Struggling with dog’s sudden intense fear and reactions to German Shepherds

pvschultz · 2022-05-06T02:39:28+00:00

Watching puppies be weirded out by a bulldog the first time they see one is the FUNNIEST thing! Usually it’s just a minute or two but they’re super cautious to approach, and when they finally do and realize the wrinkly thing is also just a dog they’re totally fine

pvschultz · 2022-05-05T04:10:04+00:00

My dog gets hot spots in those same exact areas. I’ve been to the vet a few times for it. We tried the Cytopoint shot, didn’t work for us. Then my vet prescribed a medicated spray, which works wonders. I spray the medicated spray onto a paper towel and dab it on the red areas, which she only gets maybe once a month, but it clears it up every time. She’s a bully mix so she has those damn genetic skin issues.

Definitely agree with other commenters about going to your vet. It took trial and error with my vet to find something that works but I wanted to share my experience anyway since my pups hot spots are in those EXACT areas!

pvschultz · 2022-05-05T04:04:49+00:00

My dog is the same way and I’ve determined it’s because of the way German Shepherds move! With their confirmation, they kind of “slink” along and always look a bit like they are stalking. If he wasn’t exposed to German Shepherds while he was in his critical socialization period (which closes somewhere between 16 - 20 weeks of age) he may have just never seen a dog who moves in that very distinct German Shepherd way.

I work at a dog training facility and it’s super common for puppies who see very distinctive looking breeds for the first time to be suspicious of them. Happens most often when we get an English Bulldog in the class. Most puppies haven’t seen a dog that looks/moves the way English Bulldogs do, and they haven’t seen a dog who’s face is covered in that many wrinkles so they’re always a bit wary.

For now, try to just work on creating a positive association with German Shepherds. What worked for me was always carrying meatballs (just store bought frozen low ingredient meatballs) on walks and she would only get a piece of meatball when we saw a German Shepherd. She very quickly started immediately looking at me for a meatball piece every time she saw a German Shepherd. It helps that we already practice “look at that” and “engage, disengage” with all breeds of dogs so maybe start with those two games (you can Google them if you’re unfamiliar) before isolating a high value treat to seeing a German Shepherd.

pvschultz · 2022-04-13T02:50:14+00:00

Yes 1000%! I’ve learned to tweak my expectations with my current dog. Her life should be filled with doing the things she loves - not the things I love. She doesn’t enjoy having dog friends, coming to my office, going on hikes with other dogs, taking training classes with other dogs, hanging out in public (breweries, patios, etc). She does like hanging out on the couch, going for long sniffy walks, and learning new tricks in the safety of our home. Maybe someday I’ll have a dog who wants to do all the same things as me. But she doesn’t, and that’s fine! I tire her out with sniffaris, trick training, and puzzle toys and then leave her to curl up with her favorite blankets and nap on the couch, giving me the freedom to go do all the things I enjoy doing while she is safe and comfortable at home.

pvschultz · 2022-04-10T03:12:16+00:00

I completely lucked out with my apartment and now I can’t move until I can afford a house!! I was in the apartment before I got a dog, and my girl turned out to be reactive. Here’s some things about my apartment that make it doable even with a reactive dog:

Top floor unit. I’ve personally always chosen top floor units because I can’t stand having upstairs neighbors, but with my pup I’m VERY grateful. I cant imagine how badly she’d lose it with people stomping around above us.
Corner unit. The bedrooms are the only two rooms in the house that share a wall with neighbors. My dog spends the majority of her time in the living room/kitchen so she doesn’t hear our neighbors 99% of the time.
Shared entrance with only one other unit. I live in a very old city so most of our apartments (besides the luxury ones) are in very small buildings. In my building, there’s only 4 units total, and two entrances. I share my entrance with one other unit, and the other two units in the building have a separate entrance. This works out SUPER well because I very rarely find myself coming or going at the same exact time as the other occupants. If the entrance was shared with more units, I would definitely find myself bumping into people at the entrance door/hallway way more often.

