We've adopted a lovely little black lab mix. She's been with us for a month and has adjusted well. She did want to chase the cats, but we helped them adjust and peace reigns. She's supposedly 2 (I think older), she's obedient, has good leash manners, and is very sweet and calm. But. She doesn't like it when my brother visits, which he does daily and she doesn't like it when he brings his dog, which occurs once a week. She barks a lot upon their arrival and runs after the dog (male, much larger lab mix) and snarls and air-bites at him. We try to keep them seperated, pet them both, treats for both, etc. She barks at my brother as he comes into the house and "escorts" him to a chair. She snapped at his leg once when he started to walk into another room. Tonight, she was sitting on my lap and he went to pet her goodbye and was very quiet and non-threatening. (I will say that he is a very big guy.) She allowed the petting but when he withrew his hand, she bit at it. I said "bad dog" She barks and tries to get in between when he hugs my daughter goodbye, so I gave her the treat tonight to distract her and there was no barking.
This is a big problem. We love Joy and need this to stop this immediately. Please help.
Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Moderators: emmabeth, BoardHost
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Hi and welcome
I have a few things I would like to ask
1/ are either dogs neutered or spayed
2/ dose she snap at any other human other than your brother
3/ are there any male humans living with you, young or old.
best wishes FROZEN
I have a few things I would like to ask
1/ are either dogs neutered or spayed
2/ dose she snap at any other human other than your brother
3/ are there any male humans living with you, young or old.
best wishes FROZEN
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Hi there and thank you.
Yes, Joy is spayed and Beast is neutered. He is extremely mild mannered. He seems to ignore her and think she's just a jerk. lol
The only human she's snapped at thus far is my brother. She does bark and growl quite ferociously when anyone knocks at the door. Yesterday, we were out walking and met a male friend. Joy was very scared of him, tail tucked and keeping all the distance she could between them.
My husband and my dad both live here. Joy didn't seem to love my husband at first but never showed aggression. They are fine now and she's never shown any issues toward my dad. Another brother visited and she was fearful of him, but she'd been with us less than 24 hours at that time.
Many thanks,
Bunny
PS Brother will visit again tomorrow. I'm placing treats on the porch for him to give to her when he comes in. Does that sound like a place to start?
Yes, Joy is spayed and Beast is neutered. He is extremely mild mannered. He seems to ignore her and think she's just a jerk. lol
The only human she's snapped at thus far is my brother. She does bark and growl quite ferociously when anyone knocks at the door. Yesterday, we were out walking and met a male friend. Joy was very scared of him, tail tucked and keeping all the distance she could between them.
My husband and my dad both live here. Joy didn't seem to love my husband at first but never showed aggression. They are fine now and she's never shown any issues toward my dad. Another brother visited and she was fearful of him, but she'd been with us less than 24 hours at that time.
Many thanks,
Bunny
PS Brother will visit again tomorrow. I'm placing treats on the porch for him to give to her when he comes in. Does that sound like a place to start?
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lucyandbella
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2012 7:19 pm
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
If your dog is fearful of men the last thing you want to do is force interaction between men and your dog. When you say she allowed him to pet her she probably was giving lots of warnings for him to leave her alone with body language which he ignored and pet her anyways, which is what led to her snapping which is also a warning to get away if a dog wants to bite they will. Missing dog body language is something a lot of us do until we learn more about how dogs communicate with us. She was probably not allowing it and probably trying to convey she didnt want to be petted. The danger with saying no or yelling at warnings, be it a growl or whatever else, your dog will soon move to just biting because warnings don't to work to get people to back off and she gets punished after. You want a dog that warns you she is uncomfortable. What you ideally want to do is recognize the moment she is becoming anxious and prevent her from becoming more anxious by getting her more space and conditioning her to scary things slowly by pairing scary thing with yummy treats or something good happening.
