Just imported a dog, some problems.

marty1985

I have just imported a dog, she's 1 year old and I guess it's hard for her to adjust. She had a long, long flight which was extended by a third day due to an airline mistake - they lost a necessary document. But she's here now.

However, she is being quite aggressive. She is only ever used to living alone with me, but now in a much bigger house with an entire family. She is barking aggressively at everyone, and it's really worrying me.

I guess she hasn't been socialized enough but it was quite hard for me to do that in my previous home. Also, I didn't speak the same language as most people so couldnt mix a lot.

Can anyone offer any advice or help? It is a huge worry for me. I guess she is still stressed and anxious and scared. How can I introduce her to people who will be living here?

Whispered

Was your dog sedated for any of her trip? She's gone through a difficult time, so I suppose it's normal for her to need to adjust.

I'd start as if you had gotten a new dog who is displaying aggression. If she is crate trained brilliant, if not, can you allow her access to your bedroom, or a room others will stay out of? She needs somewhere to go where she can get away from it all.

If you can introduce her to members of your household on a one to one basis at first, allow her to build up a relationship with them when it's only her and them in the room. She might find that easier.

She's likely to be feeling overwhelmed with all of the new people.

marty1985

Whispered wrote: »

Was your dog sedated for any of her trip? She's gone through a difficult time, so I suppose it's normal for her to need to adjust.

I'd start as if you had gotten a new dog who is displaying aggression. If she is crate trained brilliant, if not, can you allow her access to your bedroom, or a room others will stay out of? She needs somewhere to go where she can get away from it all.

If you can introduce her to members of your household on a one to one basis at first, allow her to build up a relationship with them when it's only her and them in the room. She might find that easier.

She's likely to be feeling overwhelmed with all of the new people.

I don't think she was sedated.

I have her in a crate at the moment. She likes her crate. Outside, I tried to play fetch with her. Whenever anyone else shows up she barks wildly, like I've never seen her do before, and then runs back inside to her crate.

Whispered

Ah poor girl just sounds overwhelmed. You'll have her back to normal in no time. Make sure everyone in your house knows the crate rules, they shouldn't look at her or interact with her in any way when she's in the crate.

When she's out and about they should still act as though she's not there, just totally ignore her until she looks for attention from them.

If you can put aside 10 mins a day with each family/house member to meet the dog with just you and her in the room, or better if you can persuade one of them to go for a walk with you and her together. If she can accept them one on one she will eventually do better with them as groups. But you will have to keep her alone in the meantime. No point in working on one on one relationships and then overwhelming her before she's ready.

Try have other members of the family feed her dinner, just put the bowl down and walk away. Again no interaction at first.

I'm sure with patience she'll come around.

marty1985

Whispered wrote: »

Ah poor girl just sounds overwhelmed. You'll have her back to normal in no time. Make sure everyone in your house knows the crate rules, they shouldn't look at her or interact with her in any way when she's in the crate.

When she's out and about they should still act as though she's not there, just totally ignore her until she looks for attention from them.

If you can put aside 10 mins a day with each family/house member to meet the dog with just you and her in the room, or better if you can persuade one of them to go for a walk with you and her together. If she can accept them one on one she will eventually do better with them as groups. But you will have to keep her alone in the meantime. No point in working on one on one relationships and then overwhelming her before she's ready.

Try have other members of the family feed her dinner, just put the bowl down and walk away. Again no interaction at first.

I'm sure with patience she'll come around.

Thanks. Really.

Just introduced her to my brother - hard to know which of them was more nervous.

But it went well. He fed her some treats. She would sit when he told her to. So I was relieved. But again, barked whenever he withdrew his hand too quickly, scared her.

Whispered

Ah glad it went well. Your brother is very good for helping you! Is there any chance the two of you (you and brother) can sit and have a chat and ignore the dog until she decides to check him out herself? Maybe he can give her treats, then stop for a few mins, hopefully she'll be interested enough to walk up and look for one from him.

Sigma Force

Would you consider a dog trainer to help you through it and for some support, a trainer that uses only humane methods and perhaps then getting to classes to help the dog socialise some more.

marty1985

Sigma Force wrote: »

Would you consider a dog trainer to help you through it and for some support, a trainer that uses only humane methods and perhaps then getting to classes to help the dog socialise some more.

Whatever happens, I will consider anything.

I'll have to take a softly softly approach. I've relayed the previous advice to everyone in the house, so we're gonna do the one to one thing. I introduced another brother to her, he was very relaxed with the dog even though she barked a little. With time I hope she will calm down with everyone.

It's all totally new for her. She's not used to so many people.

I will have to begin training properly. Hope it's not too late.

