my 5 month old GSD benji came to me at 13 weeks unsocilised in anyway.
he had in his previous home apparently showed signs of fear agression. however in the whole time i have had him not once has he shown any of those tendancies.

he has gone from a very worried , withdrawn pup, to a pup that will play and gets on a lot better with new situations. we have met many good friends both human and doggy and it is a plesure to see him playing with both with confidence, something that a few months ago appeared to be impossible.

being a full time mother to my disabled daughter bethany and having a partner that works from 9 am till 10 pm 6 days a week i am sole carer and handler of benji also. i have made the best of what i have and i have been out to towns, busy parks all sorts of situations, where i have sat and allowed benji to get used to new people i have done this since i got him and he now allows strangers to approach him with out a worry.

becasue of my situation i find myself in situations where i have to leave benji outside a shop for short peroiods of time 2 -3 times a week. this is something i carefully got him used to starting off when oh had time off sometimes even late at night. so that he at first lernt to be tie up with me gone with with some one on stand bye.

for the past 2 months i have been able to leave him out side no problems he sits and waits. one shop in particular has a sercurity guard (there 6 times out of 10) and he has even got to knwo benji and keeps an eye from time to time to make sure he is ok, i have always had positive praise about how well he behaves.

today i went to this shop nothign was diffrent i tied benji up in his usual space that is not in a busy walkway of people but near a wall out of the way but with him still able to see what is going on.

i was in the shop all of 5 mins sometimes i am longer. when i came out there was a crowd of about 6-7 adultsl stood round benji, he was cowering.

the just of the story is that a lady walked past benji with a walking stick and stopped and talked to neji and whilst doing so had lifted her stick as she said somethign and benji lunged forwards and barked.

the lady shouted and him and then she was joined by a group pf adults waiting to go in for work and they had apparently shouted at him to sit and he barked and lunged forwards at them.needless to say i was horrified and said look he is a 5 month old pup who was obviouslt scared by the lady with her stick and really they should of left him alone. they then said that he was obviosuly a dangerous dog who bit people.

i asked if he snapped and they said no put he did bark and run forwards.

anyhow i ferlt very humiliated and embarresed. and i knwo know that i will have to muzzle him just in case. even though i feel this was a rare one off i cant take a chance. but im worried that the muzzle will make him worry even more.

i cant not take him with me.
what the hell am i to do?

I sympathise as my rescue dog would bark in the same situation :) I personally wouldn't worry too much at the fact that he barked at the people. However, it's not the best thing to leave a dog unattended outside shops for several reasons - one being, as you have experienced, you have no control over what is happening while you are not there :( The best thing is just not to do it again, I'm afraid - I wouldn't resort to muzzling him.

Daisy

Hi - I know it must be difficult, given your circumstances, but there's no way I would leave a dog of mine tied up outside a shop - for many reasons.  Maybe you should leave him at home when you need to go to the shops?

It looks like Benji might have either had a bad experience with a stick (been hit with one) before he came to you, or perhaps he's just under socialised to sticks because you didn't expose him to them when he was young.  It sounds like quite a frightening experience, but I wouldn't over-react and muzzle him because it doesn't sound like he was aggressive, just scared.  Also, you have to remember that GSDs have a bad reputation amongst members of the public, partly because they're used as police dogs and so are thought of as being vicious.  People will give them a lot less allowances than they will other breeds.

Also, I'd have given the lady a piece of my mind if she stopped to talk to him.  What's she doing, talking to someone else's dog and waving sticks about, without the owner around?  Who does she think she is?

