Hi

I have a two year old male stand Schnauzer, who is wonderful at home, however, out on walks is a totally different matter.  If anyone or anything should makes eye contact with him, he lunges on his lead, he barks and his fur stands on end.  My other dog is fine and ignores him completely, as do most of the people that we meet that know him. 

I didn't take him training as a pup, although he did go on all walks with my older dog, so he was always aware of other dogs and people.

All ideas and suggestions greatfully received.

Ally

To a dog, direct eye contact is aggressive and dominant. In a pack of wolves/dogs, the subordinant members will not look the alpha dog in the eye. Dogs have to learn through early socialisation that eye contact is not a threat from humans, nor is smiling (baring teeth).

IMO your dog has not learnt this very well (not necessarily through any fault of yours) and now at two, most dogs ignorant, try it on, 'Kevin' age, he is feeling threatened by this. I think it is more fear based, known as Fear Aggression, rather than dominant behaviour. Unfortunately what you have most likely already found is, the more he reacts to people/dogs, the more intensely they stare back at him and so the worse he gets. I remember it well!

The way I got through it with my first dog was socialisation and plenty of it. For a start, I went to training classes, not for the training, for the socialising. (That evolved into competetive obedience and agility - beware!;-)) I also stood outside supermarkets and encouraged people to feed him titbits. Suddenly, approaching people became a nice thing and no longer scary. Obviously you will have to judge if you think it is safe to do this part with your dog.

Before joining a training class, go along without him to make sure you like the look of it. Any decent club will be happy about that.

You don't mention what he is like off lead or how he is with strangers coming into your house. Good luck with him, please let us know how it goes. Why don't you join?

HTH, Claire

Many thanks for your reply, I tried Jensen at training classes but he was terrified, he was shaking at tried to hide behind me.  I probably should have persevered, but I gave up after about 4/5 weeks. 

I don't risk him off the lead if people are around, I don't think he would hurt anyone, I just want to take the chance.  He is slightly better with visitors than he used to be, we do get visitors to give him treats and that works, I don't know why I never thought of that for when we are out!!

Once again thanks for your tips, it's good to know of someone who has managed to come through this.

Allyson

Hi Allyson

The dog I was talking about is now 10 and a half and completely well adjusted. He was a rescue and had been very badly treated. However, the next dog I got I have had from a puppy.

I researched the line, met his mother, grandmother, father, aunt, sister, brother and two uncles. He comes from the famous Woodsorrel line and they are well known for being sensitive and good tempered. He was socialised as much as is humanly possible from the age of 6 weeks. He is now nearly 3 and is the most neutrotic, nervous, highly strung dog you could ever meet. I have learnt to deal with him and read him. He is not really nasty and would rather escape than fight and has never had a proper fight in his life. It took me long time to accept the fact that it was him, his personality and nothing I could have done. In other ways he is wonderful, he is totally focussed and tuned into me and would work for me until he dropped.

I suppose what I am trying to say is, don't blame yourself for how he is, it could well be his nature. Instead, try to look for his good points and work with the bad ones. 4/5 weeks is not long enough to work through anything at a training club. You don't have to train, you could just ask if you can sit with him and watch. Maybe later get him on the floor alone and play/feed treats. I know Jensen is terrified but by leaving you are confirming his suspicions that it is a dangerous place. It took my first dog about 4/5 months to stop trying to escape out of the door! Learn to read him and when he panics, don't try to reassure him. What you are saying to him is, I'm scared too. Just ignore it like he isn't doing anything.

Is he castrated? It might help to calm him down. It did with my first one but not the second. I have got three collies, 2 rescues, one from a pup. The rescues are better behaved and more stable than the other one. Just shows nothing's guaranteed. :-)

Hope you get on alright,

Claire

4/5 weeks in the right sort of training classes might see an improvement IMO, but it very much depends on the classes and what happens when the dog tries to get behind you.....  If he was allowed to, and then given space to come out in his own time, then he may well make progress.  But if he was taken out each time he sought refuge and encouraged to face things before he was ready, then no, I wouldn't expect progress.......

That depends entirely on the dog. If you think that 4/5 weeks equals 4/5 session of about an hour, that is very little time to overcome fears such as Jensen has.

That's why I didn't say cure, I said you should see an improvement, and this may be as small as not hiding behind the owners for so long before he came out for a peek.  For the best results, this sort of thing often takes time to 'cure' and consistant work from the owner at home as well.......