Some body language that means I'm uncomfortable and I want to be left alone include lip licking, yawning, head turns, whale eyes (whites of eyes showing), among others. If you see this let the dog have space and don't force interaction. You can counter condition fear, but being pet, fed treats from the hand, or even being looked at or talked to by a person a fearful dog fears can be damaging to building trust with that person. I would have your brother ignore her completely for now and throw treats for her away from himself everytime he needs to move around the house (so she won't bite him walking). You can have him throw treats but there is no need for her to eat from his hand (at this point) as this is really just bribing her to come near big scary man and not really like the man which could lead to her biting or snapping as soon as a treat is gone.
There are ways in which you can slowly counter condition dogs fears but and I expect others will be along with some ideas but for now I would not allow any petting or even trying to get near or talk to the dog. If you have to put her away or leash her to prevent her from going after him I would also do that. I wouldn't want her practicing that kind of behavior, however punishing fear doesn't solve any problems just makes it worse so don't yell or scold her for doing so. In fact what I do for my fearful aggressive dog is that when people are over I put her in a room with lots of food stuffed kong toys if I can't have her on leash and be monitoring her. When I have time to work with her I practice being near people with her on leash (as near as she can see and hear them without becoming overly anxious and not at all aggressive about it) and I pair her looking at people with a treat, a loud laugh with a treat, people walking (a trigger for her fear aggression) with lots of treats. So she can learn that people equal good things coming her way. However she is always on leash because she can aggress towards people and not only do I no want her practicing that behavior ever but I also don't want people to have to fear my dog or if my dog bites someone for that to be on her.
Here is a video with some pictures of stress signals dogs give: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bstvG_SUzMo
And this site might be helpful for you:http://fearfuldogs.com/
Some body language that means I'm uncomfortable and I want to be left alone include lip licking, yawning, head turns, whale eyes (whites of eyes showing), among others. If you see this let the dog have space and don't force interaction. You can counter condition fear, but being pet, fed treats from the hand, or even being looked at or talked to by a person a fearful dog fears can be damaging to building trust with that person. I would have your brother ignore her completely for now and throw treats for her away from himself everytime he needs to move around the house (so she won't bite him walking). You can have him throw treats but there is no need for her to eat from his hand (at this point) as this is really just bribing her to come near big scary man and not really like the man which could lead to her biting or snapping as soon as a treat is gone.
There are ways in which you can slowly counter condition dogs fears but and I expect others will be along with some ideas but for now I would not allow any petting or even trying to get near or talk to the dog. If you have to put her away or leash her to prevent her from going after him I would also do that. I wouldn't want her practicing that kind of behavior, however punishing fear doesn't solve any problems just makes it worse so don't yell or scold her for doing so. In fact what I do for my fearful aggressive dog is that when people are over I put her in a room with lots of food stuffed kong toys if I can't have her on leash and be monitoring her. When I have time to work with her I practice being near people with her on leash (as near as she can see and hear them without becoming overly anxious and not at all aggressive about it) and I pair her looking at people with a treat, a loud laugh with a treat, people walking (a trigger for her fear aggression) with lots of treats. So she can learn that people equal good things coming her way. However she is always on leash because she can aggress towards people and not only do I no want her practicing that behavior ever but I also don't want people to have to fear my dog or if my dog bites someone for that to be on her.
Here is a video with some pictures of stress signals dogs give: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bstvG_SUzMo
And this site might be helpful for you:http://fearfuldogs.com/
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Thank you so much for your help. I have a few quick questions: If she approaches him, should he ignore her, pet her, speak to her or just toss her some treats? What should I do when she barks when he hugs my daughter? Just leash her and let her bark?
When my brother's dog is here, shoudl I muzzle her in some way or just the leash? (He is very gentle. Last week he laid beside me and rolled his belly up for his lovin's even while Joy paced right next to us.) I think this is my fault because at the first meeting, my daughter had Joy outside, so she came in and found them in the house and I think it scared her.
When my brother's dog is here, shoudl I muzzle her in some way or just the leash? (He is very gentle. Last week he laid beside me and rolled his belly up for his lovin's even while Joy paced right next to us.) I think this is my fault because at the first meeting, my daughter had Joy outside, so she came in and found them in the house and I think it scared her.
