Over protective dog and other issues

hairyslug

Hi,

We have recently got a dog, 3 days ago, he's an 18 month old rescue, lab collie mix.
When we met him in his foster home he was grand, interacted with the kids and was over all a great dog.
Forward on to now and I can't go to the loo without him following me, everywhere I go I'm tripping over him. That's my first problem,how do I make him happy to just be in the company of others, not just myself.

He's a fantastic happy dog, loves his walks and know how to react with the kids, (no jumping, knowing that my son has little interest so he doesn't get in his face)

My 2nd problem: My eldest is 6, new to dogs and is learning, we have had 3 growling incidents, one was during feeding so I can understand that, the other 2 were this morning when myself or my wife where in the room and all she was doing was petting his head.

I might as well say I'm quite new to dogs as it's been so long since I had one, I remember my last dog growling the odd time but not sure if the growling is a precursor to a bite.

Or am I just being over dramatic

Nody

Well I'd recommend getting a behaviourist (if you post where you live people can make you a recommendation as there are plenty of cowboys out there who are clueless) as they will help you get up to speed faster then anything on the internetz will but here's a starter page for you.

In essence growling is before a bite; you said "she was only petting the dog" but clearly the dog was stressed for some reason and you did not recognise it (nor did your daughter). The below image is a starting point but I'd recommend a properly certified behaviorist (there are plenty certified morons out there as well; hence recommendation to post your general location so you can get a personal recommendation rather then the guy down the road) to help you and your family. It's not expensive if you consider the improvements you'll have over the next decade+ as your children grow up with the dog.

Toulouse

The rescue you got him from should be your first port of call here.

Any decent rescue will be able to advise you on the best ways to help your new dog settle into your home and should it be needed then they should have access to a good trainer/behaviourist.

hairyslug

Cheers, I'm based in greystones, Wicklow, since thw growling this morning he has been very friendly with my daughter but has been off his food, had a big walk this morning and only had a nibble, I've noticed he only really eats if I'm in the room with him

cocker5

hairyslug wrote: »

Cheers, I'm based in greystones, Wicklow, since thw growling this morning he has been very friendly with my daughter but has been off his food, had a big walk this morning and only had a nibble, I've noticed he only really eats if I'm in the room with him

OP - its only been three days, it can take weeks and months for a dog to settle properly into a new home.. so keep with it.

With regard to the growling, as Nody already stated there is always signs before growling it just takes time to notice these things... i would def tell your kids NOT to approach they dog while eating and then just to give him space and let him settle in and he will come around.

My cocker only eats of one of us is in the room also, same with his treats... he has always done this... i wouldn't worry too much dogs sometimes has quirky things they do, he's probably quiet stressed with his new environment he will settle in over time.

Best of luck and well done for adopting him

maggiepip

One of my dogs will also only eat if I'm in the room, he's 13 now and always been like this. To echo what cocker5 said make sure your children dont crowd the dog or overwhelm him, have them give him lots of space and when interacting with him to be respectful and gentle. Kids can be very scary for some dogs, running up to dogs, arms everywhere, for hugs, some kids are very loud, dog doesn't know what the heck is happening and can feel very threatened and frightened and become defensive. For the moment I'd ask your children to let the dog come to them and to supervise interaction to make sure your kids are being gentle and calm. Many dogs dont really enjoy being patted on the top of the head if they are a bit nervous, they tend to just see this big hand coming down apon them!

maggiepip

Heres some good info especially for kids interacting with dogs:

http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/how-to-pet-a-dog


http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/how-to-pet-a-dog?page=2

seamus

Great advice above. As has been said, it's only been 3 days. The dog will need weeks to properly settle in. We moved house ten days ago and it was 5 days before our dog would start eating her normal food again. We had to give her denny ham and chicken breast instead :rolleyes:
She's still not settled though and has nearly killed us about 20 times by standing under our feet.

On top of the advice above, I would say to give the dog safe spaces where everyone leaves him alone. Basically, his bed and his bowls. Make it a rule that when the dog is eating or in his bed, nobody touches him or gets in his face. If you would like to cuddle the dog, you call him over. That gives the dog the option to decide if they feel like they want the interaction or not. This rule would apply to all beds (e.g. if you have a second bed in the sitting room, or whatever).