I was never fully aware on how to deal with puppies etc. I really regret not socializing her more. So it's my fault. I didn't plan on getting a puppy, so I hadn't done my research. I just found the dog when she was about a month old and rescued her. I also didn't bet on it costing so much to take her home to Ireland. But I'm trying to be responsible for her, and thought getting her here would be the biggest challenge. Now suddenly I'm stressing out for a different reason.

boardbrowser

well done on going to the expense and lengths in getting your dog back with you to ireland. i undertand the challenges in shipping dogs as i went throught the ringer with my own dog traveling a great distance also.
Yes, there is always a period of adjustment , however , it would be benficial to learn if your dog was also exbitined any of the issues you have outlined concerning his/her behaviour before she/he came to ireland.
to shed a better light on things maybe you can answer a few questions
1- when did the concerning behaviour start( before travel of only after)
2- is is getting better/ worse / staying the same
3- any history of biting- teeth making contact with clothing/skin?
4- does your dog bark at all people or just certain sexes ( males v's women)
5- was your dog previously a social butterfly or would take some time to warm up to visitors
6- does your dog growl before barking?
7- more likely to retreat/shy away when he/she meets strangers or barks and lunges?

marty1985

1. I would say it started before. I lived in an apartment, so mostly she would only have contact with me and a small number of other friends. Three weeks ago a different friend visited and I was alarmed at how barky she was, although my friend quickly won her over.
2. It's worse compared to her behaviour before the trip. If you mean is it getting better or worse since coming here, I would say it's still hard to tell.
3. No history of biting - but with the friend that visited a few weeks ago, she would snap at his fingers after he spent time petting her if he moved his hands away quickly. She has never done this with me, so I hadn't noticed it before. Never really bit as such, but she would make a sudden snap at his hand. As for clothing, only when I put on my socks.
4. She seems quick to bark at all people who approach her. She has always been fine on walks, walking among people or alongside people, but when people directly walk up to her, she tends to bark.
5. It would always take her time, it's usually on the second meeting that she feels comfortable with people.
6. Yes, growls first usually, as far as I can remember.
7. Today she was barking and jumping up.

marty1985

Today the dog tried to bite someone, or at least, to bite the sleeve of his jumper, which she did. Made no contact with skin. I just shouted at her and put her into her crate.

The person hadn't done anything. Was just walking around, she was running around outside, but when he walked by her crate then she ran over and barked a lot. He just stood and stared and then she jumped up and caught his sleeve.

What should I do in this situation? What should he have done, not stared, turned sideways, ignored her? How should I punish her when this happens?

Toulouse

Marty you really need to get some professional help here. Where are you based so we can recommend someone for you?

marty1985

I think that might be necessary. I have no experience in dealing with this situation. I am in Monaghan here. Any ideas?

Toulouse

http://apdt.ie/index.php/find-a-trainer/dog-trainers-in-monaghan/

Contact Maureen asap. She is fantastic and will be able to help.

Good luck!

marty1985

Do you know how much it might cost?

toadfly

Until you get sorted with a trainer make sure they dont stare at her. She will take that as confrontation.

Best of luck and well done.

boardbrowser

sorry to hear that things are taking a turn for the worse and i think it's time to call in a professional who has worked extensively with aggression cases.
you will be extremely hard pressed to find anyonein your area who has more experience and know how when it comes to behaviour modification than Maureen Byrne of Dogs behaving badly.
I'd say put in a call to her as soon as possible.

Toulouse

marty1985 wrote: »

Do you know how much it might cost?

I'm afraid i don't but give her a call and ask, she's a lovely woman. Please do it sooner rather than later so that your dog doesn't land herself in a situation where you're forced to take rather more drastic action than calling in a behaviourist. Keep all interaction with others to a minimum until you have spoken to Maureen.

Taltos

Also - while you are waiting for the trainer - remind yourself that chances are your dog is NOT agressive. It has just gone through a huge change and more than likely is petrified.

Fear is a great motivator in this type of behaviour - trust me - of my two dogs one has major fear issues and comes across as very very aggressive.

+1 on the trainer though - make sure they are certified. Try to keep a log of all of the events and triggers - this will really help with the diagnosis.
I think a 3 hour session for us cost in the region of 200 - but some of this was covered by our insurance (once the behaviouralist is certified).

Doing a session like this really opens your eyes to things you may be doing to cause the anxiety or reaction. In our case we are slowly making progress - we do have days where all hell breaks loose - but I can already say our dog is getting better and seems happier for it.

Make that call

In the meantime - can I suggest that her bed/crate is placed in a location where there will be less foot traffic - and tell everyone not to approach that area. Also give her space - I mean tell people NOT to reach out to pet her even if she comes over sniffing, just ignore her - or use a calm happy voice and her name. But don't reach out to pet her. (going on my own exp here - just to try to help until you see a professional).

marty1985

Things seem better now. I had to go away for a while, and when I came back she was playing fetch in the garden and going for walks with different members of the household. I'm still taking a softly softly approach but in the 24hours I have been away there seems to have been huge progress. Perhaps me going away was a good thing as it allowed her to get to know everyone else?

Whispered

I must say it sounds like a very understanding house you live in! Fair play to them. It still wouldn't do any harm to get a pro in to be honest, just so you can be shown how to react if things take a turn for the worse again.

It shouldn't cost a whole lot on the scheme of things. You could contact Maureen and enquire about how much it would cost. Maureen is actually a boards member so may have already seen this thread.