[Husky0]

Hello everyone,
My baby girl is 16 weeks old, I got her when she was 7 weeks. Since I got her she acts weird when I raise my hand to point out that what she is doing is wrong. Her ears go backward, she looks defensive "like i'm gonna hit her!". Anyway at first, I thought it might be normal, but hey it's making my training much harder. Every time I raise my hand she goes scared. I think that her former owners might beaten her up! I honestly doesn't know how am I supposed to help her get over this behavior.
Btw some of you might ask why do I raise my hand, I raise it when she do things she isn't supposed to do, like peeing in house, I raise and say "no leeza, no."

Any thoughts?

 

[chipinmom]

Stop raising your hand would be a start. I know your intentions aren't to hurt or hit her, but she doesn't know that. All she see's is a big hand coming at her. Saying "NO" without the hand gestures will work just as well.

 

[Nil]

She is doing appeasement behaviors to try and stop you from being aggressive with her. She doesn't know why you are mad but she knows that if she crouches, pins her ears back, and acts scared you will stop. So whether you hit her or not, she is doing those gestures to stop you from being angry and prevent you from going any further because she is scared.

I would stop yelling at her altogether. She doesn't understand why she is being yelled at because she is not house trained. All she is learning is that you act aggressive sometimes and that she needs to be wary of you because you might get mad and "attack". (I mean attack as in put on an aggressive display - lower voice, staring, raising hand, raising voice).

 

[Husky0]

Thank you guys for the replies, I will try not to raise my hand when she does something wrong. I also wanna add that, this siberian husky is one of many dogs I had, so I actually know how to train, but I have never seen a dog acts this way. I mean even when I'm far away and raise my hand she become defensive. Nil, there is to two training voices, one of them is the happy voice which I use when she potty outside for example" Nice job, good girl, good potty", but there's also the angry tone that I use when she chew the couch or potty inside, example " NOO, bad girl, very bad girl". And she really gets it, but still I don't know why she is afraid of any hand coming from above of her.

 

[hanksimon]

Ditto....

I don't hit my dog, except in play (He's a lab mix and thinks it's fun). So to tease him, I used to threaten him with a rolled newspaper.... No reaction to any threats, and if I pestered him but didn't hurt him, he'd try to take from me, but never showed fear. My (wrong) assumption was that dogs cower if they've been beaten.

A few years ago, we were working on the house and someone asked me to turn on the bathroom faucet. There was lots of noise and we were yelling back and forth. I didn't realize it, but my dog got upset by my yelling. He was lying in the doorway when I wanted to leave the room, and I told him to move, as I've done hundreds of times.... making a shoo! go away motion with my hand. He cringed!

My point is that yelling, even in the vicinity of the dog, can make them fearful. So yelling at them doesn't improve things. ... Even if you never make contact.

 

[Nil]

Nil, there is to two training voices, one of them is the happy voice which I use when she potty outside for example" Nice job, good girl, good potty", but there's also the angry tone that I use when she chew the couch or potty inside, example " NOO, bad girl, very bad girl". And she really gets it, but still I don't know why she is afraid of any hand coming from above of her.

I understand where you're coming from, but in my humble opinion, a dog doesn't understand why you are angry so why get angry in the first place? Using a word to distract a dog from doing something displeasing doesn't need to be harsh or scary. If I catch my dog sniffing around the trash I will usually clap my hands and say "Oops! What are you doing?" in a fast and silly voice. She'll turn around (stopping the behavior) and I'll direct her to something else and put the trash up. If you're intent is to stop her from doing something so you can direct her to something else, why use a harsh voice that scares her? Why not just use a mild interrupter that won't scare her as much? Unless you're aim is to punish her (make her scared) which I don't agree with personally for such a young puppy.

My point is that yelling, even in the vicinity of the dog, can make them fearful. So yelling at them doesn't improve things. ... Even if you never make contact.

I agree with this.

 

[Niraya]

I love everything Nil has said - I just want to add that Siberian Huskies are far from "like" other dog breeds. They don't respond well at all to yelling or hitting (or threatening positions) and by doing this you're setting your dog up for failure. Which could in the future cause your dog to actually shut down. You should be using positive reinforcement methods and redirection. You should also NEVER be punishing a dog for going to the bathroom in the house because you're actually telling the dog that it isn't okay to potty - at all.

A hand coming up to a dog isn't something common to a dog. Even when you go to a pet a dog starting from their head they close their eyes. Raising a hand to a dog is also used as a test to see if dogs are going blind. It's called a flinch reaction - which a dog should be closing it's eyes rapidly or "flinching" people do it as well when something comes close to their face because you anticipate something to happen.