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lucyandbella
- Posts: 304
- Joined: Wed May 30, 2012 7:19 pm
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
If she approaches him and he is sitting or standing and just having normal conversations then yes I would tell him to completely ignore her as if she is not there even if she is sniffing at his legs and standing real close. That is the point I find many people want to at least speak to my fearful dog which puts her back at square one for trusting them. She learns to love the people most who ignored her at first and didnt push interaction which is especially hard for dog loving friends and family of mine who wanted to win her over, so I'd really impress upon him to act normal as in don't tense,just keep on acting normal but act as if she isn't there. But ignoring at first and letting her get used to his presence and even investigate without fear of being touched or looked at/talked to is important. If she does investigate after a few seconds of allowing sniffing YOU could reward her by handing her a small piece of treat while he continues to act as if this is not happening and she isn't there. You should even treat her for moving away from him because its important for her to learn to move away not towards people who scare her. Later when she is more comfortable there are treat tossing "games" he could use to help her but right now it needs to be low pressure,just getting used to his presence without interaction for awhile and then you build from there.
Now whenever he moves since you mentioned she goes after him when he does this. I'd instruct him to toss a handful of treats the opposite direction he is moving in. Now with other dogs there that might be tricky because you don't want to start a fight over a treat free for all so maybe when his dog is there it wouldn't be the best time for this type of training. So maybe instead that is the time she should be on leash and continuously hand fed small piece sof treats by you. Make treats small, like if you used hot dogs or cheese pinky fingernail size is perfect.
As for when he hugs your daughter I would have her leashed. I would also let her bark if she starts barking in that I wouldn't reprimand her, this event is making her anxious and scolding her adds to the anxiousness and her idea that hugging is a negative thing to see. If she starts barking try to get her attention by saying her name and walking away luring herewith some food. Ideally maybe you could keep her from barking by feeding her treats from a distance as he is going to hug your daughter until he is walking away and leaving, or by distracting her completely by asking for cues she may know like sit or down and rewarding her if she knows any of those yet, distraction is a tool to use sometimes and running through cues and tricks can help. If you want to see your guests out you can also think about putting her in a different room. I think for anxious dogs sometimes a crate or a baby gate to a isolated quiet room can be nice for them to have a moment alone to or for you to deal without guests without getting too stressed yourself. If you could give her a Kong type toy filled with food or some other interactive toy or chew to give her in a room by herself its another option.
But often with fear aggression we may end up feeding treats to a dog who is growling or barking and this isn't rewarding the bark or the growl, it doesn't reward that. Its changing the attitude of the dog and what the dog is anxious about. However, ideally its best to work just under the threshold of when the dog barks or growls, that point where they see a stressor, are anxious but not ready to react. By treating them a lot there you lower their threshold of reaction, slowly desensitizing them to the thing which causes fear.
As for the other dog that is a tough one because sometimes being leashed can make a dog more aggressive towards other dogs because they feel trapped. Ideally I'd try to keep them seperate for now as much as possible, if she is leashed for training around your brother, then don't let the other dog approach her. Hopefully someone has ideas on making that relationship better between the dogs. You can also treat her for looking at the other dog from a distance, etc, but that might bring the other dog closer which is not what you want at all at this point. I also wouldn't muzzle her if she isn't used to a muzzle. On the other hand muzzling may be something you want her to get accustomed to if she fears men just in case she has to go to a male vet who she mistrusts.
Now whenever he moves since you mentioned she goes after him when he does this. I'd instruct him to toss a handful of treats the opposite direction he is moving in. Now with other dogs there that might be tricky because you don't want to start a fight over a treat free for all so maybe when his dog is there it wouldn't be the best time for this type of training. So maybe instead that is the time she should be on leash and continuously hand fed small piece sof treats by you. Make treats small, like if you used hot dogs or cheese pinky fingernail size is perfect.
