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Old June 9th, 2003, 11:17 AM
knowlesfamily knowlesfamily is offline
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Location: Chilliwack BC Canada
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Question Protective Doggy

Two days ago my husband and I adopted a dog from the SPCA. She's 4 years old and her name is Kona. She was surrendered to the SPCA a short time earlier by her owners because they were workingin new jobs and felt that they could no longer give her the attention and time that she needs and deserves. Kona is a Jack Russell Terrier "cross" and she has been crossed with something larger; we suspect perhaps a small lab or a cattle dog. She's approximately the size of a small lab or border collie. Kona took to my husband and I right away, playing with us, walking easily with us on a leash, listening to us. She is very cuddle, friendly and affectionate. She is also very patient with our 12 week old kitten, Mungo, and when he chases her or swats at her tail, she ignores him and just walks away. We are really happy with Kona and how well she has fit into our family, we just have one concern about her behaviour. On the afternoon that we got her, I was driving along with her and pulled into a gas station. While I was waiting to pull up to the pump, a man in another vehicle started talking to me about my dog, and came walking over to the vehicle to talk for a minute and take a bit of a closer look at Kona. She was sitting in the back seat behind me, and as he approached, she put one paw up on my shoulder and made one low-sounding "ruff!" at the man, who admired her for being protective and didn't come closer. When I told her "its ok" she backed off and layed back d own, and she never snarled or growled or anything. Then last night, my husband was walking her alone and stopped to hat with a neighbour, who came walking over to admire Kona. As he came towards her and my husband, she started to make the same bark, he told me, but didn't jump, pull on her leash or snarl. When my husband told her it was ok, she continued barking at the man, but remained sitting, until the man stopped approaching. Then she was fine. This morning my husband took Kona to the farm where he works and while they were inside the barn, one of the farm hands (whom Kona met yesterday when my husband and I took her to the farm, and seemed to like and be quite friendly with him) came up to give her a pat. She moved back a bit, crouching down and moving away from him slowly, and when he reached out to pat her, she made the same bark and lunged a little towards him. She didn't bite him aid didn't snarl, and when my husband called her name she backed off immediately and lay down, but she was definitely being protective.
Kona never does this to people when both my husband and I are with her and she meets someone new. In circumstances like that, she is friendly and seems to enjoy meeting new people. She is very friendly and playful. Furthermore, she didn't bark at all when I took her to Petsmart alone and she was patted by a woman that works in the store whom I was speaking to. It seems that she only acts this way when she is with just one of us, and when a man approaches her, not a woman.
Before we adopted Kona we read her records at the SPCA, including a 4 page sheet her previous owners filled out, attesting to her behaviour. They stated that she had never bitten anyone, was calm, placid and friendly with other animals, children and adults, didn't snarl when people came to the door, and though she would bark sometimes she was not aggresive or hostile.
I was just wondering, do you think she is just being protective of us? Is it perhaps because she feels that when she's just with one of us it's her job to watch out for us? Perhaps her previous owners trained her to be wary of men when she was alone with one owner?
Also, do you think that taking her to obedience training classes would help with this matter and give us a better understanding of why she is acting this way? Is she too old at 4years to attend such events?
Thank you very much for all your help!

Danielle
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Old June 10th, 2003, 05:10 PM
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CanadianK9info CanadianK9info is offline
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Hi. First of all I recommend that you find a good behaviourist or trainer in your area to work with you and the dog one on one first. I will not give advice for something like this one the net but I will try and give you a little insight as to what might be going on.

You mentioned that the farm hand "came up to give her a pat", how exactly did he come to her? If the man tried to pat her on the head that may be the reason why. Go up to your husband and put your hand out and move it towards his head..... how do you suppose he would react, now put yourself in the dog's position. When approaching a dog, get down to their level first then put your hand out (palm facing you) and allow them to sniff.... never go for their head to pat, give them a scratch under the chin first then approach the head (starting from the chin). This is a common mistake that many people make.


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They stated that she had never bitten anyone, was calm, placid and friendly with other animals, children and adults, didn't snarl when people came to the door, and though she would bark sometimes she was not aggresive or hostile.
What can I say, people lie. I wouldn't put too much value to what was written by the previous owners of a rescue dog, they lie because they want to get rid of the dog. They tell the SPCA what they think they want to hear.... rescues know most of it is bs.

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I was just wondering, do you think she is just being protective of us? Is it perhaps because she feels that when she's just with one of us it's her job to watch out for us? Perhaps her previous owners trained her to be wary of men when she was alone with one owner?
It is possible that she is being protective but I think there is more of an underlying issue there. She may be a little confused as to pack dynamics etc. who is the boss, who needs the protection? Answer: you are the boss and she needs protection..... she shouldn't think that she needs to protect you from every person that approaches. It is unlikely that they trained her to be wary of men, it is more likely that they didn't socialize her properly to men therefore she sees many of them as a threat to "her pack".

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do you think that taking her to obedience training classes would help with this matter and give us a better understanding of why she is acting this way? Is she too old at 4years to attend such events?
I strongly recommend finding a class and taking her. Training not only allows you to get a better handle on her it also serves to teach you a lot about her and what might be going through her head. It is also a great way to build confidence in her and help build your relationship with her. It is never too late to start training!!

I really think you should jump on this right away as a problem like this is one I can see escalating to other issues. I think she is confused and doesn't really know her place in the pack and this is very stressful for a dog as they are a creature that relies on order and stability. There are two great books that I strongly recommend you read, the first is "The Culture Clash" by Jean Donaldson and the second is "The Latchkey Dog" by Jodi Andersen. Both deal in depth with dog behaviour while putting it in laymen’s terms for anyone to understand. Good luck and please e-mail me or post here if you have any further questions.

Also visit my website and read through the articles.
Canadian K9 Information
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Old June 10th, 2003, 10:21 PM
MyDogTawny MyDogTawny is offline
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knowlesfamily, it sounds like you have recognized you have a potential timebomb on your hands and are looking for solutions. I would agree with you - you don't want an unpredictable dog on your hands.

One reason may be the dog might not have been adequately socialized. This might be the case if the previous owners were a couple and didn't have many visitors or didn't take the dog out much.

I'll second the advice CanadianK9info gave. I would also add - don't forget about checking our your local library. It's worth looking to see if they have any of the books on dog behaviour. I like the books by Ian Dunbar (creator of Sirius Puppy training method).

Good luck!
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Old June 11th, 2003, 12:24 PM
knowlesfamily knowlesfamily is offline
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Location: Chilliwack BC Canada
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Thank you

Thank you very much to both of you for your excellent advice. I'm making some calls today to enroll my husband, Kona and myself in some obediece/training classes and will be making a trip to the library to pick up some reading material. My husband and myself both greatly appreciate your helpful responses! Have a great day!
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