My Sadie girl is 16 months old. I got her when she was 7 months old and I have constantly had issues with her meeting anyone. She growls and bolts to another room if I ever have company over (which is very rare). At first I thought is was just with men but she is starting to do this even with children and women. I have tried putting her in her kennel when I have people come over and then opening the door after she settles down and let her come out when she feels comfortable. This usually works but not many people are willing to trust that a dog will not attack them, especially when she is a big mean looking dog. When the door bell rings or someone knocks on the door she runs to the door barking. I have hired Bark Busters (a dog training company) to assist with her behavior. I have started trying to walk her on her leash in the backyard and that is a battle in itself. She pulls away from me (behind me) and will either wiggle out of her harnase/leash or choke herself. Then of course she freaks out even more. I can't even take her for walks anymore because she freaks out anytime we would pass a person on the street and she got off her leash and ran down the street (I totally freaked out because I did not know what to do she has no "recall" in these episodes). She does not respond to food treats or praise when she goes into her zone (freak out mode). The Bark Buster rep said she is just unlike most boxers and she just needs time. I feel frustrated because I do not want to give up on her but I can't take her anywhere or have people over because of her. On a good note when it is just "us" at home she is really good. She sits and lays next to me. It is just when outside elements/stimulants are introduce when she freaks out.
HELP! Sadie is so timid and growls at everyone
- Thread starter Sadienme
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LILYLARUE
Boxer Insane
I'm glad you found help for her to overcome her reactivity. But I do have to say, please be careful of this training group you hired. They have had many upon many complaints of abuse in training dogs. I personally have witnessed them ruin one dog's trust, and another dog had to be euthanized due to the aggression BB had trained INTO one dog. Not trying to scare you, but please be diligent in watching how they are training. No loud noises, no hitting, smacking, or tugging on leash, no rolling on the side, and absolutely no pain enducing collar contraptions.
Your girl needs lots of time to be comfortable in her new home, with her new family, and needs to build up trust with you. This absolutely can not be trained in a short time. It takes lots of time, patience, and understanding that one step forward can equal several steps backwards in her progression.
I would highly suggest seeking out a positive reinforcement trainer/behaviorist instead of general book trainers from BB. A behaviorist will have much more experience with fearful dogs and won't use any methods that would be harmful to the dog's emotional state. Boxers are very sensitive, and there is a fear imprint stage from 7 or 8 mos. to 12 or even 13 months that during that period can either make a confident dog or a fearful one. Sounds like your girl had a tough time during the first months of her life, that when she came to you, she came with a few behaviors that were learned and not confident enough to deal with outside commotion. Just give her lots of time, build trust, read up on confidence building training and trust building. Without trust between you, all the other training is futile.
Your girl needs lots of time to be comfortable in her new home, with her new family, and needs to build up trust with you. This absolutely can not be trained in a short time. It takes lots of time, patience, and understanding that one step forward can equal several steps backwards in her progression.
I would highly suggest seeking out a positive reinforcement trainer/behaviorist instead of general book trainers from BB. A behaviorist will have much more experience with fearful dogs and won't use any methods that would be harmful to the dog's emotional state. Boxers are very sensitive, and there is a fear imprint stage from 7 or 8 mos. to 12 or even 13 months that during that period can either make a confident dog or a fearful one. Sounds like your girl had a tough time during the first months of her life, that when she came to you, she came with a few behaviors that were learned and not confident enough to deal with outside commotion. Just give her lots of time, build trust, read up on confidence building training and trust building. Without trust between you, all the other training is futile.
Sadie - the other thing I forgot to mention to you on my other reply was that me and you are kind of in the same boat - we both got our dogs when they were older than 8 weeks. I have researched it and seems like dogs learn alot of their basic behavior and reactions from birth to 4 months or so. I got Sophie at 4 1/2 months. Figures. Tough it out - it will be worth it. I can''t imagine it is worse for you than it was for me. For months I was forced to only walk and play with her in my yard and only in the early am and late pm when no one was around to make "noises" in the neighbors yards...
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