Why don't you get a stick, and some treats.  Put the stick on the ground and chuck the treats around it so he has to go by the stick to eat them.  If he won't do that, throw the treats a bit further away and gradually work up to throwing them around the stick.  Don't rush things or you could end up making him more afraid of the stick!  When he is very happy doing that, then slowly pick the stick up, and just hold it, and offer him treats, so that he has to come to you while you're holding the stick in order to get the treats.  It might take a while to get this far, but a little bit every day should help.  When he is fine with you doing this, try to get other members of the family to hold the stick and offer him treats, so it's not just you that he's ok with a stick with.  If you are using a clicker, you can click when he sniffs the stick and give a treat - it is a more precise way of marking what you want (the stick contact).

my newfy boy had a similar start in life to your boy and reacted very badly to anybody with crutches, fishermen walking with rods, infact anyone holding a "weapon".  I had treats in my pocket and would explain to such people about his bad start and asked if I could just stand and talk to them for a few mins while he settled and sometimes when he was at ease asked them to give him a treat.  He now just keeps close to me if he is scared but at least he shows no "scary" outward signs to the other person.

What a horrific experience for this poor pup. Benjismum - why do you have to take him with you? Dogs must learn to spend some time on their own and at least you would know he's safe. I feel really sorry for your pup, alone in a tense and frightening situation. This sort of incident could set him back so much, and you have done so well to bring him round thus far.  GSD's are such sensitive souls bless them. Please re-think ever leaving him alone in a public place, as, while this was awful, it's not the worst thing that could have happened - the scenarios are just too frightening to contemplate. You are his guide and his protector, and you need to be with him to be able to fulfil your role.
If he doesn't like being left alone, this perhaps is the area you should work on, rather than training him to sit outside a shop. Also please do not contemplate muzzling him, it would be cruel and unjustified, as he did nothing wrong. Please don't take this the wrong way, it is not an attack, I just feel so sad for you both. Take a step back, think through all your options, and I'm sure you will work something out. Good luck
Kat

I hope you don't mind me asking, but why can't you leave him at home when you need to go into a shop?

I personally would NEVER leave any of my dogs tied up outside a shop. What would have happened if the old lady had deided to wallop him one with the stick when he lunged and he had bitten her out of self-defence? It would have been all over the local news and you and the dog would be portrayed as the villans of the incident. And it doesn't bear thinking about had he reacted like that to a kid poking a toy sword at him or some similar scenario. Also he could have quite easily been stolen and you may never have seen him again. Or what if he'd slipped his collar because he was frightened and ran in a panic into the road and been hit by a car? Poor Benjy must have been petrified with all those people shouting at him. I tell you what if I'd have been walking past I'd have given them all a piece of my mind for their utter stupidity. I personally wouldn't muzzle him - people see a muzzle and presume he's a vicious dog plus it's possible he may feel even more scared and vunerable tied up with no way to defend himself.

he does stay home in the house on his own no problems. but i ussualy plan my day so that i go to the shop on the back from hsi walk as it is on the way home.

if i was to leave him in the house he would be home alone for alot longer but also it would mean that i would have to go out come home and go out again by which time by the time i came home it would be time to take him out again.
i only take him to the shop 2-3 times a week some weeks only 1 time.

up to now there has not been a problem he has always just sat there and never barked or howled or anything. i saw it as a progression with his training.

a person coming up to a dog with a stick and waving it especially whenthe dog is tied so not in a position to run away would be enougth to scare any dog. i can do all the desensertisation in the world, but i cant imitate a scared/angry stranger.

benji was tied up on a short lead and its not liek a took a chance out of the blue. we had built up to this. and i had been doing this for 2 months with no problems. even locals know benji and every one comes to pat him.

it was tottaly out of character for him and when i came out he looked very scared.

he woudl stay home all day with no problems on his own if he had to. but i would neve rask that of him. and although it dosnt make it right the shop has tie rings to tie dogs at and several dog owners use them.

im not goign to muzzle him, but it looks liek im just goign to have to try and manage things diffrently. which will mean having to walk out several times a day to drop him home covering miles at a time.