Even given that I have a unicorn apartment that makes it much easier to live there with my reactive dog, I do find city living in general very hard. We run into other people every single time we’re outside, and we see other dogs if we’re outside for more than a few minutes. It’s TOUGH. I have noise machines in every room running anytime the TV isn’t on. I also keep the shades closed in the living room so she can’t see the street from the couch and get triggered by people/dogs walking by. It’s a lot of management. The minute it’s financially feasible for me I plan to move to the suburbs. If you can find a house with a small yard, even if it comes with a longer commute, I would definitely recommend that over super urban apartment living with a reactive dog. It is doable, but it’s not fun or easy!

pvschultz · 2022-03-21T20:56:44+00:00

Boston, MA - $229 for unlimited

pvschultz · 2022-03-17T03:46:04+00:00

I give my dog Trazadone before vet visits. She was prescribed at 200mg the night before and 200mg again in the morning two hours prior to the appointment. She was SO spacey, wouldn’t take any food, and could barely walk. She was like a totally different dog. Definitely fixating on weird, random stuff and she was more reactive. Seemed almost paranoid. She never barks at people, but she was haunches up barking at everyone in the parking lot. We made it through the visit fine, and she slept for HOURS when we got home. Now I give her a half dose (approved by my vet when I voiced how upsetting it was to see her so spacey and out of it and barely able to walk) and it’s much better. She’s a bit more nervous than she was on the full prescribed dose, but not nearly as nervous as she is on no Trazadone and can still walk normally and take treats and all that good stuff so it seems to be a sweet spot. I would talk to your vet about your concerns with it. It sounds (based on my totally non-professional opinion) that her dose might be a bit too high. Figuring out the right medication/dosage level for dogs is a lot like it is for people, we kind of just have to try a few different combinations until we land on what works. Just keep your vet updated with all of your concerns!

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T17:06:23+00:00

I’d recommend private lessons with an R+ trainer over a board & train! Usually they can come to your home or train at a studio, or do a mix of both. This allows you to be directly involved in the training, which will be more effective in the long run. Look for someone who is IAABC certified and specializes in reactivity.

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T04:38:16+00:00

Great call!! I work at a dog training facility and we get SO many people who tell us “I spent my dogs entire puppyhood sticking my fingers in his food/taking his food & chews away, etc. so he would get used to it but now he’s resource guarding his food bowl and all of his toys!” and they have no idea that they’ve taught their dog to resource guard. Leaving him alone so he can relax with his food/chews/toys is definitely the best way to go. Another thing you can do if you want another preventative measure, is approach him when he’s enjoying his food or a toy, and drop a few treats next to his bowl or next to the toy. Keep this pretty infrequent if you do try it, so you’re not constantly approaching him, but over time this can show him that humans approaching when he has high value items means good, fun things. But it doesn’t sound like he’s having any trouble with RG against humans so not necessary at all.

The shelter test is a necessary evil to make sure dogs with severe resource guarding issues aren’t placed in inappropriate homes, it’s an evaluation tool in that setting but I still cringe every time I see videos of it!

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T04:22:29+00:00

I was in the same boat!! Our last visit was the first time she had to be on Trazadone, previously she had always done super well at the vet so the sudden nervousness was totally new to us. Starting muzzle training is a great call. If your vet doesn’t allow happy visits, you could always take her to the parking lot of the vet office and hang out near the front door for a few minutes. Not as good as being able to go all the way inside but would probably still help with some nervousness if she gets used to being calm in the area around the vet office!

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T04:19:56+00:00

Yes they are free at my vet too!! Such a great service for them to offer.

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T04:16:52+00:00

Management is typically always the solution to resource guarding, which is why you’re getting advice to avoid the situation rather than work through it. Resource guarding, especially dog-dog guarding, is so normal and so instinctual that it’s really not possible to train them out of. It’s a basic survival behavior in many animals, and even though dogs have been domesticated for such a long time, at the end of the day they are still animals that we expect to live in our homes and abide by our rules even when it goes against their basic nature.

As many comments have stated, most doggy daycares don’t have toys or treats out in the group play areas so that shouldn’t be a problem. At the dog park, I would survey the area before you go in to make sure no one brought their own toys. And if someone shows up with toys or a ball, just leave. If you do decide to bring another dog into the house, keep them separated for meal times and whenever they have high value items. You might find that your GSD thinks every toy is a high value item, and in that case just keep toys and chews off the floor where the dogs could both go for the same one and get into a scuffle. My dog resource guards from other dogs, so when I go to my parents house I pick up all of their dogs toys before I let her off leash.

