Doesn't like strangers to pet him.

maxiepie · 02-05-2008, 07:06 PM

Hi,
I have been reading the forum for several weeks and have learned a lot. I am hoping someone will be able to help me with my problem. I have a 10 month old rescue dog (we think he is golden retriever/husky). His name is Max. We have had him since he was 9 weeks. Yesterday, he was at Petsmart for training. One of the other ladies in the class was petting him and he was fine with it at first then he put his teeth on her. He did the same thing to the cashier. He was happy to see her at first, put his paws up on the counter, she gave him a treat and was petting him then all of a sudden he growled and showed his teeth. My husband described what happened because I wasn't there.

He had displayed this behavior several months ago, but I thought he was doing better. He has been letting people pet him and has seemed happy to greet strangers. At that time I thought maybe I was causing him to do it with my nervous energy-after the first time I would always tense up when a stranger was around. This time my husband was with him and he is better about not being nervous.

My husband thought maybe Max was trying to play with them. He does growl a lot during play and sometimes mouths us but not in an aggressive manner. He is a really good dog at home with us and our kids and I want to be able to take him places and not have to worry. Does anyone have any ideas what could be causing him to do this and what we can do about it?

Thanks so much!

TooneyDogs · 02-05-2008, 08:00 PM

How/where were they petting him? On the head, chest, shoulders, rump? Did he do the mouthing while petting in a specific spot?

echo8287 · 02-06-2008, 02:07 AM

He needs to be around other people more than he has been so far. From all the books I've read on dogs you are supposed to take them around as many people and other dogs as possible while they are puppies to condition them in new meeting situations. Whenever a friend comes over or any relatives have them give him a treat and pet him(not on top of the head). This is kind of unrelated to your problem, but I had a Dalmatian that would show her teeth to most people when she first met them. Her tail would be wagging,no growling, but she would show her teeth. The UPS man one day says " Your dog always shows her teeth to me when I give her a treat, but I know she doesn't growl or bite". I told him, her mama did the same thing. It was kind of an ugly smile genetic type thing. David

luvmydoggies · 02-06-2008, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by echo8287

He needs to be around other people more than he has been so far. From all the books I've read on dogs you are supposed to take them around as many people and other dogs as possible while they are puppies to condition them in new meeting situations. Whenever a friend comes over or any relatives have them give him a treat and pet him(not on top of the head). This is kind of unrelated to your problem, but I had a Dalmatian that would show her teeth to most people when she first met them. Her tail would be wagging,no growling, but she would show her teeth. The UPS man one day says " Your dog always shows her teeth to me when I give her a treat, but I know she doesn't growl or bite". I told him, her mama did the same thing. It was kind of an ugly smile genetic type thing. David

You dog was displaying the typical dal "smile!" I miss seeing Logan do that....wasn't it cute though???

maxiepie · 02-06-2008, 08:14 AM

Every time, it has been someone reaching for or petting his head. I should add that he is happy-actually too happy-when people come to our house. This has only happened when we've been out with him.

I have heard that puppes should be socialized when they are young so they can get used to being around people. We did take him to our kids games last
summer when he was 3-5 months old. When the season ended, he wasn't getting around people too often and that's when the behavior started. We took him again in the fall but I was nervous to let people touch him and he seemed nervous too (maybe caused by me?). We did have some success there though. He did allow some petting with treats.

Also, in the fall we started at Petsmart. Unfortunately, there was only one other person in our beginner class. And she is one of the people he snapped at. Right now he is intermediate class and there are around 7-8 people there. He is always happy to see the people there, and he has allowed some petting, but most people in class haven't tried. A few other shoppers have petted him while I gave treats.

We walk him pretty much everyday, but we don't run into too many people out especially now that it's winter. When it gets nice out we will take him to the park and our kids games, but until then Petsmart is about our only option. Is it still possible to socialize him at this age? Does anyone have suggestions where else I could take him?

Shalva · 02-06-2008, 11:15 AM

sounds like a smile to me too...... my girl meghan smiles as do most of the pups in her litter except of course shalva ....

and it is never to late to socialize......
s

Annamarie · 02-06-2008, 02:18 PM

I think the safest thing would be to just not let people pet him. Even if you think you've fixed the behavior there's no telling what might set him off in the future and some people might take his mouthing as a bite and file a complaint.

I have a dog that doesn't like to be touched by strangers and no amount of socialization, treats, training, etc has been able to fix it. In fact some of the "advice" we got from some trainers just did more to traumatize him. The best solution is just to ignore him. He'll only allow them to touch him on his own terms after being around them for a few hours. Therefore I just tell everyone to leave him alone.

MegaMuttMom · 02-06-2008, 02:57 PM

I agree with Annamarie. My dog does not enjoy being pet, even by us, though he puts up with it he yawns to signal his stress. He can be timid with strangers and jumps back when people he doesn't know try to pet him except with some random people, he will bark out of fear. He is affectionate in a lot of ways but he is just suspicious of being pet. I don't really see why you would be tempted to push him past his comfort zone with strangers. I just tell people that my dog is scared and it's best to ignore him and let him approach and then a careful pet, under the chin or on the chest is the best. By the second meeting, he is all friendly and happy. NO head pats, he always backs off on those.