Advice on reactivity and training/behaviour regression for 8 month old? 😢

[schnoozmum]

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Hiya

I'm really struggling at the moment with my little boy and his behaviour to the point where I'm beginning to get upset and worried about him. Apologies in advance for the long post but there's a lot with his behaviour that is likely all linked.

I've socialised and trained him from as young as I could, including meeting people and other dogs, having visitors in the house and so on. Hes a mini schnauzer and I am familiar with their breed so know they can be vocal and sometimes territorial, so the socialisation was in effort to prevent exactly this current behaviour.

We went through weeks of training with him to help with his reactivity on walks and he made such amazing progress I was so proud of him. He would still occasionally have a little woof at someone but in general was far calmer.

However in the last month or so I'm noticing him really regressing, and because he's now older and slightly bigger and with a deeper bark, if he has a go at someone on a walk it looks awful and I'm so embarrassed. Just this morning I took him home after about five minutes because a kid started running behind him and he went ballistic, and then every person after that would set him off in the same way. Our usual trying to distract and redirect his attention just wasn't working, he wasn't interested in us or treats at all and he's usually so food motivated.

Im concerned some of this behaviour is coming from territorial/protective behaviour which worries me that he might just be constantly stressed.

Other issues he has is reactivity in our back garden. I really dont know how to tackle this one cause nothing I do seems to work to get him to understand he shouldn't be barking at neighbours or people who walk past. If I stand out there with him for reassurance and to reinforce positive behaviour, he's not nearly as reactive so its difficult to tackle the issues when they're not coming up.

Other things I've tried is as soon as he barks I go out and bring him inside for a short period to get him to understand that barking means coming back in the house. But it just hasn't made any difference and I've been doing that for weeks. Pretty sure our neighbours hate us it also caused an issue where he now just won't go to the toilet in the garden anymore I think because he's just on such high alert he doesn't feel comfortable. It's a separate but related issue that he now just won't go to the toilet unless he's on a walk, so now I'm also stressed he's holding his bladder for long periods.

Lastly is his territorial behaviour, especially at home but I've also noticed in outside spaces he considers "his". I've been trying to have people come over and provide reassurance, give him treats and try to show that visitors are nice, but he is constantly on alert and won't settle properly the entire time people are here.

Someone comes in the door and it's hackles up, repetitive, continuous barking. No aggression, he doesn't go for anyone, and will generally calm down for a treat, but I worry someone who doesn't know him very well will visit and get upset by his behaviour (which is completely fair). The other issue is, if there's no treats/food to distract him, he is on constant alert. If someone gets up to go to another room, its straight back to the shouting as if they'd just arrived. Hes also nipped at people's ankles, or pulled on their clothes, presumably because he's trying to tell them he doesn't want them there. Again, with our friends and family they remain calm and understand, but if a contractor came over who might not understand I worry it will cause problems.

The straw for me has come from the fact that I can't even let him off lead at the beach anymore. Yesterday we went to our normal beach and he's great with other dogs, really friendly and playful, but if there were people there without dogs, he's doing the same thing he does at home, shouting at them and getting upset that they are there (it's a dog friendly beach, by the way). A couple of ladies were walking and were clearly annoyed that he was barking at them. His recall is so much worse than it was before so he wasn't listening to us, and then he started nudging the woman's legs with his snout and she really didn't like it, but it creates a vicious cycle where when people react negatively he then gets even more on the defensive - and i'm not blaming her! She's completely right to be annoyed by him, but he's NEVER done that before and I was so embarrassed and it was the only place I could let him off lead where we could practice recall and other training without worry and now I cant do that anymore because I dont want that to happen again.

I understand regression is normal for his age, but does it get better? What can I be doing to make this transition easier? I worry not just because Im upset by his behaviour, but i feel like I'm failing him because I feel a lot of his behaviour is coming from stress and I dont want him to be stressed. Actually brings me to tears to think he's scared or worried all the time.

Any advice is appreciated

 

[JudyN]

I'm afraid I don't have time for a detailed reply just now, but my initial suggestion is wine and chocolate - for you! He's an adolescent, and you know what they can be like. Have faith that it WILL get better!

Your main tool for the short term will be management. This will involve walking him where you're less likely to see other people & dogs, even if it means walking him at silly o'clock. If he's OK in the garden when you're with him, don't let him out on his own but go out there with him. If possible, limit the number of people who come to your home. And research dog training areas close to you where you can let him off lead in safety (sometimes these are bookable, others have a rule that you can't go in if there's already a dog in there). This website might help, but it's not comprehensive: Dog Parks Near Me -Secure Dog Fields and Parks in the UK

Also, do what you can to lower his stress levels. You could consider an Adaptil plug-in/spray. Chewing can be calming, so maybe he'd enjoy a frozen stuffed Kong or a treat ball? I'd introduce a 'safe place' for him in the home, e.g. a bed away from busy parts of the household, or a crate that can feel more enclosed (no need to shut the door unless he's comfortable with that). Make sure that he's never disturbed while there, and hopefully in time, when people visit, you can ask him to go there (before they come in) and give him something to chew while he's there.

