# Help! Antisocial puppy



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I am sure that you will get more detailed instructions from others, but I just wanted to say that as a rule a mindset of "What can I Reward/Reinforce" is much more successful than "how do I correct". When it comes to biting, add "how do I prevent" before "what do I reward".


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## Countryboy (May 16, 2011)

I'm trying to train Tonka to bite boisterous people.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Monomni said:


> OK, I need help! My new little 8mo old, Luna, is having an aggression/protection issue towards some people. With most, she's shy & cautiously tolerant, but some apparently intimidate her (one "boisterous" person in particular apparently rubs Luna the wrong way), and she'll lunge (and sometimes even try to bite) at them when they are moving by/around. How do I correct this ASAP?! She reacts faster than me when they make sudden moves, etc. I obviously correct Luna immediately & I'm trying to get her more comfortable/acclimated around certain people, but it doesn't seem to be improving (yet). Since I can't prevent everything that may startle her and put other people in slow motion, I need a solution ASAP - especially before she actually bites someone! Help!!


Oh boy, I totally get your concern! I think I would be employing a two-pronged approach to this problem immediately. 

First, I would limit Luna's exposure to the known boisterous people to whom she is currently reacting until you have had a chance to train her out of the reactive behavior. If the boisterous people live with you, then I think you will have to set up physical separation for a little while, to protect Luna and the people.

Second, I would embark on some serious, consistent and frequent socialization training. Combine this with sit and down training and use high value treats. Go to places where there are people going about their business, where you can sit on a bench or something with Luna leashed by your side. She can observe people from a safe distance and you can reward her for calmness. Practice having her sit or lie down often and eventually start practicing using the sit or lie down commands for when people approach. Prevent* people from coming right up to her, while rewarding her for holding the sit or down.

This can be challenging and I think you can definitely get through it with consistent and immediate attention to socialization and alternative behaviors (sit or down, for instance) trained on cue. The goal is to have Luna focusing on the sit or down command and to learn that nice things (high value rewards) come right along with composed behavior when people approach.

It won't happen overnight, but with persistence, consistence and daily practice, I think you can get there. Good luck!

ETA * Prevention of people coming up to her can be tricky sometimes, especially with boisterous people, I know! If someone is bearing down swiftly on you and Luna, and they don't hear or obey your request for them not to approach her too closely, get up and put yourself between Luna and the other person. It takes practice and alertness on your part and you may not always be as quick as you would like (which is where having Luna on leash will be helpful). However, as you practice, you will get better at catching the potential problems and also to catching Luna's signals of discomfort. Watch her and keep an eye out around you to reduce th surprises. That is really the key to being quicker than she is (it won't always work, but it will get better!). A great book for learning about a dog's signals that she is beginning to feel uncomfortable and may react is Turid Rugaas' Calming Signals.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

Does this person ever tease her? How often are they around?


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I agree with TP - I suspect thinking along the lines of "how can I protect her from this person/these people that she finds intimidating" rather than thinking about correcting her behaviour would put you both in a better place. Apart from anything else, she is likely to associate the correction with the person, reinforcing her negative feelings...

At 8 months she is an adolescent - it could be that she was "tolerant" as a puppy because she felt too timid to be anything else, but with the added confidence that comes with hormones and growing up is showing her true feelings. I would work on making her more comfortable around people in general, and also make it very clear to her that you will always step in to protect her, blocking unwanted human attention, making a safe place for her between your feet, and never forcing her to greet people she does not trust or to accept attention from them - very much as Nifty describes,

Poppy was a nervous puppy - with lots of care, lots of work, and lots of treats she is now much, much more confident about people. There are things she dislikes, and that I still protect her from - people who loom, people who reach over her head, people who shout and squeal and scream and flap... 

If you are seriously concerned that she will bite, and it is not possible to keep her seperated from the person who worries her so badly, I would acclimate her to a suitable muzzle (slowly and carefully and with lots of treats) to keep everyone safe. But if things are as bad as that I think you need to be looking for a properly qualified behaviourist to work with all of you - you, Luna, and the excessively boisterous people who upset her!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

I would keep her on a leash when need be and immediately correct any lunging with a firm tug, and praise good behavior.


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

And I definitely wouldn't take her to the Countryboy Obedience school...although I'd love to go myself to see how it's done


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## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

i still like a suggestion made many threads ago - teach "look at me" and when she does, reward. stretch its use to stressful situations. i guess this is the equivalent to a superb recall - use it often and reward well, so that it becomes a response to fear as much as anything else.


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## ericwd9 (Jun 13, 2014)

*Training*

Read all you can on leash training.
Keep your puppy away from ALL other people unless leashed and under your control.
Reward good behavior on the leash.
When you and the puppy are more confident walk her in increasingly busy places. Start with one or two people He/she does not know walk her past them and insist she pay attention to YOU and not them. Reward for doing so. Gradually increase the number of people and other dogs. DO NOT allow her/him to take undue notice of them. When this lesson is learned slowly introduce her/him to people while you are in control of her. Reward good behavior. eg. Have her/him sit (reinforcing training and focusing the dogs attention on you and your requirements) When sitting have the person approach the dog under controlled conditions with you in control. Same other dogs. If he/she behaves badly walk her away. Her/his reward for required behavior is to meet and greet. and a "good girl/boy. Be patient and it will all fall into place for you.
Eric:angel2:


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## Viking Queen (Nov 12, 2014)

GREAT comments, Eric!

VQ


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

This sounds somewhat like resource guarding to me. In this case guarding space and maybe you or other possessions. The pushy person is certainly an important trigger of the unwanted behavior. I was just reading about resource guarding in Brenda Aloff's book on puppies.

Her take on this would be that there were signs of this much earlier than now and that some important opportunities to train the pup not to feel that this was a good way for her to handle this stress. She believes that if a dog has reached adolescence with resource guarding as a patterned behavior then there is little to be done to train it away, but rather that you have to employ management tactics.

Since you only provided sort of minimalist information about the particular person and his/her interactions with this pup I can't totally tell you what I think is going on, but will try to offer some ideas about how to handle things. First, as others have said, your pup is using the only behavior she can think of to handle a stressful situation. I would not work on correcting the pup's behavior as your first action.

The first thing to do is to educate the person who has become a focal point for the problem. You must insist that they are calm and neutral around your pup. No loudness, no pointing, no teasing. This person has to take responsibility for not helping your pup to go over her reactive threshold. 

The other thing you have to do right away is work on having your pup understand that maintaining eye contact with you means that you will do everything you can to keep her safe from things that frighten her. Brenda Aloff has excellent descriptions of how to do this in her Get Connected book and DVD as well as in her puppy book.

Later when your pup understands that eye contact can give her feelings of safety you can work on counter conditioning her to the things (people included) that have been sources of stress. You can use "Look At That" as a tool for this.

In the meantime do not let this puppy have contact with young children. Young children have unpredictable movements and a sudden wave at the dog or a reach to pat her on the head could result in a bite. 

I would supervise this pup very closely at all times and would also seriously consider hiring a private trainer to help you desensitize her to the things that stress her out.


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