biting strangers

[jennifer]

During the past 6 months we have noticed that Mickey does not like strangers at all. He was socialized as a baby by bringing him to malls and other places where we let strangers hold him.

We've always known that he didn't like kids. Now if people we don't know try to pet him he starts growling and showing his teeth and will eventually attack although he doesn't seem to make contact with his teeth. It just looks very vicious.

This past weekened we were camping and some of our relatives that had not met him before wanted to pet him. At one point he ran over to one of them and jump up for them to pick him up so she did and all seemed well. Then the next day he was sitting on her lap and she was petting him and he attacked her by trying to bite.

He also did the same thing when he was sitting on another relatives lap over the weekend that he just met.

How can I stop him from biting people and become comfortable with strangers or people he mets every once in a while.

HELP!

[Hercules Momma]

Jennifer,
My Hercules does a similuar thing, he really doesn't like to be petted by anyone when out in public. He'll tolerate it, but you can tell that he doesn't really care for it by looking really nervous and showing just "one" tooth! LOL... he's never bit anyone, but I wonder someday if he might.
I do tell people when I have them out that Hercules really doesn't like being petted by strangers.

[lilblizzardchic]

romeo shakes like a leaf if he even sees someone he doesnt know yesterday my couzin came over and he has met him before but i was holding him and he started to shake like a leaf so i kept saying its ok its ok and lightly rocking him to try to calm him down but nothing was working so then my couzin pet him and he started shaking even more but the first time he met him he was giving him kisses and everything so after he pet him i excused myself and went to my room and put romeo in it and after he tunnled under my blankets on "his" bed i went back in the other room after he left about 5 minutes later i couldnt find romeo at all i was screaming his name i was so scared he had left the house when my couzin left i didnt know what to do so i started to search in every nook and crany and found him hidding between the wall and the back of my bed so i gave everybody treats for being so good and romeo wouldnt come out and he is the first dog there to get his treat all the time so i went back and he was still shaking so i threw his treat to him since i couldnt reach him and an hour later he comes out still looking terified i felt so bad i dont know what to do

any help
erin

[2Chiwawa]

Hi Erin, I'm so sorry that Romeo was so frightened and that you were so scared that you had lost him. My Samm Girl is also very frightened of other people and in strange situations. She will also run away from me if she is very stressed.

It seems that you are saying that Romeo was ok around your cousin in the past and now he is very frightened around him. Has Romeo acted like this with other people or just with your cousin? If he is only acting this way with your cousin I would have to ask you to ask yourself a hard question. Was Romeo ever alone with your cousin when you were not there? Could Romeo have been mistreated by your cousin even if he did not intend to hurt Romeo?

If Romeo is acting this way around a lot of people other than your cousin then something frightened him in general about other people. You would have to then be very patient with him and recondition him very slowly with treats to feel safer.

I hope this helps some. Good luck with you little boy.

[lilblizzardchic]

romeo hasnt been around anybody recently but was fine with people before and i know for a fact that my couzin didnt do anything to him since he is always by my side i dont know what is up but i am thinking of taking him to the mall to soc. him a little more lets see if that helps
erin

[Zoeluvs2chis]

Erin,
I don't know much about dog-behavior and fear issues, since both Cookie and Brownie love everyone and seem fearless. They don't growl, shiver, nip nor bite anyone. In my humble opinion, you should socialize Romeo a bit at a time, so he doesn't become overwhelmed with all the lights, sights, scents, noise, and strangers at the mall. Maybe your cousin, or one specific individual at a time, can sit in a nuetral area with Romeo. If you are in a room with your cousin --allowing Romeo the option to do a little sniffing and investigation of your cousin, without feeling pressured or the need to flee from him, then Romeo will warm up and respond positively. I hope Romeo will grow to trust your cousin and others around him so he can associate happy times with visits.
Good luck.

[2Chiwawa]

Hi Erin, I so glad that you can trust your cousin. I agree with Zoe. I would take Romeo to quieter places than the mall in the beginning. But I understand what you are going through because Sammi is also fearful. Good luck.

[Amaze]

Often times, when dogs get upset/afraid, our natural reactions are exactly opposite from what they need. By cooing and cuddling him when he was stressed, you only compounded Romeo's fear of your cousin and let him know he was "right" in his reaction. Instead, you should have put him down, or, handed him over to your cousin to carry around for at least 15 minutes, both ignored his behavior. It is okay to reassure him, but not in a soft, baby voice. Rather, by acting like everything is fine and there is nothing to worry about. The hardest lesson for me to learn going into the show ring was just that-to trust other people and to not let my "mommy instincts" take over. I had to learn to hand Heuser over to other (experienced!) hands and then to leave him alone (without acknowlodging him) for 10-15 minutes at a time. At first, he shook and was upset but soon realized with my confidence in the person handling him, that everything was okay and not worth stressing about. He (and Tally, and Bently) have all gone through this "hand-off" period and it is amazing to see them come around to accepting other people. They still do not necessarily enjoy being held by strangers, but will tolerate it without a fuss and NEVER think of biting.

However, fear biting and biting in general are different behaviors that often stem from multiple issues involving how the owners react and compound the dog's fears.

[2Chiwawa]

Wow, Lys thank you for this very clear explanation of fear biting and how to correctly hand off a fearful dog to others. I am printing that out for myself and a co-worker with two chi babies one of whom is also fearful like my Sammi.