HI Benjismum,

You must both have been really upset by this :(

I also used to leave my dog outside shops (small shops) many years ago, but one time I was in Boots for a few minutes and came out to see a three year old kicking lumps out of him (he was only the size of a Bedlington) the boys mother was stood next to him and did nothing   as my dog was tied he couldn't even get away but just sat there with his head turned away :( :(   I really told the boy off and his mother chose that moment to take notice "he wasn't hurting" was the comment   so I wiped the floor with her pointing out that if my dog had retaliated then she'd have been the first to want him PTS !!  I also asked was she prepared to pay the vets bills if he was hurt ;)
I never tied him from that day, but then he was like rock and wouldn't have moved for anything ;)  in the days of little traffic it was possible, but I wouldn't even think of it these days  :(

As your daughter is disabled, would it be possible for him to be assessed and to train him as an assistance dog??  that way he might be allowed in shops if he's there for her assistance ;) ;)  Just a thought anyway :) :)

Don't worry to much about leaving him too long , i'm sure there are people here who work full time and there dogs are fine everyday. An hour or two every couple days isn't going to do him any harm.

<<a person coming up to a dog with a stick and waving it especially whenthe dog is tied so not in a position to run away would be enougth to scare any dog. i can do all the desensertisation in the world, but i cant imitate a scared/angry stranger>>

That's just what everyone is trying to say Benjismum, there are all sorts of people out there, odd ones, silly ones, nice ones and some cruel and stupid ones. You could have had some 'yobs' set him loose and hurt or frighten him, or worse steal him and torture him. He's also a prime target for dog thieves, at such a young age. Although it will be harder work for you, I'm sure you will feel more relaxed that he is safe. Training him as an assistance dog is a great idea! Then he could go anywhere at all with you. Good luck, and keep up the great work with him
K

I would never ever tie any of my dogs up outside any shop.  Okay its inconvenient for you not to take him but that is what happens when you get a dog you have to put yourself out - sometimes.  However the main issue here is and you will see it on most dog sites - the amount of people who come out to get their dog and its gone - never to be seen again.  Dog theft is big big big.  All that time and effort you have put into him will be worth nothing if you come out to find an empty space. Leave him at home.  Also at 5 months he is still a very young baby and should not be left alone outside tied up anywhere. As everyone else here says - leave him at home for his own safety and your own peace of mind.
Neeva

I used to also walk my dogs and then shop, when coming back from a walk (this is with a car) but now do 2 separate journeys because of the very real worry of dog theft. It is sadly very commonplace now, and it's just not safe to leave a dog unattended for even a short length of time.

I hope Benji and you recover, the people involved were idiots and had no right to go anywhere near your dog.

Lindsay
x

Hi Benjismum,

What a terrible experience for your puppy.   And I bet he frightened the older woman too - who probably had no idea why he reacted in what must have seemed like an aggressive manner.

As others have said, I think you should take this as an example of why it is not a good idea to leave your dog tied up outside of shops.  You may cause him permanent harm to his temperament because there are probably hundereds of nasty thing that can happen to him whilst you are not watching.   A dog tied up is a dog that is vulnerable and easily frightened.  

I do not mean to be rude, but if you persist in leaving your dog tied up outside shops you may find the problem solved for you in the long run - because one day you may come out of the shop to find your dog has been stolen.

Stacey

Hi Benji's mum,

i feel so angry that people choose to stroke our dogs without any cosnsent, and then start hysteria if a pup jumps up, he proberly thought the stick was to play with.
We dont go around touching their handbags or other items they own so why touch ours.
i dont agree with tying dogs up outside shops as there are to many sick teenagers out there who would think it funny to harm a puppy.
Wher i live the children have tied fireworks and lighted objects and stuck them in the collors of dogs tied up thinking they are funny.
Please dont muzzle your dog for fear of other dogs attacking him, he would be tied up and totally defenceless should an attack occur. may be its best to leave him at home safe and sound. Also dog theft is on the increase.
good luck

i certainley dont think hes agressive,he was just scared.
i agree with the others, dont leave him in a situation that YOU cant control.its not fair on him.
please dont muzzle him.hes not done anything wrong & dont think hes a danger