My 6 month old dobermann bitch has always been nervous, but now it is getting to the point where the nervousness seems to be turning to aggression. My dad came into the house this morning and Tara suddenly put her hackles up and started growling and barking at him, he wasn't very pleased especially as I have 3 children, 1 only being a baby (all my friends and family told me I should've got a lab or goldie) but I explained that dobes were brill family dogs if they were socialised and trained. She goes to training and has suddenly decided to not do anything she has been taught and also started jumping up at my face and going for the other dogs, something she has never done either it is getting to the point where I don't want to go coz I can't control her. I have just come back from a nice long walk and she has barked at two people with her hackles up. I am starting to dread going for walks with her. Please somebody advise me why she has suddenly changed like this and what can I do to stop her being aggressive!!! other people.

Hi

It is difficult to know what to suggest without seeing your bitch. I also have a bitch who has tended to
be nervous, but only around strange dogs although her litter sister was totally the opposite and is as bold as anything.

Can you get together with a knowledgeable dog owner who could see what is happening and maybe advise you.

Some bitches do get "funny" or change in character a few weeks before, and during, their seasons.

Christine

Did your nervous bitch grow out of it?

Mine was the last one in a litter of 13 but she didn't seem nervous when I went to see her, it was only when I got her home that the nervousness started, but I put that down to her leaving all her brothers and sisters. I always make excuses up for her eg she'll grow out of it etc, but the sad thing is the older she is getting the worse she is getting, she has always weed when you go to say hello, first thing in the morning or when you have been out and you come in, but now it is like a trail all over the kitchen and nothing nasty has happened to her since she came to live with us. I thought she would grow out of that too but that is getting worse. I don't know what else to do.

She sounds like a very frightened girl. Whatever you do, don't punish her or raise your voice around her, and ask your vet to first check that there is nothing medically wrong with her (if she has a condition which causes her to be in pain it will make her 10 times worse) and then get your vet to refer you to a behaviour counsellor. She's young, and with the help of an expert you should be able to identify exactly what is making her afraid and desensitise her to that fear.
Some dogs have more of a tendency towards fearfulness than others, so you may have to accept that she will never be a confident, bouncy dog, but she should be able to learn that people are not a threat to her.

I would recommend seeking expert help asap. Do not rely on assuming she will grow out of it, as she reaches maturity she will become more confident in her use of aggression to deal with scary situations, and as she's starting on that route now there should be no delaying in getting to the root of the problem straight away.

Best of luck,
Jo

Hi JO,

I have just spoken to the owners of the stud dog and they are going to help me, they are going to ring at the weekend and sort something out so hopefully it will all work out okay.

One thing that I am upset about though is Christine said she might be coming into season, but on the advice of the vet I have had her spayed about 2 weeks ago. Was it too early, I would be so upset if I have done something to her by getting her spayed early.

Julie

Hi Julie,
On reading your thread i could have written it about my pup as she went the same way just after her first season when she was seven months old.
I am tryong numerous different tacktics to help her out of this aggression but what i have noticd is that she only does it when i take her out, not when my husband has her.We have both went out together and hubby took her so long then passed hwr over to me, when we approached someone the hairs went up and the growling started then the barking.Changed back over to hubby and as write as rain.
I really do think that she feels she has to protect me.

I don't want her like this so at present i am trying out some different remedies, HOPEING that 1 works..

Hope you have some success to.

Pamie o

Hi Julie

Don't worry about having spayed her - in the US the vets often do it now at around 8 weeks before pups leave their breeders.

My bitch was never as nervous as yours seems to be, it is just other dogs she is so wary of but this has improved over time, I refuse to acknowledge it and ignore it as much as I can. I take her to shows and she is fine there.

Hopefully her sire's owners will be able to help you - it is much better to take advice from someone who can see what is happening rather than the rest of us trying to second guess without seeing.

Good luck

Christine

Thanks for all your comments folks!!!!! I will keep my fingers crossed about seeing the sires owners.