Over time as the dog becomes comfortable he probably won't care who comes near his bed, but for now he does need somewhere that he can settle.

Just be wary of dropping your guard. It's in the first 6 months or so, where you and the dog get used to eachother, that you're more likely to overstep your bounds unintentionally because you think things are more relaxed than they are. So sticking your head into the dog's bed after 3 glasses of wine, or reaching into the dog's bowl to add or remove food while they're eating. You'll get a nice hole in your skin for your trouble and wonder if the dog is actually dangerous.

Innocuous things but at the end of the day they're still a dog and can really only display many of their emotions with a growl or a snap.
So you need to be vigilant that if the dog gets pissed off, they will lash out. That applies whether you've had the dog ten days or ten years.

sillysmiles

Have you spoken to the foster home or rescue? Did he have a crate/safe space in his foster home?

cocker5

Just saw this and thought its was useful for all people out with the dogs and kids

DBB

Nody wrote: »

The below image is a starting point but I'd recommend a properly certified behaviorist (there are plenty certified morons out there as well;

To be fair Nody, there are very, very few certified behaviourists in Ireland. None of them are morons imo! You just can't get certified as a behaviourist without doing a huge amount of study, getting experience, and then being pretty rigorously assessed by a recognised professional body
It's more likely the "morons" of whom you speak have no certification, and no formal qualifications.

I mean no offence to others who have posted here to help you OP, but given the circumstances (the newness of the dog, your own inexperience, the fact that he seems to have growled at one of your children) I'd urge caution about what to do next: diagrams of how to behave and not behave around dogs are great, but we don't know why your new dog is growling, indeed we don't know for sure of his actual intent: I have a dog, and know quite a few more, who growl during play, and mean no malice whatsoever... If you didn't know my dog, she'd scare you! But it is more usual for a growl to signal discomfort with what's going on at that moment, and you really need to understand why, not just how to recognise it.
So, I'd suggest you get back onto the rescue as they may have a really experienced person who can have a look to see what's happening "in real life", but I think you'd benefit hugely as a family to have a session with a good behaviurist in your home... They can put you straight on a huge amount of things to make this whole new experience more enjoyable and seamless.
As you're in Wicklow, you're really lucky to have the super Emmaline Duffy-Fallon of http://www.citizencanineireland.com near you. A session with her would be worth twice the money in the long run!
Good luck with your new dog... Hopefully you can iron out these initial problems nice and quickly

Nody

DBB wrote: »

To be fair Nody, there are very, very few certified behaviourists in Ireland. None of them are morons imo! You just can't get certified as a behaviourist without doing a huge amount of study, getting experience, and then being pretty rigorously assessed by a recognised professional body

That does not stop someone from getting certification and calling themselves a "Dog speaker" etc. though now does it? But yes I agree I phrased it badly in the implication of behaviorists rather than the general cowboy practices which were the intended group.

DBB

But... That does not make them certified as behaviourists!
It means they have a piece of paper that says they did some course... But certified means they're on a recognised professional registry!

*edited to add, you've edited your post whilst I was posting ... Forget about the above so

anamaria

I would like to second the other poster's recommendation for Emmaline . She is fantastic and worth every penny

Hatcho

Yep, have to say Emmaline is fantastic! The first time she came to visit our house and met Bella (our GSD/Collie cross) she spent a couple of hours with us. She spent time with Bella, listened to our concerns and then spent ages going through various techniques to use when training/instructing and guiding Bella towards being a well behaved doggy. I don't exaggerate when I say Bella was a much better behaved dog by the time Emmaline left the house. And we were also armed with lots of new skills to better interact and understand our new pooch.

RTighe

We used Emmaline for an over excited Lab that would greet everything he saw with aggressive barking and too much exuberance (turned out it was anxiety) we spent 3 days with couple of hours each time, was giving homework coaching exercises for the Lug. and since then we have a much more relaxed dog. we now use it on our 7 month old English shepard and have seen great results already.

Also she spent time instructing us on how our dog perceives things around him which, even though I've had dogs all my life (30+ years) it was an eye opener and educational, I'm pretty sure I have some of the emails and exercise notes that may be of some use to you?

again I couldn't recommend her enough.

RTighe