Problem with 4 month old puppy......

[delila]

Hi all,

I just got back from the vet with our youngest dog Onhcu. She is a 4.5 month old female rottweiler that I recsued in October. I think we are facing some behavior issues.

Let me start from 4:45 this evening. My sister came over to pick up some mail. Me and Jer (boyfriend) were out with Onchu alone (no other dogs). My sister was standing at the gate, and Onchu ran about 3/4 of the way to her barking and growling. I got to the gate and Onchu would not come up and meet her, the barking stopped.

4:55 - we tried to leave for the vet. Onchu did not want to leave the yard. We almost dragged her to the curb, and then picked her up and put her into the car.

5:10 - Got to the vet. Did not like the vet techs. A child came in, Onchu growled. More people came in, Onchu growled. Then Onchu hid under a chair and would not come out. Again, Onchu was picked up.

5:30 - Vet finally comes in. Onchu growls again. The vet proceeds to check her out and give her shots.

5:45 - Onchu gets into the car, throws up 10 minutes later as soon as we get home and into the yard.

I think that this is a fear issue.

When she growls I follow up with a swift "NO", and a light collar correction. The vet gave me the cards of 2 different behaviourists.

I had a problem with Delila when she was about the same age with dog aggression. I delt with this by constantly taking her out with me where I knew dogs would be present (petsmart, parks, outside vet offices). I would bring treats and I would sit with her and correct her as needed, and praise her when appropriate. After about 3 months she was a new dog. I did spend all my time working with her though - everyday out.

I am afraid though that Onchu may need more than me alone. What do you all think? Is this a fear issue? We have tried taking her to petsmart and to friends - but she gets nervous.

HOWEVER - there were two insidences where she was exposed to negative experiances.

The first time we took her to the vet (October 3 months old) - the vet tech RAN up to her making all kinds of noise - and Onchu wigged out(barking, jumping, growling). I said a few choice words to the vet tech - but the deed was done.

Also - the first time we went to petsmart, one of the employees again RAN up to her grabbed her and picked her up. No growling this time - but she was not a happy camper Again - I said a few choice words to the employee - but again what was done was done.

Neither of these two incidents did I see coming - I thought a vets office with a rottweiler puppy was okay. The petsmart thing I just didn't see comming because I was shopping and not looking at the perimeter


She is GREAT at home. When people walk past our houae she will sit/stay with no touching or holding. She is very responsive to commands - sit, down, stay, etc...

What steps should I take from here on out. Seeing she is so young I am hoping that I can nip this in the bud.

Please send advice - I would appriciate it

Thanks, sorry so long.

[AngelBunny]

delila:

Onchu needs to start realizing the vet isn't such a scary place. The way to do this is to start taking her to the vet, just to sit in the lobby & have the techs feed her yummy treats you bring along & give to them to give to her. If she was my dog, I'd immediately begin to take her there several times/week. Once she starts calming down, I'd cut back on the visits. The only way she's going to get comfortable with being at the vet's office is if she goes there alot.

I sure hope your vet isn't far from your house. Our vet is a 10 minute drive from our house & our dogs (including the fosters) go there at least once/month.

I'd also start taking her out with me alot. I wouldn't have all sorts of people come up to her right off, but your puppy needs to be exposed to more unusual sights & sounds before her shyness becomes a real problem. Socialization is critical.

[Lora Lee]

Originally posted by delila
I think that this is a fear issue.

I agree. And how you handle your pup from here on out is important, very important. Fear issues are kinda tricky for me to give advice, without seeing the dog and how he acts. But, I'll try.

I took back a pup which bit the Vet and Tech out of fear...and also my trainer. Many things which he did I had to ignore (which irked me), and others called for a correction. It's critical you don't "baby" your baby during these episodes--I caught myself doing it once or twice (ohhh, what happened to you--your okay now), which encouraged his behavior.

Positive reinforcement for the good "courageous" behavior, even such as standing while a stranger walks past. We had to start from a distance, and work our way into the scheme of things--if he became overwhelmed (our session was a wash). It was tough finding the fine line, that's why I do suggest seeking the help of a trainer.

Socialization is the hidden key in this game. It's like starting from scratch--once they become fearful, you start over at step one. With BD he had already bitten two people before I got him back, and aggressive enough that the Veterinarian said in his career he's seen less than a handful of young pups who attack as he did. His reccomendation was to have him PTS.

Knowing how to read your dog through something like this is also very crucial to prevent him from harming anyone. But in order for him to become better, that's what he had to do--be around strangers, friends, different places, inside stores, at the clinic, take him everywhere. Keep some treats on you at all times :)

[Lora Lee]

Oh, and another important part of BD's training, was not letting people rush onto him. Tell them to stop, I flat out said "He bites" and no one wanted to pet the "lil bear" then! But it is important you don't overwhelm him with people that you can't control.

And, it's good if the dog wants to approach the stranger....allow it. Let him be assertive, and reward him for the good behavior. There was never a time BD was out in public without a leash on, you have to be able to control him. This is a different song and dance from a "normal" 3 month old puppy, and it should be.

We wish you both well--stay confident, your dog needs to know she's got a strong owner :)

[delila]

Thank you so much for your responces.

I was planning on taking her back to the vets and petsmart with treats in hand to try and show her that they are not bad places.

I am lucky too because the vet is 10 minutes away, petsmart about 15 :)

[delila]

Good news, I think I found a trainer to help me on my way.

I work at an animal shelter on the weekends, and we have a trainer that comes in to do temperment evaluations. I gave her a call and we talked for almost an hour. She seemed like a wonderful person, who also owns rottweilers :)

She is going to meet me tomorrow at the shelter to discuss when I want to start this. She is going to do training at my home - which I am more comfortable with.

So hopefully this situation will be under control soon.......

[doctahg]

Delila,
The problem started getting IN the car....start there with the behavior mods....make it fun to be in the car, then go to fun places. If the only time he's in the car is to go to the vets that doesn't help...since he shouldn't know where he's going!
Doc

[rottiegalC]

I had the same problem with my male rottie, when he was younger at about 2-3 months. He was scared of the vet (wonder why, the vet tech smacked him on the head with a pen to play), he was very timid of all people.
First we got him into a socialization puppy class which they taught basic obedience but the best part was for the last 15-20 minutes all the dogs played together. He got used to all the other pups and their people and realized that they weren't so bad. Next we took him for a lot of car rides, wherever we went he went too. He began to enjoy these trips cuz he got to go with mom every where she went. And last but not least we told people that came to run up to him to please stop, he needs to be approached slowly. Soon he was putty in everyones hands.

One thing we did notice is that our boy was very nervous about a stranger coming up and patting him on the head. So what we did was asked people when they approached him to let him sniff their hand and then scratch him under the chin and if they did that he would then bow his head for an ear scratch

Chrissy aka rottiegalC:)