog-trainers-walkers

 

Until then...Please don't force your dog to interact with others if she's uncomfortable. If she doesn't want to meet another dog, don't push her. If she doesn't enjoy social groups, don't take her. Don't do these things until you can work with a trainer and get her to enjoy being in these situations.

[Guest mariah]

The type/size of dog doesn't matter, a couple of days ago we ran into a puppie and she was absolutely petrified - today a young dog ran towards her (just wanted to play) and she completely froze and was a nervous mess afterwards..

 

This sounds like my dog too. He isn't aggressive or reactive to other dogs on leash, just doesn't particularly want anything to do with them and will (nervously) ignore. The worst types of dogs for him are overly friendly/pushy/excited dogs (puppies too). I've found a lot of people will come and let their dogs get in his face on walks because the dog was pulling on the leash trying to come over and meet him, and I know right away that Chips isn't going to go for it. I can't really blame him for not being receptive, that sort of behavior is pretty rude coming from a dog you've never met before! He's gotten much better about other dogs with lots and lots of consistent CCT, but we still walk right on by these types of dogs when we encounter them out in the world.

 

Of course you want your dog to socialize and play with other dogs, and I think it's important (as important as getting regular exercise, even) that she be able to do that. Socializing is what led dogs to developing those big complex brains in the first place. I agree that you should definitely look into behaviorists in your area. In the meantime, I wouldn't try to force any interactions. I also agree that asking your dog to execute a command (look at me, sit, etc.) each time you encounter a dog on walks is helpful, especially if you repeat the command/treat exercise until the dog is out of range (use very small treats or single pieces of kibble etc.) I would avoid letting her get too close to other dogs, even if the other owner wants the dogs to meet. This can be kind of awkward, but your hound will learn that you aren't going to let the bad guys get her and may hopefully relax a little bit. Good luck!

 

PS: On a sidenote, Chips is also a bit of a sighthound snob, but I think only because other types of dogs were unfamiliar. He has gotten to be best pals with my parents dog–a samoyed-collie cross, and now he likes northern breed dogs as well as sighthounds.

[JaneW]

I agree that a professional one-on-one trainer may be in order here. There is a risk of making it worse by doing the wrong thing or even of not doing the right thing consistently enough. Someone who understands dog body language is probably needed. When Greta sees another dog and then starts sniffing around and seems to be ignoring it, that's a huge red flag that she is preparing to confront the dog, and I have to step in immediately to get her attention and require her to behave. It doesn't seem that your dog will do that, but the behavior may not mean quite what you think it does. Greta is sort of the opposite of yours in her ultimate response, but it may require the same sort of dedication and knowledge I had to get in order to short-circuit the reaction and have a well-behaved and relaxed dog.

[Guest lovemyblackgrey]

hi all,

 

Thanks very much for all responses! seems like the general consensus is to get a behavioural trainer in to work with her (which makes sense!) she has gotten better over the last week or so, perhaps to clarify/pinpoint the issue some more; she now seems to get nervous when dogs are getting close(say approx. 4 meters away).

When she sees a dog in the distance she does notice and she does seem to be interested at first (ears perk up,she takes a confident stance)- when the dog gets closer she seems to be making her mind up (do I like this dog or not?) and depending on her assessment she either let's the dog approach her or tries to avoid.

 

The other thing is that she doesn't seem to mind a dog she likes approaching her face-first, but when they start sniffing her butt (apologies for the detailed explanation ) she tries to get away from the dog and the tail goes between the legs.She is generally ok with one dog approaching but if there are 2 dogs or more it is a case of trying not to get near them and avoiding. I am not pushing her, although that might have come across in my first email as being the case, but there are lots of dogs around and we always run into other dogs on our walks!

She doesn't appear to be displaying aggresive behaviour - she is very submissive with everything she does and in the couple of unfortunate situations where she did end up in a bit of altercation/dogs showing dominance towards her she doesn't 'stand up for herself' - always tries to quickly walk away.

 

again, thank you for sharing your knowledge with this first dog owner from Australia!!

[Guest Giselle]

Have you found a trainer yet? The SF SPCA only shows two trainers in Australia, but I'm crossing fingers and paws that you're close to one of them!

 

The behaviors you're describing still sound like they have a very high potential to develop into something more negative. It really helps to have someone with years of analytical experience to aid you in the dissection of what those signs really mean and how to correct the situation before it turns ugly And, as you've noticed, they can get ugly pretty easily! Because your pup's reaction to other dogs is pretty mercurial and doesn't have a cut-and-dry pattern, I would highly recommend stopping ALL interactions unless you're absolutely-positively-sure she is happy, not scared, to meet the other dog. Until then, I wish you the best of luck finding a trainer and please come back and update us!