As for when he hugs your daughter I would have her leashed. I would also let her bark if she starts barking in that I wouldn't reprimand her, this event is making her anxious and scolding her adds to the anxiousness and her idea that hugging is a negative thing to see. If she starts barking try to get her attention by saying her name and walking away luring herewith some food. Ideally maybe you could keep her from barking by feeding her treats from a distance as he is going to hug your daughter until he is walking away and leaving, or by distracting her completely by asking for cues she may know like sit or down and rewarding her if she knows any of those yet, distraction is a tool to use sometimes and running through cues and tricks can help. If you want to see your guests out you can also think about putting her in a different room. I think for anxious dogs sometimes a crate or a baby gate to a isolated quiet room can be nice for them to have a moment alone to or for you to deal without guests without getting too stressed yourself. If you could give her a Kong type toy filled with food or some other interactive toy or chew to give her in a room by herself its another option.
But often with fear aggression we may end up feeding treats to a dog who is growling or barking and this isn't rewarding the bark or the growl, it doesn't reward that. Its changing the attitude of the dog and what the dog is anxious about. However, ideally its best to work just under the threshold of when the dog barks or growls, that point where they see a stressor, are anxious but not ready to react. By treating them a lot there you lower their threshold of reaction, slowly desensitizing them to the thing which causes fear.
As for the other dog that is a tough one because sometimes being leashed can make a dog more aggressive towards other dogs because they feel trapped. Ideally I'd try to keep them seperate for now as much as possible, if she is leashed for training around your brother, then don't let the other dog approach her. Hopefully someone has ideas on making that relationship better between the dogs. You can also treat her for looking at the other dog from a distance, etc, but that might bring the other dog closer which is not what you want at all at this point. I also wouldn't muzzle her if she isn't used to a muzzle. On the other hand muzzling may be something you want her to get accustomed to if she fears men just in case she has to go to a male vet who she mistrusts.
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mansbestfriend
- Posts: 301
- Joined: Mon May 20, 2013 7:35 am
- Location: Queensland, Australia
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Hi. Sorry if this has already been covered. I'd suggest: Your dog is fearful and trying to communicate that when it's growling/snapping/lunging. It's also trying to communicate fear when it cowers, head low, tail between legs, trying to escape/back away/run away, etc. The brother's dog is most probably also fearful. If it snapped back at your dog, it would be right to do so IMO, but instead deals with it admirably by simply turning away to avoid a confrontation. Having said that, your dog is not wrong to be fearful of your brother's dog. So, I'd say that's a lose/lose situation.
Maybe ask your brother to not bring his dog around until the dogs have been properly introduced and are tolerant of each other, preferably slowly/gradually in a neutral environment like an EMPTY off-leash dog park. If it's a fenced park, I'd suggest off-leash at first if both dogs are comfortable, then on-leash at opposite ends of the park. Slowly walk your dogs in an open S or zig-zag fashion while gradually shortening the distance between dogs but never face head on to the other dog. You may notice a fairly specific 'point' when/where your dog becomes very interested in the other dog (that's a signal from the dog that IF you kept getting closer, other threasholds will be crossed, finally resulting in barking, snapping, lunging, and possible chaos). That most distant threashold (where your dog starts to get interested in the other dog, but not anxious) is a good distance to praise and/or treat your dog and turn and walk away a few steps. Repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away), repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away), repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away) over and over until the threashold gets gradually closer and closer. If your dog ever gets anxious/fearful/'aggressive', or bored, stop training and have a play. Try again later or tomorrow .
You've seen both sides of your dog's fight/flight response to fear ('attack' the threat/danger, or alternatively run away from danger) so expect that either or both may occur while training, but hopefully neither. Alternatively you could just keep your dog happily occupied with a Kong/long-lasting treat/chew/chew toys/activities/games in a different room or area when your brother (and dog) visits. Cheers.
