Hi all

I have a seven month old girl beagle who we got two months ago and who has a lovely temperament and is very affectionate and playful and obedient.

She gets on well with my boy beagle of 18 months, they were fine right from the start as I have had him since he was seven weeks and he is really laid back and there have been no problems between them at all.

My problem with my bitch is due to her early home life, her breeder socialised her as a pup as she had kids, and other dogs and the pup was fine when she went off to her first home as a confident bouncy beagle puppy.

The breeder had her given back by the first owner just short of five months old and the pup was traumatised, thin and nervy; what we can transpire is that the first owner had another older stroppy beagle bitch that kept going for the pup and bullying her and stealing her food and we think pup has been shouted at too as she used to cower in fear at a raised voice and did'nt like men.

We have worked hard on getting our girl to meet new people, kids, men and women and she is much better and does'nt pee herself in fright anymore.  She is eating properly and has the weight back on and she spends a lot of time playing with our other dog and being a busy normal puppy, she comes and gives you great big cuddles too.

The main problem is she never went out for walks before we had her and she gets in a right flap when she sees another dog, barking at the top of her voice, almost a right panic.  I have tried holding her nose gently and saying quiet but the pup is very frightened.

I f we are on a walk and we see a lot of dogs and we always get some person who has the off the lead dog with the cheery comment "Oh he wants to play/say hello"

I cant risk her going for another dog so I carry a lightweight muzzle and slip it on her so no damage can be done.

There are not many classes round here where I can get a decent trainer, my own trainer I think through going to her with my other dog, her response would be to force my bitch to go face to face with other dogs to conquer her fear; I think it would make her worse and the trainer has not been happy with other dogs in the class who have barked all the session, so I can not go back there

Any ideas anyone?   I try and do as much socialisation as I can, carrying her into to pet shop, she is fine with people but spot another dog, oh My!!!!

I would agree, avoid the trainer you mention, as forcing a dog to face its fears is not a good idea; it could provoke all sorts of further problems such as biting the other dog or panicking; even, the dog avoiding walks with you and not having its lead put on etc.

If you do have difficulty getting a good trainer nearby, have you thought of a behaviourist? Many will travel but some are better than others :P Try www.apdt.co.uk for a trainer, or www.apbc.org.uk or www.ukrcb.co.uk for a behaviourist. Often insurance will pay the cost for behavioural work :)

If not, I would suggest using Jean Donaldson's tried and tested "bar open, bar closed" method,  i have used it myself with good results. It works by association and getting a dog to link scary other dogs with pleasant things - simple but very effective. If you're interested, or can't find other help, PM me and i will try to help further :)

Lindsay
x

The above advice is excellent :D

Until you get the book it might be better to just take her somewhere like a park bench where she can just sit with you and watch the other dogs from a distance without having to encounter them, if she's quiet while looking at them praise copiously and treat ;), this may go some way to getting her used to just seeing other dogs.

Thank you both for your advice.

I only want the best for my girl at the end of the day and to compensate for all the misery she had in her first home, I am just so pleased she gets on with my boy dog and they are great friends and hate to be parted

I have ordered the book "fight" and will have a good read.

We are off on holiday in August and she'll have lots of socialisation then also.  The suugestion of just sitting somewhere and people and dog watching is a good one, will certainly try it.

Thanks everyone