New member, advice needed

[WaltersMom]

Hi all,

My husband and I have a 4 mo. old smooth coat black and tan doxie named Walter. He is the cutest thing and cracks me up daily. The one concerning issue we are having as that the older he gets, the more timid/ afraid of new people he seems to be. When he was a young puppy he would go up to anyone wagging his tail wanting to play, however In the last few weeks he has actually nipped at 2 people when first meeting them, barks his head off and won't greet strangers. This worries me as we are recently married and hope to be adding children to our family in the next few years. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this? I'm really hoping this is not a sign of a bigger issue. Any advice will be much appreciated!!

 

[love'laska]

Hello and welcome!

When you have guests over, before you introduce them to Walter, give them treats so the second he comes up to smell them, they can give him treats as a friendly gesture. Let them feed him treats periodically throughout the night. Hopefully it can help change his mind on strangers.

 

[DeafDogs]

Food is your best friend right now. Have every person give him food, but do not let them pet him right now. If he asks for attention then fine. But if he's nervous than dont force him. Also do not hold him when he's meeting new people. He needs to be on the floor, he may be trying to protect you. Make sure every experience is a positive one. Do not let people scare him.

 

[amparra]

I would have a behaviorist come to evaluate him. Its hard to tell if he is playing (and getting carried away) or actually being aggressive. A 4 month old should not be displaying aggression, I really think you need to bring in a behaviorist.

 

[love'laska]

I would have a behaviorist come to evaluate him. Its hard to tell if he is playing (and getting carried away) or actually being aggressive. A 4 month old should not be displaying aggression, I really think you need to bring in a behaviorist.

Please don't confuse anxiety with aggression...

 

[WaltersMom]

Thanks everyone for the replies... We have been having new people give him treats but just one time. I will definitely try having that person give him a few treats over the course of their visit. He seems to be ok and warm up when people just ignore him and let him settle down, it is when people try and force him to interact with them that he seems to nip. I should add that the second incident happened when I was holding him and a new person reached in to pet him. He is not full blown biting but definitely snapping maybe as a warning? I'm feeling more like it is anxiety rather than aggression (I hope) but is this the early sign of poor temperament?

 

[love'laska]

It definitely sounds more like anxiety to me. If it were actual aggression, you would have no doubt about it. He's still a puppy and he's expected to still be a little nippy, especially in uncomfortable situations. My close friends has a german shepherd dog who is the sweetest pup you'll ever meet and once in an uncomfortable situation he nipped a friend who ended up needing stitches. He had been whining and she hadn't listened to his warning, so he snapped at her. It was an anxiety thing, not an aggression thing. Puppies will act up when they feel uncomfortable.

 

[Nell]

I agree it is probably an anxiety thing. My six month old puppy is also very wary of strangers. She is extremely well socialised as she comes to work with me everyday and gets to meet lots of people.

I ask people to ignore her until she is happy to approach them. I also agree that she should be on the floor and not in your arms when strangers appear.

The worst thing is when a stranger rushes up to make a fuss, my puppy immediately backs off and tends to "cling" to me. She too has growled a couple of times when she has thought a stranger is going to pick her up, my queue to take control and ask the stranger to back off!

To be honest I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing or that she will be a vicious dog, my puppy is VERY friendly once she has made friends and I am quite happy that she is a bit aloof with people she doesn't know.

Of course aggression always needs to be kept in check and kept a watchful eye on but you can build your puppy's confidence with careful management. He is a vulnerable baby that needs you to take the lead to protect him.

 

[GJBain]

Dachshunds are very very very (did I mention very)protective of their owners. It is very normal for them to react in this way to stangers in my opinion. Even though we don't like this reaction it is not out of the ordinary for this breed. It is normal for most people to want to come right up and pet a dog, especially kids. People that know Dachshunds know you have to approach them slowly and if their owner is holding them do not even go near them. They need to warm up to people they do not know. Not uncommon at all.

 

[WaltersMom]

Thank you. I spoke with Walter's breeder yesterday and she suggested having new people give him a "high value" treat that he only gets from strangers. And then after they give him this treat they should leave him alone and let him seek them out if he wants to meet them further. She also said that they go through a fear period when they are puppies, though I hadn't heard if that before.

 

[DeafDogs]

Yes, puppies go through fear stages and proper non-frightening socialization during those times is extremely important.

 

[amparra]

Please don't confuse anxiety with aggression...

Fear biting is still biting and any biting is unacceptable. I still stand by my suggestion that she should find someone to work with. You don't want to inadvertently reinforce anxiety or push an anxious dog too quickly.

 

[vizzla]

Let him take it in his own pace. Dont force him or trick him. It will make him suspisious. If he want to meet people tell them to ignore him. Dont look at him or talk to him. Just let him sniff and walk away. That works for our insecure boy. He will get suspisioucs if people try to trick him to come over with treats...
If they ignore him, he will lay on their lap at the end of the evening

Good luck!