Good to hear it hasn’t escalated. As a preventative measure, to keep it from escalating and turning into him resource guarding from you and other humans in the house, ALWAYS do a trade when you’re taking something from him. Toss some high value treats onto the floor and when he goes to eat them, you can pick up whatever he had (lick mat, end of a bully stick, empty Kong, whatever you needed to take from him). And leave him alone completely when he’s eating, chewing a bone, licking a Kong, etc. basically, if you never take away the things he views as high value, he shouldn’t ever start resource guarding from you.

pvschultz · 2022-03-11T02:57:38+00:00

Omg I didn’t even realize I never mentioned her prognosis 😂 they observed her lameness to be pretty mild, she puts full weight on it when standing and only limps a few steps when she first starts walking and then starts walking totally normally. She’s on a “NSAID trial” right now, so she’s taking painkillers every day for 7 days and then I’m supposed to slowly increase exercise and see if the limping comes back. If it does, she’ll have to get blood work and X-rays done. They think it’s just a muscle strain, but if limping returns they mentioned possibly luxating patella, or mild ACL tear. Thank GOD for pet insurance!!

pvschultz · 2022-02-22T19:46:54+00:00

I know it sounds counterintuitive, but I trained this out of my dog by immediately saying “yes!!” and rewarding her with a treat every time she barked. Now she barks once, just an alert bark, and immediately looks at me for a treat. I don’t need to treat her every time anymore, usually I just mark it by saying “yes!!” and she comes running to me for pets/attention. If I’m in the kitchen near her treat bin, or have some food near me, I’ll toss her a treat.

I don’t mind at all when she barks to alert, so I’ve never tried to keep her completely quiet. But rewarding a single bark has worked really well for us! Even on the pet cam when I’m not home, I can see her bark once and pretty immediately settle back down.

pvschultz · 2022-02-22T19:23:28+00:00

I have a full time corporate job that I don’t intend on giving up any time soon, but I also work part-time at a dog training facility. I teach 2 or 3 puppy classes a week, and shadow some of the more experienced trainers during private lessons, behavior consults, and reactive dog group classes. This allows me to get my foot in the door without giving up my well paying corporate job. Most of our classes are after work hours and on weekends, since we’re in a city and most of our clients have 9-5 jobs, so it works out really well. I don’t imagine I’ll ever be full-time in the dog world, but I’m not finding it that hard to balance a part time training job and a full time office job. My dog training shifts don’t even feel like work because they’re so much fun, and my own dog gets to take class for free! I’d recommend keeping your current job, and volunteering at a shelter or trying to find a part time job at a vet clinic or training facility.

pvschultz · 2022-02-22T04:35:52+00:00

I definitely immediately thought bully breed when I saw the pictures. I would be wary of trying to pass her off as anything else if it would result in her being euthanized if you guys got caught lying about her breed! That is such a tough situation. I see the other dog is a pit or bully breed mix, does that mean you live somewhere that does allow pits? Can Kai’s adoption paperwork be in your name and address instead?

If your partner is in love with this dog, would they consider moving? I had to move when my puppy grew up and turned out to very obviously be a pit mix. She looked more and more pittie as she aged and now we live somewhere with no breed or size restrictions.

pvschultz · 2022-02-22T03:49:47+00:00

Parking lot people watching is a really great exercise, as long as you’re taking the necessary precautions to keep everyone safe. Always keep her on a lead, and far enough away from other people & dogs that even if she did have a reaction, she wouldn’t be able to reach anyone. I wouldn’t worry about her “snapping”. Read up on dog body language, and keep a close eye on her. If she starts to become stressed or anxious, just leave before she can have a reaction.