Maybe ask your brother to not bring his dog around until the dogs have been properly introduced and are tolerant of each other, preferably slowly/gradually in a neutral environment like an EMPTY off-leash dog park. If it's a fenced park, I'd suggest off-leash at first if both dogs are comfortable, then on-leash at opposite ends of the park. Slowly walk your dogs in an open S or zig-zag fashion while gradually shortening the distance between dogs but never face head on to the other dog. You may notice a fairly specific 'point' when/where your dog becomes very interested in the other dog (that's a signal from the dog that IF you kept getting closer, other threasholds will be crossed, finally resulting in barking, snapping, lunging, and possible chaos). That most distant threashold (where your dog starts to get interested in the other dog, but not anxious) is a good distance to praise and/or treat your dog and turn and walk away a few steps. Repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away), repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away), repeat (while not facing the other dog, approach threashold, treat and walk away) over and over until the threashold gets gradually closer and closer. If your dog ever gets anxious/fearful/'aggressive', or bored, stop training and have a play. Try again later or tomorrow .
You've seen both sides of your dog's fight/flight response to fear ('attack' the threat/danger, or alternatively run away from danger) so expect that either or both may occur while training, but hopefully neither. Alternatively you could just keep your dog happily occupied with a Kong/long-lasting treat/chew/chew toys/activities/games in a different room or area when your brother (and dog) visits. Cheers.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single Sit.
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Definitely have him completely ignore your dog, 100% like she doesn't exist. He shouldn't feed treats, no eye contact, no offering a hand, no talking to her, nothing. If she comes up to him he should continue to ignore her otherwise things could get dangerous for your brother and it will break whatever trust your dog was starting to gain in him. If your brother starts to get up or goes to hug your daughter or does anything else you think/know might frighten your dog you should start feeding treats or scatter some on the floor to help make it less scary for her.
For the other dog I would not have him come over for now. So long as neither dog is super hard to control on leash or reactive towards other dogs on leash I'd have them go for walks together, parallel walks, maybe on opposite sides of the street. Over time they can get closer so long as your dog doesn't appear nervous. When you get close enough that they could come in contact with each other I'd have your brother's dog walking ahead so Joy can smell him/be close to him without being near his face (the confrontational end). Any signs of trouble, even very subtle things, and you should increase the distance between them. But he should not be coming in the house for now.
For the other dog I would not have him come over for now. So long as neither dog is super hard to control on leash or reactive towards other dogs on leash I'd have them go for walks together, parallel walks, maybe on opposite sides of the street. Over time they can get closer so long as your dog doesn't appear nervous. When you get close enough that they could come in contact with each other I'd have your brother's dog walking ahead so Joy can smell him/be close to him without being near his face (the confrontational end). Any signs of trouble, even very subtle things, and you should increase the distance between them. But he should not be coming in the house for now.
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
I wanted to give a little update, but first, thank you SO much for all the help I've been given. My brother has visted twice now, both times completely ignoring Joy. I called her to me and fed her some treats as he came in and while he hugged my daughter goodbye. She barked 2-3 times altogether and was easily distracted by the treats. She ate the treats and didn't even turn to see him leaving tonight. She does still bark loudly when someone opens the door after night (brother's visits are in the evening) but she calms quickly. Tonight, she approached him for pets and stood with her muzzle almost in his lap and her tail wagging in it's happy wag but brother stilll dind't touch her or look at her face. She then laid down next to his feet and was perfectly calm. I think we're making progress and am pretty happy. Maybe next week he can offer her a treat?
Maybe next week he can offer her a treat?Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Great progress and well done to him for being able to do as you have asked, so many p eople find this REALLY hard so be sure to give him some positive reinforcement for that
The next step for him would be tossing food to her and past her, before he ever thinks of giving food from his hands, this way hes reinforcing the idea that moving away from him is safe and rewarding whilst gradually increasing her desire to be near him, without the risk of her getting too close and feeling out of her depth.
I would wait until you have had a few more good sessions with him ignoring her first though before you try this.
