strange behaviourQuestion:Here is a question. I have a ten month old lab/coonhound mix. Loves other dogs (especially small dogs lol) other people and LOVES kids. However, he has displayed a behaviour that I am not sure what to do about it. This has only ever happened with two people. We live in an apartment and so he is always seeing people when we are going outside and he is usually fine but there have been two men that he just acted strange around them. He would grab onto their t shirts and hold on and not let them go anywhere. But there was no growling no barking nothing like that and he won't actually bite them he just grabbed onto their t shirts and i had to pry his mouth open then gave him a correction and then he was fine. After that they could pet him and he was his old self again. I don't know why he does this. If i can understand the reasoning then i can correct it. Any idea what this is about :D Answer: He is confident when he is doing it. There was no growling, because he didn't fear that they would escape his bite. What did he do when you released him from the bite? Do you know what provoked him to do that? What happened the first time this happened? How old is he, and how is his physical condition? Answer: When i released him and told him to sit and gave him a correction he was fine and then he was very friendly with the guy after that. The frist time it happened it was a strange man that neither of us had ever seen before and something about him was a little off he even made me uncomfortable. The second time I don't know cause my husband was walking him. It was only those two men it has never happened with anyone else before and it only happened once with those two men and then he was friendly with them. He is ten months old and he is in great physical condition. We take him swimming at the beach a couple of times a week and we play fetch everyday. He is very muscular and very fit according to the vet (whom he loves also BTW lol) Also if it makes any difference he is also neutered. But he was careful not to bite the actual person just anything that was dangling loose behind. Answer: did he seem aggressive while biting the shirt. I know you said there was no growling but was his hair standing up? Where they walking away from him, or where they standing still? He may just not like the people, and that is his way of showing you he doesn't approve of them. I saw an episode of animal miracles where this lady's dog sat down on this guy's shoe and wouldn't move (and it turned out later on the dog sensed the guy was no good and didn't want his owner to go out with him). Answer: Well see thats what i was thinking also because his hair wasn't standing up and when i pried his mouth open he started bouncing around like he does when i have his tennis ball lol. These two incidents were about 2 months apart and they were both with men that we had never seen before. He has come into contact with other men he didn't know and he didn't act like that. So I was also thinking that maybe these two men just rubbed him the wrong way. I know my mothers dog acts strange towards most men she doesn't know. Answer: I can add a little detail about the 2nd incident Sparks is talking about. I was just done walking him and we were going back upstairs. The guy, who is very new in our building, was walking pretty fast and kind of came at him from above Teddy. The guy was like 3 steps above him and came down to pet him pretty fast from above. Perhaps that is what freaked Teddy out? It would make sense to me. He just caught a little piece of the guys shirt in his front teeth and held on for dear life. It was the strongest grip I have ever seen him do. FWIW, we (Teddy and I) saw the guy again the next night. The guy was walking much slower and did not try to pet him. He was carrying a box of food and said "Oh, I know better than to mess with you!" :) The guy was kidding and not upset or anything. Teddy barely gave the guy a look. Which I thought odd. Please note that this sencond incident was very differnt from the first. The first time the guy who WAS fairly odd, but very nice, asked us to pet him. I said "sure" so he got down to Teddy's level in a manner that I did not think would be threatening. Right away Teddy grabbed on his shirt and held on for dear life again. So, Teddy's responce was the same both times, but the stimulus was quite different in each instance. Does any of that help this along? I hope so because I just typed a LOT. LOL Thanks! Answer: Since Teddy's not normally that reactive, I'd listen to Teddy and wouldn't be inviting either of these two over for a beer . . . It seems like Teddy was giving two messages; one to you - "don't trust this guy;" one to the guy - "I do have teeth and I will protect my people . . ." It sounds to me like you've got a good, intelligent dog there. When he's older and more confident, as long as you have reinforced the "no biting on the first meeting" ;) rule as you are doing, I doubt he'll feel the need to actually grab. A look will be sufficient. Answer: Good advice Renee! And thank you for the compliments. Sparks19 and I do know that we are very lucky to have found such a good one. Not bad for $50 at a Amish Farm! LOL Answer: Those darn amish puppy mills :mad: I was reading and pennsilvaynia is suppose to have one of the biggest number of puppy mill's in the united states because of the amish......not saying amish people are bad, but when they have puppy mill's they make me :mad: Answer: Actually, I think they were Mennonites but that is basically the same. :) From what I could tell the place was NOT a mill farm. But, I can believe that the Amish would have mill types places going. Long story about that and it gets into both politics and religion so I won't go there. I want you people to LIKE me. LOL :) Answer: I didn't mean it to offend you at all. I just thought I'd put that to warn people.......and you for future dogs just in case you didn't know. Answer: No Worries.... You did not offend me at all. Answer: phew.....good....You seem like a very nice person :) Answer: I do have to clear one thing up lol. puckstop said the first guy got down to teddy's level. well thats not entirely true. When teddy first grabbed onto him he was standing over teddy the second time we saw him he sat on the floor and let teddy come to him and everything was fine teddy was his big-sucky-boy self lol. I think he was just being protective also because he is fine with everyone else, even other strangers. So these two must just be bad news lol. As for the amish farm that we got teddy from... I don't think it was a puppy mill because i think maybe their girl just got into some trouble and ended up with babies lol but I am glad that we took him home because he was very skinny and on the way home he had the poops really bad and he threw up twice but once we got some regular dog food and not people food in his system he was fine and we had the vet check him over and he is a very happy healthy mutt :D and very smart. TOO smart lol Answer: Dang, you are right. He did lean over top of him the first time. The same thing happened the other time with the new guy in our building. I guess that is it then... Just do not let people come at him from the top. Answer: sparks and puskstop....you guys are married/together right? Sorry I am getting a bit confused when you two started talking about one incident like you were both there :p Answer: lol Babyblue yes we are talking about the same incident lol we live together and teddy is our pup :D Sorry about the confusion. BTW I love you dane. adorable Answer: lol Babyblue yes we are talking about the same incident lol we live together and teddy is our pup :D Sorry about the confusion. BTW I love you dane. adorable Ok....I've got my head on straight now.... :p Thank you! She's the sweetest dog I've ever had :D (chloe my dane)....I got her from a shelter and can't imagine any reason why anyone would not want her. Answer: Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. Answer: I agree with Renee. That was a warning...these men made Teddy feel very uncomfortable about something. I always trust my dogs instincts. They can pick up on things we humans don't always feel. He is still young, so he will probably change his approach to uncomfortable situations as he gets older. You doing a great job of raising Teddy. Answer: R we having a bump the oldest thread contest? 07/07/2005? |
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