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Scared Little Boy

Viewing 5 posts - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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  • #14523
    Momof3
    Participant

    I have a pit that is about 1year old. He was the runt and still is but beautiful! He has one little problem… He barks at everyone! Especially when they first enter the room. He is terrified of everyone, and barks and growls when people come around, even people that should be familiar to him. I have tried everything to get him to stop. He is not aggressive, he is scared. How can I help him be less afraid and not bark at everyone? He has never been abused, never been beaten, and he is very loving once you get past him having his neurotic fit. He plays with my other two dogs, a female pit and a male staffordshire mix, and sleeps with them all the time. He shows no fear with the other dogs. Any advice would be great! I just joined the site an I love talking to peopler that feel as much love for this breed as I do!

    #16321
    loveabull88
    Participant

    I would say if its within your budget to take him to a trainer that specializes in behavior/anxiety/fear problems. It shouldnt cost too much with the right trainer. A good trainer will show you what to do in one or two visits and allow you to continue working on it on your own with what they taught you and not require you to sign up for a million sessions. I hope that helps 🙂

    #16322
    naturemitch
    Participant

    Hi

    Whatever you do, don’t do what my sister has done….”its o.k. boy, don’t be scared baby”, all the while petting it and giving it positive reinforcement for behavior that you do not want.

    My sister has a dog with some of the same problems. She had him in obedience and they worked on his fear, and wanted to curtail his behavior from getting into full blown fear aggression. She did a great job…except he is her baby and she does not see that she is NOT helping the dog with trying to console the dog when this behavior is occuring. The best behavior on your part is stay calm, assertive, and don’t feed into his aversive behavior. Yes, see a trainer, but your reactions are the most powerful here.

    Good luck

    #16327
    ericas918
    Participant

    It sounds like he might have some confidence issues. Confidence is just as big, if not bigger, with dogs as it is with people. A lot of praise when he does good and nothing negative will help. Having people, even yourself, throw a treat or give a toy when they come into the room will begin to show that people are ok and are not scary. Taking him to a trainer will definitely help because they’ll be able to give you the tools that are best suited for his needs. We kind of dealt with the same issue with both of our pits. Our first was frightened of some people, but it was more of a nervous issue. So it was lot of socializing, play time and treats before she was able to be comfortable with new people. Our second was afraid of objects, literally anything and everything. So again that was a lot of treats, praise and play if she walked near, sniffed, nibbled and eventually got to the point of being next to something. Its going to take alot of patience and work, but I’m sure it’ll work out for you. Good luck!

    #16343
    MissShandO
    Participant

    Is your dog food motivated? Does he know how to sit? My aunt had this problem with her 1 year old female. She gave a few family members and a few strangers some treats to put in their pocket. A family member walks in, automatically pulls 1 treat out of their pocket and tells him/her to sit. Usually when they see the food, they submit and want to be your friend. Than have a stranger walk in and do exactly the same thing 1 treat for the sit, with no barking, comand.
    I hope this works. It helped us. after a week or two of doing this a couple times, she got the point. People are not bad 🙂

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