The next step for him would be tossing food to her and past her, before he ever thinks of giving food from his hands, this way hes reinforcing the idea that moving away from him is safe and rewarding whilst gradually increasing her desire to be near him, without the risk of her getting too close and feeling out of her depth.
I would wait until you have had a few more good sessions with him ignoring her first though before you try this.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Thank you. I'm sad to say that everything went awry this week. We'll start with today: my neighbor, whom Joy knows now and no longer barks at so long as she doesn't knock, came into my house while I was in another room. Joy barked and growled at her and kept her from leaving the entryway until I arrived and Joy relaxed slightly. We went outside and Joy was on the tie out while I measured (for a coat) the neighbor's 12 year old, spayed, very gentle lab named Annika. This went okay and Joy was fine. The dog who lives across the street came out and Joy saw her and ran to end of the tie out, barking and slightly wagging a stiff, very high tail. She certainly would have run across had she not been tied. *sigh* A bit later, Annika went into our garage (happens to be where Joy's food is) while I, my neighbor and Joy stood on the driveway. Joy could not follow because of the tie out but she did not seem upset. When Annika came out of the garage and into range, Joy rushed her and snapped at her face. I grabbed her leash and rushed her inside then went back out.
Okay, now we go back to this Thursday. My neice and her baby came on a surprise visit. I saw the car and was unsure of Joy with a tiny toddler, so I tied her outside where she could see and hear us. She barked her brains out but did calm to a point where I might have brought her in... and then my brother and his dog (Beast) popped in unexpectedly. I took Joy to the driveway so she could see Beast before he went into the house but that was so stupid because she snapped at him twice immediately. I took her back to her tie out and my brother and his dog came inside. After some time, Joy relaxed and we felt she could perhaps come in on the leash. What a monumentally stupid idea. She barked, growled and acted badly so that I took her back outside where I had to sit silently beside her for 20 minutes (no talking, touching, eye contact) before she finally relaxed. (The baby was holding a ball just like Joy's and perhaps that upset her too?) At some point, I had to leave for an important appointment, so I quickly escorted Joy to a closed room and left her there until I returned. When I returned, my brother and his dog had gone, so I let Joy, on leash, into the house with my neice and baby and Joy seemed comfortable with no posturing. They left soon after.
I was told that this dog, "loves everyone she meets and loves every other dog". I am obviously heartsick and desperate. We live in a very small, rural town with no behaviorists anywhere nearby. You are my lifeline. Please tell me if we have hope and what on earth to do.
This is hugely complicated by the fact that my brother's dog has come here once or twice a week for his whole life and my parents (whom I'm caregiver too) and my daughter are deeply attached to his time with us.
Okay, now we go back to this Thursday. My neice and her baby came on a surprise visit. I saw the car and was unsure of Joy with a tiny toddler, so I tied her outside where she could see and hear us. She barked her brains out but did calm to a point where I might have brought her in... and then my brother and his dog (Beast) popped in unexpectedly. I took Joy to the driveway so she could see Beast before he went into the house but that was so stupid because she snapped at him twice immediately. I took her back to her tie out and my brother and his dog came inside. After some time, Joy relaxed and we felt she could perhaps come in on the leash. What a monumentally stupid idea. She barked, growled and acted badly so that I took her back outside where I had to sit silently beside her for 20 minutes (no talking, touching, eye contact) before she finally relaxed. (The baby was holding a ball just like Joy's and perhaps that upset her too?) At some point, I had to leave for an important appointment, so I quickly escorted Joy to a closed room and left her there until I returned. When I returned, my brother and his dog had gone, so I let Joy, on leash, into the house with my neice and baby and Joy seemed comfortable with no posturing. They left soon after.
I was told that this dog, "loves everyone she meets and loves every other dog". I am obviously heartsick and desperate. We live in a very small, rural town with no behaviorists anywhere nearby. You are my lifeline. Please tell me if we have hope and what on earth to do.
This is hugely complicated by the fact that my brother's dog has come here once or twice a week for his whole life and my parents (whom I'm caregiver too) and my daughter are deeply attached to his time with us.