My point is that yelling, even in the vicinity of the dog, can make them fearful. So yelling at them doesn't improve things. ... Even if you never make contact.

Some dogs are very sound sensitive - and yelling will be very detrimental to that dog.

 

[Husky0]

I agree with all of you guys, but i'm not punishing my puppy and will never do. But what I'm saying is that I believe that your dog feel you. In many cases people were attacked and their dogs tried to protect them, it's because they feel it when you are happy or not. When I said earlier the angry voice, I actually meant the unhappy voice, when I say "Nooo, bad girl" i'm not yelling, i'm just showing that what she did doesn't make me happy. As I said earlier I don't punish my puppy even for going inside the house. As far as I know, an unhappy sound isn't a punishment. Please guys don't be judgmental.

 

[sassafras]

It's very unlikely that her former owners hit her. It's just that when you suddenly transform into a loud and wildy gesticulating demon-creature (from her perspective), she is desperately trying to tell you "whooooaaa, man.... I don't want any trouble! We're cool!" That's what appeasement behaviors are.

Some dogs are more sensitive to things like raised voices or gestures like pointing. I have one dog whose feelings are broken into a million tiny pieces if I so much as use a stern voice with him, and another that I could probably hockey check repeatedly while screaming at the top of my lungs death metal style and he'd get up laughing every time. What you intend to be gentle may not be gentle in her mind... she's the one who gets to decide what's intimidating, and you're the one who has to adapt your training style if you want to communicate with her.

 

[HollowHeaven]

-.-'
It seems like every time someone points out what has been done wrong in a situation, and tries to point out why it's wrong and what to do to help, the OP becomes defensive?

Nobody is being judgmental. Your dog is afraid of your hand being raised and afraid of a harsh tone.
All you really need to do is be conscious of your tone around her, and be conscious of your gestures. We know you mean her no harm, and you know you mean her no harm, but she doesn't. It's a simple fix.

 

[chipinmom]

OP, no one is being judgmental. IMO, dogs do need to know when they have done something wrong. All we (or at least, me), are saying is to say it without the use of your hands, and watch your tone and volume. Believe me, the puppy knows what NO means. Even without a raised or angry voice.

 

[Nil]

I agree with all of you guys, but i'm not punishing my puppy and will never do. But what I'm saying is that I believe that your dog feel you. In many cases people were attacked and their dogs tried to protect them, it's because they feel it when you are happy or not. When I said earlier the angry voice, I actually meant the unhappy voice, when I say "Nooo, bad girl" i'm not yelling, i'm just showing that what she did doesn't make me happy. As I said earlier I don't punish my puppy even for going inside the house. As far as I know, an unhappy sound isn't a punishment. Please guys don't be judgmental.

I'm sorry if I came off judgmental. I wasn't trying to. I was trying to explain why the puppy felt the need to display appeasement signals. It's up to the individual dog to decide what scares them and apparently what you have been doing has been scaring her (from your description). We all suggested that for this particular puppy, raising your voice or saying something in a displeasing tone, may be too much for her. That's fine. We suggested you just keep it happier and less stern. I'm not sitting here thinking you are a horrible owner or anything, far from that. Taking the time to come on the forum and be open enough to listen to people's opinions and maybe try them yourself is very noble and responsible, in my opinion.

What you intend to be gentle may not be gentle in her mind... she's the one who gets to decide what's intimidating, and you're the one who has to adapt your training style if you want to communicate with her.

I think Sassafras said it best with this.

 

[hamandeggs]

Patient: "Doctor, it hurts when I move my hand like this!"
Doctor: "Well, then don't move your hand like that!"

It seems to me that if your puppy is afraid of you raising your hand at her, the simplest and easiest thing would be to stop doing this entirely nonessential and possibly counterproductive "training" gesture. It's not like she's afraid of a leash or a food bowl or some other item that is essential in the life of the average dog. Easy enough to cut this bit out.

 

[malamutelove]

It's very unlikely that her former owners hit her. It's just that when you suddenly transform into a loud and wildy gesticulating demon-creature (from her perspective), she is desperately trying to tell you "whooooaaa, man.... I don't want any trouble! We're cool!" That's what appeasement behaviors are.

Some dogs are more sensitive to things like raised voices or gestures like pointing. I have one dog whose feelings are broken into a million tiny pieces if I so much as use a stern voice with him, and another that I could probably hockey check repeatedly while screaming at the top of my lungs death metal style and he'd get up laughing every time. What you intend to be gentle may not be gentle in her mind... she's the one who gets to decide what's intimidating, and you're the one who has to adapt your training style if you want to communicate with her.

agreed with this!