Post by ShariMurphy on Sept 1, 2014 14:40:35 GMT -5
Like humans, dogs sometimes react fearfully to certain types of people. A dog is particularly likely to fear a specific person if that person looks different in some way than the people the dog already knows. For example, dogs are often frightened when they see a person wearing a hat or walking with a limp. But some dogs display fearful behavior when in the presence of many people. Many of these dogs only react fearfully to people of a specific gender, size, race or age. Others fear all unfamiliar people, regardless of type or appearance.
Why Are Some Dogs Afraid of People?
Inadequate Socialization to People
Dogs who didn’t get enough exposure, to a variety of people, as young puppies might display fearful reactions to them as adults. Dogs go through developmental phases as they mature during which they learn different skills and attitudes. Not surprisingly, the majority of these phases occur while a dog is a puppy. Exposure to sights, sounds, people and animals during a dog’s important developmental phases can have a profound effect on how the dog reacts to these things when they mature.
Genetic Predisposition to Fear People
Exposing a young puppy to a variety of pleasant experiences with new people, places, objects and other animals will help them mature into a well-adjusted adult dog. However, some dogs are just born with more timid personalities. These dogs might seem shy around unfamiliar people, loud, overbearing people or large groups of people, even if they’ve had adequate exposure to many people during puppyhood.
Traumatic Event Associated with the Presence of People
If a dog who was previously unafraid of people experiences a traumatic or painful event in the presence of a specific person, she might associate that person or people in general with the unpleasant experience.
No Discernible Cause
A dog who was previously unafraid of people will sometimes develop a fearful response to them for no obvious reason.
Medical Problems
Sometimes dogs who haven’t been afraid of people in the past will suddenly seem fearful around them. Some medical problems, especially those that involve pain, can cause this reaction in dogs. If your dog becomes fearful around people and wasn’t in the past, be sure to take her to a veterinarian to rule out medical causes.
Is It Really Fear?
Canine submissive body postures can be mistaken for fear. For example, if your dog rolls over, lowers her tail and whimpers when interacting with people but makes no attempt to avoid them, she might be displaying normal submissive body language, rather than acting fearfully.
What to do if Your Dog Fears People
Dogs respond to fear in different ways. Sometimes a frightened dog will retreat, try to run away, hide or display fearful body language, such as trembling, panting, avoidance, whining, salivating, lip licking, hiding behind familiar people or under furniture, or urinating. At other times, instead of trying to run away or avoid a frightening person, a dog will respond to fear with defensive aggression. Defensive reactions can include behaviors like barking, lunging, growling, snapping or biting.
Pet parents often mistake fear-related problems for stubbornness. If you ask your dog to perform a behavior that will increase their fear, they might refuse to obey. For instance, if you call your dog to come to you, but you’re standing close to a person that they fear, they might not respond to your command. Keep in mind, however, that if this happens, your dog isn’t disobedient or stubborn. They are afraid. Their anxiety and fear might make it impossible for them to do whatever you’ve asked them to do. Instead of getting frustrated, try to focus on helping your dog overcome their fear by seeking help or reading our posts on “Fear”.
If Your Dog Becomes Aggressive When Afraid
Some frightened dogs react by barking, growling, lunging, snapping or biting at people who scare them. This is called defensive aggression. A dog who reacts with aggression when afraid might also exhibit other kinds of fearful behavior, such as trembling, panting, whining, salivating, hiding behind people or under furniture, urinating, or attempting to run away.
If your dog displays aggressive behavior when they are afraid—or even if you think they might—you’ll need to do two things:
- Contact a professional to help you try to change your dog’s behavior. A Behavior Specialist can help you understand your dog and help you formulate a game plan to help your dog understand that people are not scary.
- Always carefully manage your dog’s behavior to avoid or minimize problems and ensure that no one gets hurt. Management tips follow.
Manage Your Dog’s Behavior
When animals experience extreme stress or fear, they often resort to aggression in their attempts to defend themselves from perceived threats. Although aggression as a form of defense is a natural response, it’s dangerous. It’s crucial to use management techniques that avoid or prevent the problem to protect other people, your dog and yourself. One of the best ways to avoid provoking your dog’s aggressive response to fear is to avoid the person or people that frighten them.
Unfortunately, you might not be able to avoid people at all times. For example, say your dog is afraid of strangers. You’ll periodically need to take them to the vet, and you’ll probably encounter unfamiliar people at the vet’s office. Likewise, strangers might visit your home—either unannounced or for social gatherings.
If you know your dog might see people that frighten them, either out in the world or at home, follow these guidelines:
- Always keep your dog under your control. If you’re out of the house, keep them on a leash. If people who frighten your dog visit your home, confine your dog in a crate, in a secure room or behind a baby gate. (Be sure to provide something fun for your dog to do while alone. Give them a special treat, like a chew bone or a food-stuffed KONG® toy. If your dog has a way to occupy themselves, they feel less stressed and nervous.)
- Keep your dog as far away as possible from people who frighten them. Because they are afraid, your dog might growl, bark or even bite people who get too close to them or attempt to touch them.
- If people try to approach your dog when they are frightened or nervous, tell them to please stay away. Handling or attention from people who scare your dog will only increase their fear and might provoke defensive aggression. You can politely explain that because your dog isn’t feeling comfortable, and they doesn’t want to visit. Try your best to avoid sending your dog into fight or flight mode. If this constantly happens, it reinforces the fear.
- Keep your movements slow and your voice calm. If you seem anxious or upset, your dog might become even more afraid.
- If you unexpectedly encounter a person who frightens your dog, focus on calmly and quickly removing your dog from the situation.
- Consider muzzle training. Teaching your dog to wear a muzzle before they encounter people that they fear, can keep everyone safe.
- To help you manage your dog’s fear of people, you can teach your dog two helpful commands to help you redirect them and move them away. The first is “hand targeting”. Hand targeting is the act of your dog touching their nose to the palm of your hand. Since dogs cannot multitask, this is a good way to build a positive association and teach your dog redirection. The second is the “U-turn”. The U-turn is a great way to get your dog to turn around and reverse direction without holding tension on the leash or jerking your dog around on the leash. Some dogs only react when they feel their human handler tense up and almost panic as they decide to either cross the street or reverse direction. The U-Turn command teaches your dog to blindly follow your lead and remove themselves from the situation.
Get Help
Because dogs can be dangerous when aggressive, it’s crucial to seek help from a behaviorist. DO NOT attempt to resolve your dog’s aggression problem on your own. A qualified professional can help you design and carry out a plan to change the way your dog feels and acts.