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
first....this is normal. normal to make mistakes, normal to over estimate progress and so on.
First, take a deep breath. Next, it does sound a bit like you are expecting too much to fast from Joy. I would strongly suggest that you break things down a bit. work in smaller steps towards your goal. also, remember, for post was on Oct 3, you said you had Joy for 1 months. that is NOTHING in terms of time for a dog with no fear issues to settle into their new home. for dogs with fear issues, low confidence etc. it can take longer.
I will try and take some time to read this whole thread carefully to make sure I don't repeat already given advice, but set backs happen, life happens, and we sometimes over estimate the progress we are making. so don't panic. take a break, both you and joy. have a couple quite days, and then get back to it. progress isn't always one perfect direction to our goals, sometimes there are are setbacks.
make sure Joy feels safe
don't ask her to deal with more than she can at this time
priority in her being comfortable with people is first and foremost the people she lives with, then family that visits and so on. strangers she may never met again, not even on the list at this time. all that she has to do with strangers right now is not react in terms of a goal see them, go about her business.
lots, and lots of patience. success with a fearful/anxious/low confident dogs is view in terms of marathon, not sprint.
First, take a deep breath. Next, it does sound a bit like you are expecting too much to fast from Joy. I would strongly suggest that you break things down a bit. work in smaller steps towards your goal. also, remember, for post was on Oct 3, you said you had Joy for 1 months. that is NOTHING in terms of time for a dog with no fear issues to settle into their new home. for dogs with fear issues, low confidence etc. it can take longer.
I will try and take some time to read this whole thread carefully to make sure I don't repeat already given advice, but set backs happen, life happens, and we sometimes over estimate the progress we are making. so don't panic. take a break, both you and joy. have a couple quite days, and then get back to it. progress isn't always one perfect direction to our goals, sometimes there are are setbacks.
make sure Joy feels safe
don't ask her to deal with more than she can at this time
priority in her being comfortable with people is first and foremost the people she lives with, then family that visits and so on. strangers she may never met again, not even on the list at this time. all that she has to do with strangers right now is not react in terms of a goal see them, go about her business.
lots, and lots of patience. success with a fearful/anxious/low confident dogs is view in terms of marathon, not sprint.
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
Thank you very much. I feel some better and am immensely thankful for all the help I can get. I'm over my head but trying to help this dog that my daughter is in love with (and is otherwise a little gem).
My brother came for his normal visit tonight. I had him totally ignore her, which he did, and Joy barked many, many times with hackles raised from nack to tail. I didn't restrain her, but tried very hard to redirect her with treats and sit-shake. She would bark bark, get a treat, bark bark, repeat. After 10 minutes or so, she finally laid down facing him and seemed reasonably calm. When he stood to go, I held her collar and did treats and sit-shake. She barked 2-3 when he hugged my little one but was able to focus back on me fairly quickly. Did I handle this whole thing right?
My brother came for his normal visit tonight. I had him totally ignore her, which he did, and Joy barked many, many times with hackles raised from nack to tail. I didn't restrain her, but tried very hard to redirect her with treats and sit-shake. She would bark bark, get a treat, bark bark, repeat. After 10 minutes or so, she finally laid down facing him and seemed reasonably calm. When he stood to go, I held her collar and did treats and sit-shake. She barked 2-3 when he hugged my little one but was able to focus back on me fairly quickly. Did I handle this whole thing right?
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
It doesn't feel like it right now but actually you are doing well.
There are mistakes, sure, but take those mistakes and learn from them.
Here are some things you could do (and can do in future).
1/ Ask family and neighbours if for now, they could call before they pop over.
2/ If either you do not feel like training right now, or you think its too much, or you think Joy is probably already wound up, don't have her meet people at all. Just because someone came over, does not mean she has to meet them.
Set up a room where she can have food stuffed Kongs and other great toys that she likes, make sure you have food stuffed Kongs ready prepared and in the fridge or freezer if she is a Kong genius (dont make them too hard if she isn't!). Put a sign on the door and a bolt high up out of kids reach too, so you KNOW no one is going in that room without you to supervise.
