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I adopted Dilly-Dally, a 1 year-old (or so) mutt, at the beginning of March. Thus far, she's been the perfect dog for me - well behaved, even-tempered, affectionate, and obedient. However, a number of recent incidents have made me wonder about her past, and what I can do to help her.
Every now and then, a person will 'set her off'; she takes up a defensive stance, and starts barking aggressively. She doesn't bite or attack, but she's clearly trying to drive the person away, and will try to follow them as they leave. I generally resolve it by positioning myself between the two of them, and body-blocking until she calms down. I'm worried because, even though she's not attacking, it seems like only a matter of time before she does. It seems to be a fearful reaction rather than aggressive, but fear often immediately precedes aggression, and I'm not sure what to do.
It's always towards men, but I can't figure anything out after that. The particular incidents were as follows:
1. Homeless man in the park who kept staring at us. Honestly, I felt like this was a good reaction, which is why I didn't think much of it at the time.
2. Security guard from the next building over, taking a smoke break about 50 feet away. Large (6+ feet, 200+ pounds) man of indistinguishable race, wearing a heavy, puffy coat and scarf due to the cold weather. Again, given the circumstance (alone in the dog run, with a big guy standing in a dark alleyway nearby, looking at us), this seemed like a normal reaction at the time.
3. A close friend - 6+ feet tall, caucasian. Very little experience with dogs; I assumed it was just bad body language. I had him crouch down and turn away, after which she attempted to murder the poor guy by drowning him in saliva.
4. Random man standing outside the dog park, watching the dogs play. 6+ feet tall, lanky, caucasian, once again watching intently.
5. Upstairs neighbor; I'd just called regarding water leaking through the ceiling, and he came down to discuss it. 5'6" asian guy, like myself; he was very obviously nervous and tentative before the dog. I assumed that is what set her off.
6. Random man in neighborhood pet store. He had his arm in a sling and was moving oddly due to injury; I assumed the unusual posture & behavior scared her. Caucasian, approximately 5'9" tall, over 50 years of age.
7. Random man in dog run. Over 50 years of age, caucasian, about 5'10" tall, average build. This one puzzled me, because as far as I could tell, he did absolutely nothing aggressive.
Each man is obviously giving off some sort of warning through their body language, but because I never notice them until after she starts barking, I can't tell for certain what it is. Incident #1 happend in mid-march, #2 a few weeks later, and #s 3-7 in the past two weeks. Something seems to be accelerating things; is it just because she's now bonded to me, and is acting to protect me?
I am completely at a loss as to what I should be doing next. 99% of the time, she's confident, happy, friendly, and energetic. Sometimes, though something happens that clicks in her head, and I have no idea what, or why.
Every now and then, a person will 'set her off'; she takes up a defensive stance, and starts barking aggressively. She doesn't bite or attack, but she's clearly trying to drive the person away, and will try to follow them as they leave. I generally resolve it by positioning myself between the two of them, and body-blocking until she calms down. I'm worried because, even though she's not attacking, it seems like only a matter of time before she does. It seems to be a fearful reaction rather than aggressive, but fear often immediately precedes aggression, and I'm not sure what to do.
It's always towards men, but I can't figure anything out after that. The particular incidents were as follows:
1. Homeless man in the park who kept staring at us. Honestly, I felt like this was a good reaction, which is why I didn't think much of it at the time.
2. Security guard from the next building over, taking a smoke break about 50 feet away. Large (6+ feet, 200+ pounds) man of indistinguishable race, wearing a heavy, puffy coat and scarf due to the cold weather. Again, given the circumstance (alone in the dog run, with a big guy standing in a dark alleyway nearby, looking at us), this seemed like a normal reaction at the time.
3. A close friend - 6+ feet tall, caucasian. Very little experience with dogs; I assumed it was just bad body language. I had him crouch down and turn away, after which she attempted to murder the poor guy by drowning him in saliva.
4. Random man standing outside the dog park, watching the dogs play. 6+ feet tall, lanky, caucasian, once again watching intently.
5. Upstairs neighbor; I'd just called regarding water leaking through the ceiling, and he came down to discuss it. 5'6" asian guy, like myself; he was very obviously nervous and tentative before the dog. I assumed that is what set her off.
6. Random man in neighborhood pet store. He had his arm in a sling and was moving oddly due to injury; I assumed the unusual posture & behavior scared her. Caucasian, approximately 5'9" tall, over 50 years of age.
7. Random man in dog run. Over 50 years of age, caucasian, about 5'10" tall, average build. This one puzzled me, because as far as I could tell, he did absolutely nothing aggressive.
Each man is obviously giving off some sort of warning through their body language, but because I never notice them until after she starts barking, I can't tell for certain what it is. Incident #1 happend in mid-march, #2 a few weeks later, and #s 3-7 in the past two weeks. Something seems to be accelerating things; is it just because she's now bonded to me, and is acting to protect me?
I am completely at a loss as to what I should be doing next. 99% of the time, she's confident, happy, friendly, and energetic. Sometimes, though something happens that clicks in her head, and I have no idea what, or why.
joking!)
