Fear imprint stage?

[Jase 33]

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Hi

I've got two 10 month old lab/retriever cross and they are just great dogs. They have trained up really well. They walk great on the lead and do everything that is asked of them. I got them at 2 month old and worked really hard on getting them house trained which they are now and getting them used to being away from each other. I had read that having dogs from the same litter can be a problem. So at the weekend one goes to work with my partner and the other stays with me. They have no separation anxiety etc.

Now here is the problem i've got. When i got them i tried to socialize them with as many people as i could and when they see those people they are all over them, giving them big kisses :huggles: LOL. Now when walking outside, they walk past people fine and pay no attention until that person tries to touch them. It started about a month ago and seems to have gotten a little worse with the girl. The boy seems to be getting a bit better. Molly will try to run to the end of her lead to get away from them or back into the house.

I've read about the fear imprint stages and people have said they are at the right age and that's what it could be? Do you think this could be the problem? I don't force them near the people they are scared of and i don't get mad or feed their fear by hugging them etc.

It's starting to frsutrate me on the inside because a few people have acted like the dogs have been abused or something. I've never smacked the dogs and i never would. So any help would be great! I just hope it's a phase that will pass.

Thanks for any replies! :thumbsup:

Molly & Mikey

 

[honeybabylove]

hi . first of all what lovely dogs, and your a good dog owner hat cares . I have a chawawa 4 yrs old ive had her 5 months shes terrified of people so scared she don't bark but hides and shakes its very sad, but we believe its due to her not mixing with people from young age shes 4 yrs old and we have now got her under a behaviourist its helping giving us ideas to try maybe yu could contact your vet for advice on this or otherwise although you say they are trained maybe a couple weeks at doggy school . good luck ..

 

[Jase 33]

hi . first of all what lovely dogs, and your a good dog owner hat cares . I have a chawawa 4 yrs old ive had her 5 months shes terrified of people so scared she don't bark but hides and shakes its very sad, but we believe its due to her not mixing with people from young age shes 4 yrs old and we have now got her under a behaviourist its helping giving us ideas to try maybe yu could contact your vet for advice on this or otherwise although you say they are trained maybe a couple weeks at doggy school . good luck ..

Hi

Thanks for the reply! I guess a few weeks somewhere like a doggy school could be good for them. It will help them with people and meeting new dogs. Kills two birds with one stone eh?

 

[Rocky Rescue]

May I please ask where you got the dogs from ?

If they came from a rescue centre it may be an idea to contact the centre and explain your situation I'm sure they would only be too happy to help you with some training advice.

You may be able to take the dogs back there for an assessment with trained staff on hand in a controlled environment.

Doggy school would be a great idea too as you will get some helpful advice along with the dogs learning too.

Good luck with it all, they are both gorgeous btw

 

[Jase 33]

Hey Rocky

They were gotten at 8 weeks old from pets4homes website. Like i say they met loads of people that i had come to my house when they younger and they see people and dogs every day when they go out for their walks. I spent every day teaching them sit, stay, leave it, walking to heel etc. They've done really awesome with it. This breed learns fast anyway don't they? LOL

It's just this last month that they've become a bit scared around new people that they've never seen.

It all points to this that i read

[SIZE=10pt]6 to 14 Months[/SIZE]

Second Fear Imprint Period or Fear of New Situations Period.Dog again shows fear of new situations and even familiar situations. Dog may be reluctant to approach someone or something new. It is important that you are patient and act very matter of fact in these situations. Never force the dog to face the situation.

[SIZE=10pt]DO NOT pet the frightened puppy or talk in soothing tones. The puppy will interpret such responses as praise for being frightened. Training will help improve the dog's confidence. This fear period is normally more marked in male dogs[/SIZE]
It just happened all of a sudden and that's why i posted here in case anyone had a puppy that liked people and then all of a sudden it acted like it's affraid of everyone.

 

[hanneroon]

hiya, i think its a fairly normal stage, i reckon. the puppy we had at work had a similar scaredy stage, they're begining to look adult but they are still babies really, you've still got the teenage crazies to got through yet.

I'd just keep going with your training, and try not to worry too much. Perhaps you could set up some situations, with yet more willing volunteers, where you encourage the person to ignore the dog/dogs until the dog approaches them, then perhaps a treat or something dropped onto the floor. this can be the hard bit as people love to pet lovely dogs such as yours and will go straight for a pat on the head, In dog body language, this is a teeny bit threatening, something like a closed hand for the dog to sniff at first is a bit less so. Ignoring the behaviour is the best thing you can do,

good luck, they're absolutley beautiful!

 

[Jase 33]

Yes people wanting to pet them right away is the problem. I can't blame them really, look how cute they are.

I take them to work with me and they stay in my office above the shop. Yesterday and today i've been letting them come down with me when a customer comes in. They can't get around the counter or anything but they can see the customer. Once i've served them i'm going to ask the more friendly looking people to throw them a treat. That should help them see people and not so scary.

Thanks for your reply hanneroon! It's put my mind at rest a little bit. I just don't want my dogs to fear things and i'm trying to help them the best i can.

 

[eingana]

I think that it is pretty normal for them to be starting to express their own opinions at this age as well as having a potential fear response, so it could be as simple as her choosing that she doesn't appreciate being approached. Just as some dogs like balls and some like frisbees (and some just look at you like you've got 2 heads for throwing a ball in the park), some dogs prefer other dogs to people, or prefer washing the cat.

In that case I'd make sure that she is aware that she CAN choose not to have people approach her if she chooses- forcing her won't actually achieve anything apart from possibly making her more fearful (if that's actually what she's showing). Some dogs are more 'people pleasers' than others, and if she's just not as mad about people as your other dog then there's nothing at all wrong with her standing by your side and letting him go and greet them and be happy, is there?

The important thing is that she is happy and you are socialising and training her and giving her the opportunity to meet people and see your other dog having positive interactions with people, but without pushing her in a way that is going to make her feel too crowded or forced. She has very limited ways of expressing things with which she is not comfortable, and almost all of them are interpreted as 'aggression' by a whole load of people so putting her in the position where she feels she has no alternative but to start showing any of those signs is really not a positive direction to go.

Reassure her, continue the socialising and training, get the 'strangers are great cos they bring food' thing going and hopefully it will just be a phase, but if it's actually her choice to not want to fuss every human then give her the permission to hold back and let her brother get patted instead

My dog is at the very simpering end of GSD behaviour and she loves nothing more than fawning over people whilst doing a home check for one of the local rescues, but that's not normal GSD behaviour and it's quite normal for GSDs to be a bit standoffish and defensive with new people.

 

[Jase 33]

That's a very helpful post. Thanks for taking the time to give some good advice! Like i said above though. I know not to force her into going to people and i haven't done that. What i don't want is her pulling to the end of the lead in a panic because someone got a little too close. I took her for a walk at work the other day and when i got back, someone was waiting near the door for me and she was trying to get away from them while i was opening the door. I asked them to move away a little and that helped a little bit.

I was talking to a family member and they said why do you want strangers to pet your dogs anyway? That's the thing i'm not bothered about people petting them or not. What i don't want is them to be scared of people and that's the difference. So hopefully with a bit of work Molly will come around enough that if people get a bit too close she won't try snapping the lead to get away.

Oh by the way, Mike's can i have a treat look LOL

Molly's Awww come on now! Does this face look like i did the bad thing in the room? I don't think so.