# Fear aggression?



## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

There are a million reasons this could be starting. The three big ones I would thing of: fear/stress of moving and spending lots of time alone in the yard, age, pain related to her health problems.

Are you able to crate her just inside the house? The mroe time she spends worried and barking at people outside the fence, the more afraid she may be getting... the more practice at being worried she has. And people might be teasing her too.

1) if she is acting inappropriately, just walk away with her. Don't have her meet people unless your'e sure she will be doing well. If she is hesitant, have the person toss treats behind summer NOT hand feed the treats.
2) Get 20min off property leash walk 2x a day. Vary your path/places of walking.
3) Spend some time sitting in the yard, Summer on leash. When people walk by, feed her SUPER GREAT treats. Every time. If she's barking, move further away, or feed more tiny pieces as the people pass.


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

Ok, I will try all those you said! Except she can only walk 10 mins at a time because of her hips. She currently gets 3 10 minute walks a day and sometimes buggy rides just to get out and look around. 

For the treats thing - I only feed when she is quiet right? Not when she is worked up.. 

RedDogs, do u think this will pass? I want my bubbly loveable golden back! =( She even growls at me when I come through a door. She growls before looking, then when she realizes its me she wags her tail and looks embarrassed.


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

Be sure on her short walks that you are going on different paths, different places, go the duration she can (though I'd seriously find a way to contact a rehab vet to see what they say about exercise).

treat.s..you feed AS SOON as a person is coming by, regardless of what she is doing. You cannot reinforce fear with food. At worst, she may start to bark for treats...but it would NOT be a "I'm scared, go away" bark, but a "Can I have a treat bark?" Very different underlying emotions. If you are feeding her, she probably won't think about barking, and that's great. Do more repetitions. Even when she seems okay. The biggest mistake people make with this sort of thing is saying "He's fine now, " and stopping too soon.

Ideally, she won't spend any time outside alone....and hopefully you can find a way for that to work.

It can pass if you work hard, avoid bad situations (where she is afraid), change her emotions, and if we can find ways to make her feel safe instead of nervous. But.... no guarentees with animals or all the variables in the real world. 

Keep a list of all the things that make her worried (and not just growling/moving away.... watch closely at her b ody language for ears back, moving away, head turns away, etc...)


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

We should be moving home within the week. I really hope that will help!! Home will be somewhat different and shuffled around, so it may be a challenge as well.

When she is worried she usually makes a dash for my side or burrows under my feet. I'm not sure if I should reinforce that behaviour? I was told its bad to do the "oh poor doggy its ok" thingy.. I used to try and encourage her to investigate whatever it was, but now I don't think thats such a great idea.. 

What should I do if someone is coming into the house and she does not like it? People need to come in and out, and I feel really uncomfortable when shes growling away in a corner.. Do the feeding thing too?


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

If I were in your situation, I would maybe calm pet her while she's next to you/hiding, but also feed treats as you are moving away. You cannot reinforce fear with food...that's a huge myth.

I don't have worried dogs investigate things. If they're just a little worried, we move far away and walk past it 3-10 times, but NEVEr towards it. We might go a little closer each pass, but only if the dog is calm/relaxed/focused. Walking up to the item is typically not a good idea even though it makes sense to our human brains! 

As for people coming in and out... I don't know how things are right now, ideally she would be locked in a different room of the house with a frozen stuffed kong and music...so that she's not able to be distressed by teh visitors. If you are expecting people over, maybe take her for a walk or play in the yard so she doesn't have to interact as they're coming in. Once the visitors are in and settled, maybe then bring her in, while feeding. 

And then...depending on her reaction, either remove her from the room (and come up with a different plan for next time)or she may settle.


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## GinnyinPA (Oct 31, 2010)

One thought -where do you have the crate? Our trainer suggested we move Ben's crate. It is currently at the top of a staircase that goes up from the front door. He can see out the windows beside the door to the street. When people pass by, he often barks. Although we haven't had any problems so far, the trainer said he could become more territorial and aggressive toward people coming in the door since he would see the stair and the door as his territory to defend from intruders. She suggested we move it to some place more neutral. Unfortunately, in our case, the crate is big and the house is small, so we will probably have to keep him where he is unless he becomes agressive.


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## Bender (Dec 30, 2008)

Could she be in more pain? That's a cause too, if she's not feeling great she may not want people around....


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## RedDogs (Jan 30, 2010)

GinnyinPA said:


> Unfortunately, in our case, the crate is big and the house is small, so we will probably have to keep him where he is unless he becomes agressive.


I'd HIGHLY recommend putting curtains or some cover over the window. It would decrease what he can see...and it's definitely smart to do whatever you can to decrease the risk of behavior problems later!


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## joysgirls (Oct 16, 2010)

I would definetly investigate whether she is in more pain


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## kira (Jan 13, 2009)

Sounds to me like there could be an underlying medical issue here with such a sudden change in behavior. 

You mentioned that she growls at you when you come through the door before even looking - I'm thinking she may be in pain, or confused by a change in her sense of smell, or any number of medical things. I think your next step should be a trip to the vet.

Summer is beautiful, I hope you are able to find out what is going on


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