3/ I would get some music on cd (or if you can afford it, the iCalm dog, I can't its around £50 and possibly more in $) and build an association with that sound and pleasant things, so play it whilst you are feeding her, whilst shes chewing on a toy or relaxing with you, and once she associates that with feeling calm and relaxed you can play it whilst shes shut away and it will help her to settle down.
For what its worth you now know that having all those things happen on the same day, was too much, don't feel pressured into having to have her deal with everything all at once, it is not necessary. Stick to the most important things to start wtih, so thats probably the neighbour coming over and your brother coming over, and work on the rest when you and she are ready for it.
There are mistakes, sure, but take those mistakes and learn from them.
Here are some things you could do (and can do in future).
1/ Ask family and neighbours if for now, they could call before they pop over.
2/ If either you do not feel like training right now, or you think its too much, or you think Joy is probably already wound up, don't have her meet people at all. Just because someone came over, does not mean she has to meet them.
Set up a room where she can have food stuffed Kongs and other great toys that she likes, make sure you have food stuffed Kongs ready prepared and in the fridge or freezer if she is a Kong genius (dont make them too hard if she isn't!). Put a sign on the door and a bolt high up out of kids reach too, so you KNOW no one is going in that room without you to supervise.
3/ I would get some music on cd (or if you can afford it, the iCalm dog, I can't its around £50 and possibly more in $) and build an association with that sound and pleasant things, so play it whilst you are feeding her, whilst shes chewing on a toy or relaxing with you, and once she associates that with feeling calm and relaxed you can play it whilst shes shut away and it will help her to settle down.
For what its worth you now know that having all those things happen on the same day, was too much, don't feel pressured into having to have her deal with everything all at once, it is not necessary. Stick to the most important things to start wtih, so thats probably the neighbour coming over and your brother coming over, and work on the rest when you and she are ready for it.
West Midlands based 1-2-1 Training & Behaviour Canine Consultant
Re: Newly adopted dog is snapping at family
I've just had a realization that maybe might mean something and I want to run it past all of you. Joy's food container is our garage and her bowls are in the kitchen, just beyond the entryway from the garage. I have reason to believe that she has resource guarding issues because her first day in our house, she growled and snapped at the neighbor dog for walking past her water bowl. Okay, so, when she snapped at my brother the first time, he was within a couple feet of her bowls. The second time, he was within a couple feet of the food container. When she barked like crazy when everyone was here, the baby was holding a ball identical to Joy's. Today, she enjoyed my neighbor's company for quite a long time in our home, going to her for lovin's, getting petted and made over... and then the neighbor went out to the landing and closed the door so Joy was on one side, neighbor and food container on the other, and Joy growled! When Joy snapped at the neighbor dog, it was only *after* the neighbor dog had gone into the garage without Joy.
My brother visited tonight and I had him use a different door and she barked less and didn't growl or snap. He tossed a few treats several feet from himself and she went to get them quite comfortably, even leaving the room for a minute to see what my dad was doing elsewhere. He then tried to feed her a treat and she took is very gently and wagged her tail in her happy wag. She laid at his feet, near me, and showed me her tummy for a rub.
Could this all be connected to the food container?? I've taken it from the garage and moved her bowls to a place a little more out of the way, but I'm sure she doesn't yet know that. Am I being silly? Thanks all, with all my heart
My brother visited tonight and I had him use a different door and she barked less and didn't growl or snap. He tossed a few treats several feet from himself and she went to get them quite comfortably, even leaving the room for a minute to see what my dad was doing elsewhere. He then tried to feed her a treat and she took is very gently and wagged her tail in her happy wag. She laid at his feet, near me, and showed me her tummy for a rub.
Could this all be connected to the food container?? I've taken it from the garage and moved her bowls to a place a little more out of the way, but I'm sure she doesn't yet know that. Am I being silly? Thanks all, with all my heart
