# Barking and Growling at EVERYTHING



## Summer's Mom (Oct 20, 2010)

You are in luck.. I just recently shared my experience with Summer.. here http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ing-success-working-reactive-fearful-dog.html

Its been a LONG journey and she still reacts to some things, but I'd say we're 90% better now.. 

First I'd like to say that she is probably (I havent seen her) scared of all the things she is reacting to. Try your very best not to get mad, or tell her to knock it off.. (which i was inclined to do many times) She will get more confused because she is scared and then doesnt understand why you are mad.. 

Next, I'd like to point out that this level of fear in a dog is definitely not normal. Please take her to the vet and get her checked out. Some underlying illnesses or pain can cause a dog to be more reactive to the environment. 

Best case scenerio would be for you to take her to a vet behaviourist. They are the professionals who are best able to assess Sophie and come up with a plan especially for you. If you post back with your location, I'm sure the board can help you find a good one, or I could ask around and try to help you find one near you. An alternative would be a phone consult. 

In the meantime, here are some tips that I have used: 

There are several steps to management:

1) management: control her environment, don't take her where she gets spooked. For us, that meant keeping Summer in my bedroom most of the time while we were trying to get her "fixed".

Don't let people pet her, don't let dogs sniff her. In other words, bubble wrap her. Try to reduce the incidents of barking or growling or cowering to as few as possible.. Each time she gets stressed her body releases hormones that stay in the system a long time leaving her more easily stressed again.

2) training: essentially, counter-conditioning. I'm sure you've encountered this somewhere in your reading. We're going to try and use food (which causes a release of some great substances in her brain) to change her perception of scary things..

Firstly, managing outbursts.. instead of telling her to shush, or letting her bark her head off, ALWAYS ALWAYS have food on hand. Some really good treats, chicken breast meat, cheese, anything. When she looks stressed or like she is about to react to something, feed her a series of treats in a row. If it is an urgent situation or she is already barking at something outside the door, toss a handful of food at her.. when she eats, praise her softly and keep feeding.. possibly make a trail of food and lead her away from the source.

Set up specific training sessions to deal with specific stimuli. For example, Summer had problems with people outside the door (like Sophie). To start I'd have a helper (boyfriend or brother) to just walk by the door. Over and over. each time you hear the footsteps, feed feed feed. Make sure she is always below threshold and doesnt bark or growl. If she does, make it easier.. have the person walk further away, or you stay further back from the door on the inside.. Then we progressed to stomping around outside, knocking the door etc. Each session, only work on 1 piece at a time. make it easy for her to succeed.

When going on walks, pick times when there are as few people as possible. Each time you encounter someone or something, feed feed feed. BEFORE she barks. However, it is important to be sure to feed only after encountering the stimulus. It is easy to try and feed wayyy in advance, but we don't want her to learn that food is a pre-event to a scary thing. We want the relation to be "scary thing --> here comes food" and not the other way around.. so, probably wait for her to notice the "thing" but not be too uptight, then u start feeding.

Another thing you could do is to just go with Sophie and sit on the street / at the window. Feed her everytime you both hear or see something scary approaching. The more you do this, the better. 


My, that was long. I know it seems kind of counter-intuitive to be "treating" her for being bad an reacting.. but its a scientific principle - classical conditioning - that really works.. 

In summary.. 
-minimize opportunity for her to get spooked. keep her away from the front door that opens to the corridor. veer away from people or dogs on walks.
-don't get mad if outbursts occur. gently lead her away, and feed feed feed
-set up easy and controlled situations to work with each of her "issues".. use the best food you can find.. again.. feed feed feed.. 

and most importantly, be very careful and remember the order: stimulus -> food

If I were you, i'd be sticking to the first point of controlling her environment to prevent any further outbursts, and contacting a vet behaviourist for an urgent appointment. The training is a little tricky and could come in later 

GOODLUCK!!!

post back here or PM me any questions.


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## jackie_hubert (Jun 2, 2010)

The above suggestions are excellent. Would you mind letting us know where you are at so we might be able to suggest a vet behaviorist or a behaviorist in your area. 

What exactly have you tried so far?


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## sandyhp (Jan 21, 2008)

I have been using the same methods as Summer's mom with Izzy. We have good days and bad days but it all seems to be working. I also take her to a reactive dog class when I am in town which also seems to help. 

I will have to say that it is certainly a LONG road though......but I believe it would be worth a try for you.


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## divinedecadencex (Jan 15, 2009)

I also want to add that, when shes growling, her tail is wagging. and when someone does come up to her, or a dog comes up to her, she stops growing, and gets very low to the ground. If its a person, she lets them pet her, and if she feels comfortable she gets up and wiggles. If it's a dog, she gets super low, and the do the sniff thing, and then she does jump and want to play, unless of course the other dog is being aggressive.

I have tried the treat thing mostly. I do have a question, how does keeping her away form things help her not be afraid, wouldnt that just shelter her, and make her just as startled when she does see something? I live in an apartment, so I cant promise theres not going to be 5 dogs in the courtyard when she decides she has to pee.

Not sure I can afford a training situation right now...

Thanks guys!


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## solinvictus (Oct 23, 2008)

" I do have a question, how does keeping her away form things help her not be afraid,"

Keeping her away does not teach her not to be afraid.

There is science behind it but I don't know how to discuss it scientifically.

When she gets afraid she gets an adrenaline rush. Just like we do when we watch a scary movie. This adrenaline rush even though it is fear based feels good so it becomes a reward. By keeping her away (managing her enviroment) you are stopping her body from rewarding itself for acting out at scary people/dogs/objects. 

By setting up controlled situations over time you are teaching her to associate these things with good things instead of the adrenaline rush.

While a dog is fearful they cannot learn that is why you have to start before the dog goes over threshold. 
Living in an apartment set up will be harder to do this but do the best you can and please look for professional help. 

Summer's mom gave excellent advice.


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## Summer's Mom (Oct 20, 2010)

Just wanted to add, we live in an apartment too!  and I have 5 younger siblings who bring friends home unannounced all the time so I understand its hard to prevent things from happening.. 

Protecting them from scary things is essential for the reasons Solinvictus gave.. Its also important to understand that dogs aren't like humans.. Especially scaredy dogs.. They can't "get used" to situations.. So letting them experience more of it cannot help and will probably make it worse..


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