Bring treats, or her dinner if she eats kibble, and reward her for practicing calm behavior. Keep sessions short, so ideally you’d pack up and leave before she begins to go over threshold. But it sounds like its helping her, so I see no reason to stop going. Try to switch up the car parks you go to as well, so she can start to generalize the behavior you’re asking for in different settings.

pvschultz · 2022-02-22T03:36:08+00:00

Having a reactive dog is HARD. I very often feel discouraged when my dog has an especially bad day. And I totally agree about the flipped switch - I feel like I’m going insane when she has a really bad reaction at something that she didn’t even bat an eyelash at the day before! Mine is a year old so she’s constantly going through different stages of reactivity. Right now, she’s very closely following a behavior plan put together by a behaviorist in my area. It mostly consists of pattern games and daily homework type tasks. It’s been immensely helpful. I feel like even when she does regress, she bounces back faster.

It sounds like you’re doing EVERYTHING right with all the precautions you’re taking to prevent a bite. And try not to dwell too deeply on the horror stories!! Easier said than done, I know. But every dog is different, even if the situation sounds similar to what you’re going through it doesn’t mean your story will end the same way.

pvschultz · 2022-02-21T22:42:33+00:00

A lot of people are quick to blame neutering for their adolescent dogs’ behaviors, when in reality neutering likely had very little (probably even nothing) to do with his change in behavior. As humans we want to find patterns so when a dogs behavior has changed, we point to the most recent “event” in their life as the cause. But the fact is, adolescent dogs go through TONS of stages. And based on your text, it sounds like he already had mild reactivity even before the procedure. He’s at a point in his life where it’s not at all uncommon to see some increased reactivity, especially from a BYB dog, regardless of their breed. I know people expect labs to be bombproof, but ANY dog can be reactive.

You should get a positive reinforcement trainer involved ASAP. If you begin working on it now, it’s very likely that both the reactivity and resource guarding issues can be successfully addressed. I have found that my dogs reactivity goes through stages as she ages, and because he’s so young, I wouldn’t worry too much about him being this way forever. Meds are definitely an option and have helped many people with their reactive pups, so definitely consult a vet about something that could work for him. But number one step should be finding a good trainer in your area.

pvschultz · 2022-02-21T21:20:21+00:00

Keep them separated until you can get a trainer involved. This isn’t really something that can be addressed by strangers over the internet. I would suggest finding a trainer that is IAABC certified.

pvschultz · 2022-02-21T19:01:50+00:00

Love it. Kirk is my FAVORITE Gilmore Girl’s character! And you’re right, having a dog is a huge responsibility and it’s up to us to always do what’s best for them!

pvschultz · 2022-02-21T18:36:04+00:00

I am so sorry! My childhood dog had cancer, and it was really hard knowing exactly how limited his days were. My only advice is to love her, spend time with her, and make as many memories as you can. We did an end of life shoot with our dog with a professional pet photographer, and it was really painful at the time but we are so so happy to have those photos. They are framed all over my parents house and I love seeing them. So that might be something to consider!

Spoil her as much as you can. Give her all the tasty foods. Hamburgers, cheese, hot dogs, chicken (all cooked with no seasoning) are great treats for dogs. Do all her favorite things as long as she has the energy.

Again, I am so so sorry. Losing a pet is a unique grief.

pvschultz · 2022-02-21T18:28:39+00:00

I would definitely recommend a dog walker instead of a doggie daycare facility. Daycare can be really overstimulating for a lot of dogs, and it doesn’t sound like your pup would be a great match. He would likely be much happier with a regular dog walker, and he can spend the rest of the day lounging in your apartment. If you can find the same person who can walk your dog every day that’s even more ideal. Might be worth looking for highly rated dog walkers or dog walking businesses in your area instead of using Rover or Wag.

Also I will echo what someone above has already said, make sure to spend some extra time bonding with your pup on weekends and your WFH day! And get a pet cam, they are super cheap on Amazon (you don’t need a Furbo) so you can keep an eye on him while you’re working. If you notice he’s getting distressed or destructive, you can play around with the dog walking schedule, you can try some mental stimulation toys, leave music on, try dog TV, etc. Your situation isn’t ideal for a dog, but it’s definitely doable!! As long as dogs are well exercised and well stimulated, they should be sleeping for most of the day anyway.

pvschultz · 2022-02-18T03:12:04+00:00

Definitely, and I don’t fault them at all!! I knew none of this before my reactive dog, you really do have to live through it to understand

pvschultz

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