sudden fear of strangers
Franklin is 2 years old. He has always been a very outgoing and friendly dog. Over the past few months he has started to develop a fear of strangers. It started very sporadic and now he has reacted to two people in the last 2 weeks. It seems to be mostly men, but other than that there are no similarities. The person will see him and want to say hi and pet him and Franklin will keep his distance and bark or growl. Today my neighbor (who he has met and played with before!) tried to say hi and pet Franklin and Frank wouldn't let him touch him. He would approach and wag his bunny butt, but whenever the person would reach down to pet him he would cower and run away and growl under his breath. Also, most men he is totally fine with and will happily greet. Last week at the park he would have nothing to do with one guy (as in wouldn't accept a treat, was running around him barking, and wouldn't even accept a treat from me when I was near him), but then went right over and sat next to the "scary" guy's male friend and let the friend pet him. I don't understand what is going on and where this sudden change in behavior is coming from. He hasn't had any bad experiences with strangers. What can I do to stop this? What do I do when he won't even accept a treat from the stranger? Any ideas as to why he has suddenly developed this weird behavior?
He is getting an hour of exercise a day and lots of mental stimulation in the form of interactive toys so I don't think its pent up frustration or energy. He used to go to work with me and go to dog parks so was constantly meeting new people, in the last 8 or 9 months he hasn't been around groups of people as much. I was thinking of making an effort to take him to a busy park (people park) at least once a week to get more exposure but what should I do when he reacts fearfully to a stranger?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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If it's sporadic I would look for some underlying reason. Do the men in question smell of smoke? Have access to an animal Franklin is not familiar with (horse, goat, cow)? Wear hats or scarves or backpacks? Have a wood-burning fireplace at home? Wear a windbreaker jacket that crackles?
If mine are afraid of someone I usually let them go. They are good with so many people that I figure there must be a reason in their little doggy heads.
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Permalink Reply by Melissa and Franklin! on
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I can't tie anything similar together. Both of the men recently were wearing glasses BUT so was one of the guys friends so I don't think that is it. Frank is familiar with all domestic animals (dogs, cats, horses, cows, birds, reptiles, etc) because I am in vet tech school and handle those animals regularly so have those smells on my scrubs when I get home. My brother smokes so cigarettes aren't an issue, I have a wood burning stove so he is used to that smell. One person was smaller build, one was large build so no similarity there. At first I thought it was because he seems to have HORRIBLE vision, he was very friendly with a man on the levee recently when we walked by in one direction but spooked when he came by in the other direction until he was right up on him and realized it was the same person, but today when he spooked at my neighbor he went right up and smelled him and he has met this neighbor and been friendly with him in the past. Maybe it is the black shirt he was wearing? Two people he has spooked at have had on black shirts, but a while back he spooked at a man with a white shirt on? I wish he could tell me! I was going to just let it go but it is happening more frequently now and I don't want this to become a habit for him.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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I would check out some obedience classes. A good instructor should be able to help and the exposure in a controlled environement to people may help him through whatever his brillant little corgi brain has cooked up.
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Permalink Reply by Geri & Sidney on
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Maybe something in their voices? Sidney was just fine with a man who met him at the harbor today, but as soon as the man started clearing his throat, Sidney got all worried and barked at him.
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yeah that's a thought, because thats not really something we may be able to hear and key in on. I'm in the process of trying to find some group training classes, hopefully I can find some good ideas of how to get him over this in the mean time
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