Training & Behaviour Problems

with Emmaline Duffy-Fallon

German Shepherd Cross With Strangers

Question asked by Charlotte:
We have a German Shepherd bitch coming up on 12 months old, this will be our 4th GS in 40 yrs, all other 3 dogs have lived to 11-12yrs, they were all friendly, sociable, sensible loving dogs, however this new pup is loving and friendly with us but fierce, bristle up and sounds cross with strangers. She is similar with family but when they speak to her she calms down. From a pup we have tried extra hard with her, reassuring her and working hard to build her confidence. This seems to be a nervous thing, if people try to make friends with her it nearly makes her worse, she reacts best if people ignore her, like a child she comes round in her own time and then will be quite friendly.

Is there anything we can do to reassure her and calm this initial reaction down? She has been the fastest trained of all our GS, but this cross attitude is not what we are used to. Away from home she is very good on the lead or off, comes back when called and doesn’t bother with people or other dogs, it’s only when she is at home. I understand this is her protective nature but we need to calm her if possible.

Your help with this would be much appreciated.

The answer from Emmaline:
Having read your questions about ‘Tikka’ I think there are a number of factors influencing her behaviour. I understand from your email that you have ‘worked hard with her to build her confidence’ so this leads me to wonder if she has always been a more ‘nervy’ type even as a young pup. Indeed some dogs are genetically more likely to be ‘spookier’ than others. These dogs are often referred to as ‘Reserved around strangers’, ‘loyal to their family’, ‘one man dog’, etc.

My money, however, is on a strong environmental component in Tikka’s case. You stated that you have owned previous GSDs in the past and that you have family that visit. Without knowing for sure, I’m assuming that this could be the likes of sons and daughters visiting. I suspect that your other dogs over the years were more likely exposed to an increased variety and volume of people due to having a busier household when your children were growing up. This would have resulted possibly in a greater number and more frequent social opportunities your previous dogs had with guests therefore creating a more well socialised pet.

If Tikka has had limited exposure to unfamiliar people during her critical social development in early puppyhood, it could have been sheer lack of exposure that has contributed to her fearful behaviour towards people. I’d say there is also a learned component to her reactivity towards people that enter your home.

Most of the people I know would immediately retreat or avoid any contact with a dog who is displaying threatening behaviour towards them. Certainly, a fearful and socially anxious dog can learn through trial and error over time that barking/lunging/growling can drive the scary person away. With each repetition of this behaviour working, the dog then defaults to this strategy when they encounter someone in that particular environment.

Here are my recommendations for you and Tikka:

1. Hire a reputable behaviour consultant.
When dealing with a fear based behaviour, there is no quick fix. Tikka is not being disobedient when she displays a negative reaction to people. She is feeling upset and uncomfortable.I would strongly advise you to seek the help of a dog behaviourist or qualified dog trainer who can tailor a treatment plan specifically with Tikka’s triggers and personality in mind. Dependent on the severity of each individual case of fearfulness in a dog, owner compliance will feature heavily in the likely outcome of a resolution to the behavioural problem. Daily implementation of a proposed treatment plan will be necessary in order to measure progress.

2. Systematic desensitization
In controlled ‘set-up’ exercises, present the ‘scary thing’ at a distance, intensity or duration where the dog perceives it but doesn’t have a fearful reaction. This is called working ‘sub-threshold’. The idea is to slowly expose the dog to the fearful stimulus at a growing intensity level, but only as quickly as the dog can tolerate it and not express a fearful reaction. Eventually by gradual exposure the formerly ‘scary thing’ becomes an innocuous stimulus.

Have Tikka situated in another room when your guests arrive.
Never allow Tikka to enter the room if she is barking. Attach a lead to her collar before you allow her to enter the room.
Upon entering the room, bring Tikka inside and situate her on her bed at a safe distance from your guests whereby she is not exhibiting any signs of becoming agitated or nervous.
If Tikka barks/growls lead her out of the room. Once she is quiet on the other side of the door, bring her back in and repeat this step.

3. Counter conditioning
This goes hand in hand with desensitization and is used to turn a negative reaction to a stimulus (scary thing) beyond a neutral position into a positive reaction. While exposing a dog to the scary thing at sub-threshold levels, the owner should use high value food rewards not to distract the dog but as a means to pair the sight of the scary thing with something your dog absolutely loves in other to create a more positive and relaxed association.

In doing so, this serves to not only desensitize but also to condition a ‘happy’ response to the previously scary thing. If we pair a previously scary experience with a very predictive pleasant outcome (normally food reward being dispensed) in each and every occurrence of the scary thing being presented then the dog over time will be conditioned to feel relaxed not fearful when they encounter the previously scary stimulus.

Stuff an Extra large Extreme Kong classic toy with something absolutely delicious: 2-3 tablespoons of a premium wet dog food, 2 tablespoons of tuna fish or a heaped tablespoon of a soft squishy cheese might be some suggestions. Present this to Tikka as soon as your have her enter the room. Her new job is to extra the food out of this toy while she is present in the room with your guests.
During the time she spends in the presence of your guests, coach your guests if they feel comfortable to toss high value but tiny treats to Tikka every 30-60 seconds, especially if they shift in their chair/ stand up. Slivers of some type of lunch meat would be ideal.
Respect her space – do not force her to interact. Coach your guests ahead of time to not approach/reach or touch Tikka or make prolonged eye contact with her as this is likely to trigger her to become reactive towards them.
Any barking/ growling should result in Tikka being escorted out of the room for 1 minute. Allow her to enter when she is calm and quiet.

Lastly and please don’t shoot the messenger but I felt it was important to mention also that due to Tikka’s breed, by law (Control of dogs ACT 1986, S.I. No. 442 of 1998.
CONTROL OF DOGS REGULATIONS, 1998) she should be on a lead at all times when in public and wearing a muzzle.