Hi,

I don't have anything to add in the way of advice but I just thought your dobe sounds so much like my little bullmastiff bitch.

Katie is almost a year old and she has a real nervous streak in her. She will also lunge and bark at things that give her a fright. This can be anything out of place - a polythene bag lying on the pavement can set her off.

I have been working really hard with her to get her used to accepting new things and dealing with frightening situations and she is now very used to being introduced to new things and rarely barks now.

The most recent thing was when the training hall had been decorated for halloween. They'd hung glittery things over the back wall and Katie went ballistic at them. So, I allowed her to approach at her own pace, rewarding her for every step until she finally sniffed the glittery things, decided they weren't so scary after all and stopped carrying on.

She was also frightened of children - some little monsters chased her when she was very young - and had started to bark at them. My other bullmastiff helped her get over that. When children approached I'd allow Katie to hide behind me and tell them to pat my other dog. Over a period of weeks, her jealousy at not getting any attention got the better of her and she is now greatly improved. She'll happily approach single children but does still hide behind me if there's a large group of them.

Good luck with seeing the sire's owners.

Hi did you have to take your bullmastiff to anyone or did you just do all that yourself. I have just come back from a walk and she is defo getting worse, it was windy and every little thing that moved from leaves to the trees to even the lampost, set her off and her hackles went from one end of her body to the other not just on her scruff. I just ignored her. Then we saw a man coming in the opposite direction and she just stood rooted to the spot hackles up barking at him, I put her on the lead and got her to stand next to me, I didn't say anything to her but said hello to the man and she just stood which was good coz normally she would be pulling to try and get to them.

I have wanted a dobermann ever since I can remember and I am getting quite disheartened at her behaviour, I have ended up with a nervous dog who is going to be a 'BIG' nervous dog, not good, but I will wait and see what the sire's owner says. (I think I am expecting them to work miracles, I'll keep my fingers crossed)

I think this site is good idea as it always has somebody who can relate to your problems with your dog after having been in a similar situation.

Julie

I really didn't want to say this, but I don't think seeing the pups breeders will help that much.
You really need somebody who's very experienced in dog behaviour to help you through it. If your dog is insured it might be included in the coverage.

I hope she doesn't mind me answering for her, but Tracey is a very competent dog owner (not that you aren't of course!) and has always been passionate about training, behaviour and finding out as much theory as she can. She also still goes to training classes and I think I'm right in saying that she helps to run them. She's definitely got more knowledge than the average dog owner which has helped her a lot with getting remarkable levels of obedience from a pretty lazy breed (sorry Cal and Katie, but it's true!).

Please try to remember how young your dog is so there's no need to despair yet! It's very possible she's getting a lot of signals from you, so seeing a professional trainer, or preferably a behaviourist (on veterinary referral) will help you find out where you and her are going wrong. It's important you don't mess around and get the best help you can as soon as possible. You need someone who can help you to tackle the fear. Anybody who focuses on the symptoms (ie the aggression she's displaying) will not be able to help you.

I really wish you the best of luck,

regards,
Jo

Hi Julie,

My bullmastiff still goes to training classes but I've really been dealing with her nervous problems myself. Jo is right, though, I am somewhat obsessed with dogs and spend a lot of time reading about dog behaviour and training. Both my dogs go to training classes and I also help out at my local dog training club so I spend a lot of my time around dogs and with people who know about dogs.

My behaviour is the most important thing in helping my girl get over her problem. As you say, your girl's behaviour is starting to upset you and if that is the case, it's likely that you are giving her the wrong signals. Most people do when their dog behaves badly so it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Jo is right, unless the owner of your pup's sire are experienced in dog behaviour, they may not be able to help you much - do they have experience of successfully dealing with nervous problems? As Jo says, the problem is her fear and that's what needs worked on.

If her breeders aren't able to help you, you can ask your vet for a referral to a behaviourist.

Good luck with her and keep in touch about her.

Jo, I don't mind you saying that Cal and Katie are lazy. They are. I'm off downstairs now to prise them off the couches and out for a walk.

Tracey.