Pup fearing strangers

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by Rexy on 05 July 2010 - 15:07

I am hoping someone may have an insight into what's happening here and some advice how best to handle the situation would be much appreciated.........thanks in advance.

I have an 18 week old working line male pup from excellent sporting and police K9/security lines who was extremely confident and outgoing with what appeared a strong nerve, nice calm and full bite, and highly prey driven, generally a nice promising pup we purchased for Schutzhund training.

Since 16 weeks old, the last couple of weeks, he suddenly feared strange people and will back away hiding behind me when approached. If the person kneels down and coaxes the pup he will slowly approach them, wag his tail and play with them............but my concern is the change prior to 16 weeks where he appeared fearless to any situation.

He is the same in every other respect to environment, noise etc where no fear of other elements exist and is working well in prey, retreive and bite/tug play and coming along well as we expect and it's solely strange people in close proximity that seems to be affecting him. He doesn't bark, cry or make a noise, just backs away, tail and ears down in a what looks to be a typical fear/flight reaction???.

I am wondering if it's a fear stage he may be going through or if there is a nerve issue developing with the pup???. The parentage lines of the pup are quite strong in civil aggression and fighting drive and are rarther serious working dogs of hard nerve where I didn't expect to see fear reactions in the offspring, especially after the confidence the pup previously displayed. The pup was tested and chosen by an independant experienced breeder and Schutzhund/security dog trainer tested twice until 8 weeks of age and selected upon the traits he showed and considered very promising.

I am a little concerned how he may turn out and how best to handle this situation to re-gain his confidence.

by shostring on 05 July 2010 - 23:07

rexy you must take the pup out to meet as many people as you can find and if he backs off just reasure him and make everything fun if someone is coming to pet the pup and he backs off you must distract him maybe with his toy so that it is not a big issue that a person is coming to say hello I cant say why the pup has went this way perhaps he got a fright from someone ?? however you must boost his confidence and never ever make a big issue of him backing off everything has to be fun fun fun have you phoned the breeder anyhow good luck and I hope he comes out of it ok
Rosey

by shrabe on 06 July 2010 - 00:07

Agreed, get him out as much as you possibly can! Make sure every experience with new people is a positive one. Keep lots of treats with you and his favorite toy. Give random people treats and ask them to give them to your pup. Play with him and his toy as people go by. Get him interested in something else. Never tell him "it's ok" when he backs up, you will just reinforce the negative behavior. Do not acknowledge the behavior you want to change, but rather make a HUGE deal when he approaches people positively and when he just doesn't react to them at all. Good luck, and contacting your breeder isn't a bad idea either.

Theresa

by Doberdoodle on 06 July 2010 - 02:07

I didn't think you could know anything about a dogs civil aggression or grips at 18 weeks of age.

Sounds like he may be going through a fear period, might help to get him lots of social interactions using very high value food, like boiled chicken breast or something tasty. Better to have the problem (to fix later) of your dog going up to people for food than being scared of people. May also help for him to play a little tug with other people, or have them sit on the ground and let him climb on top of them. When I'm training a very shy or un-confident dog I lay on the ground with them at first until they get comfortable and act more confident with me. Don't worry it's probably just a stage, just keep socializing.

Also, where is this happening, is it people coming into your house?

And here is a chart on growth with the "fear period" I mentioned, dogs have several fear periods it's reminiscent of wild animals, but they don't have as high of a fear reaction to novel stimuli, where as it's in some wild animals best interest to have a strong flight reaction, http://www.diamondsintheruff.com/DevelopmentalStages.html

by Rexy on 06 July 2010 - 04:07

Thanks for your responses and advice, much appreciated.

Prior to 16 weeks of age, the pup was outgoing and friendly towards strange people and would run towards them with a wagging tail and accept patting and play. The first time he showed avoidance towards someone was at work when my wife bought him in for a visit which she has done many times before and taken him around meeting people without any problems whatsoever.

I took him into the workshop area on leash to show a client interested in the pup and he was fine until the guy leaned forward to stroke him and he ducked away behind my legs. If someone (stranger) bent over to pat him prior to that, he would go towards the person and be happily petted.

The next time he did the same was in the park a few days later where a friend (an experienced GSD handler/trainer) wanted to see the new pup and led the pup over to him. He's fine on the approach, but when a stranger leans forwards towards him and tries to pat him, he backed off hiding behind my legs. The is person kneeled down coaxing him and eventually he crawled up on to his lap and seemed happy enough licking the guys face and mouthing his hands and arms in play.

The pattern that is happening is towards strangers outside of the home if they try to touch him pat or stroke him is when he backs off and hides behind me but he doesn't react or go into avoidance when strangers ignore him. I can walk him into a group of strangers standing around where he doesn't show any fear and will stand or sit next to me confidently whilst I talk to people...........but it's if they acknowledge him as people do with pups and try to pat him, he is backing away in an avoidance response, but seems ok with people he has previously met and knows???.

I was referring to his parents and ancestor lines of civil aggression which are quite strong, both dam and sire of his litter are well driven hard nerved dogs with good working capabilities. I trial a showline dog in Schutzhund mainly as a learing curve into the sport as the showline lacks the drives and nerve to be efficient which evolved into getting the second working line pup to raise and train in the sport with a higher quality more suitable dog.

The litter was one that I waited for from independant advice trying as we do to obtain a good pup with the right balance and seemed a promising choice until this avoidance phase just surfaced which raised some concerns.

by noddi on 06 July 2010 - 11:07

i never approach a young pup and lean over to pet him.i always squat down on my haunches.see it from the pups aspect.Here is a person i dont know,a big strange being leaning over me,natural instinct of the pup to retreat to a safe distance.As he approaches,albeit with a little caution on his behalf,he still manages to overcome his fear.a little patience is needed here.ask people to kneel when they come up to the pup to pet and see how he reacts then.i do think that all pups go through a fear stage.sometimes its so slight we humans dont see it.i always try to see things from a dogs view as opposed to a human one.Carole Spelman.

by Two Moons on 06 July 2010 - 15:07

Perhaps this is nothing more than suspicion, which is a natural trait in a GSD.
Possibly the pup knows something you do not about some people.

Continue socializing but concentrate on family and friends and let strangers remain at a distance for a while.

by Ruger1 on 07 July 2010 - 03:07

Rexy,

My male at around 14 weeks old started the same behavior with strangers. Up until that time he was just as you described your pup in every way....He is still very suspicious of people he does not know, but seems to be gaining his confidence back slow but sure again....keep taking small positive steps to build his confidence up. JMO ...

Ruger1

by Rexy on 07 July 2010 - 15:07

Thanks for the advice. I will work on the situation and see how I go.

by dwchastain on 07 July 2010 - 16:07

I have a three year old female who went through a period similar to your pup. Her reaction was to tuck her tail, ears back, and pee. This was just a phase she went through. Today she is a very hard dog that doesn't back down from anything. She is a pet in addition to being a sport dog. She is an ideal mix of social and very protective. I would suggest you continue to get him in front of as many people as possible but control the situation. Give the person a few treats and have them kneel down and make the treats available. Have them wait for your pup to come to them and then reward them with a treat and verbal praise from you. Although the situation you described in the shop may have created some apprehension in your pup it does not sound like something that is inherent or permanent.

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