What do you feed him? That can sometimes affect behaviour. And how much mental activity does he get each day, through games/training?

 

[Gemmaa]

It might be worth having a few days off from walks so that you can both decompress.

Have you tried scentwork? There's a great book on amazon - Scentwork step by step - Sara Seymour
It doesn't need to be complicated. You could even just start by hiding food around the house/garden.
I absolutely swear by scentwork. It has helped me so much with my little guy. He was such a horrible puppy and I didn't think we'd make it through to adulthood with him!

I use a 30ft longline from The Muzzle Shop. It's waterproof so would be safe for the beach, and you'd have peace of mind that he can't run up to anyone.

 

[JoanneF]

Theres a few possible things I can think of, I'll try to catch everything.

When you say you socialised him, it's possible that instead of desensitising him to people, dogs etc, you actually sensitised him. Too late to change that now, but in case anyone else reads i want to clarify what I mean. This example is shamelessly stolen as its a great way to explain it. Think of someone who has a really annoying habit, like jingling their change in their pocket. It wouldn't bother you for a few minutes, a few hours, a few days but one day, you've just had enough and you want to yell at them "just STOP doing that!"

It's possible that was where he was at when he started becoming reactive. Possibly also he reached the stage where he developed the confidence to speak up - that, combined with reaching the end of his tolerance.

But, it doesnt really matter for you, you cant change the past.

I'd like to know a little more about what you did to reduce his reactivity before. Depending on what that was, it may be a question of going back over that and reinforcing it a bit more, or possibly trying a different approach. Can you tell us more about that?

a kid started running behind him and he went ballistic, and then every person after that would set him off in the same way. Our usual trying to distract and redirect his attention just wasn't working, he wasn't interested in us or treats at all and he's usually so food motivated

When he is going ballistic, you are too late for distractions. It's like trying to steer your car after you've driven off the cliff edge. The ideas of giving him a break so his stress levels go down, then using a secure field, are good ones. The stress hormone builds and builds with each stressful event, a little bit like a tap being turned on every time, above a slow draining basin. If the water isn't running away fast enough (i.e. the hormone levels not getting the chance to go down) eventually there will be a spill - a meltdown. Does that make sense? Your aim should be to prevent a reaction, not try to stop it once it's started. I know that's easier said than done, but hopefully you you get the idea.

We actually have a piece on working with reactivity here, it refers mainly to dogs but it would work equally well with people.

Dog Reactivity

I'm posting this as part of a set of helpful 'easy reference' articles for common questions and problems. Feel free to add additional info on dog reactivity in this thread, but please start a new thread for specific questions relating to your dog. My dog lunges and barks at other dogs This is...

dogforum.co.uk

I've been trying to have people come over and provide reassurance, give him treats and try to show that visitors are nice, but he is constantly on alert and won't settle properly the entire time people are here.

Can I use another analogy? If you were stressed by, or afraid of something like clowns / zombies / vampires, having them offer you treats isn't going to cut it. In fact, a scary person offering sweets is even more scary because you are already doubting what their motives are. This approach just means you have to get close to the scary thing in order to get the reward, so you are doing it under duress, or at least are conflicted because you want the nice thing but it means doing something that troubles you.

So, please stop trying this. What you could do, is ask your guests to throw the treat away from themselves to a place where he has to move further away from them to get them. That has the very powerful double benefit of the relief of not needing to get close AND getting the treat or reward. Other than doing this, your guests should ignore him completely, not even eye contact, because eye contact is intimidating for dogs.

There's a few things there for you to think about, I think if you can work on these the rest will fall more easily into place. But please do come back with more about what you did to help desensitise him, and perhaps we will have other suggestions.

 

[Laco]

Having a miniature schnauzer with some of the same behavior traits, I can tell you its not an easy battle to win. Schnauzers are very strong willed, as I'm sure you know. I have been working with ours for over a year and a half, and though she is vastly improved, she remains a work in progress. Since they are instinctively watch dogs, territorial, and hunters, their behavior patterns are deeply set in their identity. I will say a schnauzer's desire to please gives you, and me, a pretty powerful tool to use for training, and I use it constantly. I don't have a magic answer for you, but time, consistency and patience are your friend. Would be happy to share experiences with you, and since we have similar dogs, and likely similar experiences.