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Postby z28mama8 » March 8th, 2007, 4:50 pm

Hi all
I have had my am-staff since DEC. we adopted him and he is a great dog, but anyone that comes over that he does or doesn't know, he shakes uncontrollably, and his tail goes right between the legs, now I don't know what happened to him in his past but is there anyway to break him of this. I want people to see him for the great dog he is, but all they see is this dog that will growl and shake with his tail in between his legs, what can i do if anything? :cry:
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Postby blover27 » March 8th, 2007, 5:01 pm

invest in some hot dogs and leave them in a gift box by the door :wink: 8)
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Postby Jenn » March 8th, 2007, 5:10 pm

Was he evaluated where you adopted him from?
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Postby mnp13 » March 8th, 2007, 5:21 pm

On March 08 2007, 16:01, blover27 wrote:invest in some hot dogs and leave them in a gift box by the door :wink: 8)

I was going to say the same thing.
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Postby blover27 » March 8th, 2007, 5:28 pm

On March 08 2007, 4:21 PM, mnp13 wrote:
On March 08 2007, 16:01, blover27 wrote:invest in some hot dogs and leave them in a gift box by the door :wink: 8)

I was going to say the same thing.
see im not just all fun and games :D 8)
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Postby Big_Ant » March 8th, 2007, 5:29 pm

It would be nice if you guys told her what to use those hot dogs for!

You don't want her thinking that if she served her guests weenies and cheese that it'll fix her dog, or do you?

- Anthony
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Postby z28mama8 » March 8th, 2007, 5:35 pm

hot dogs would work for the quick second he eats them, but then he would go back to growling and shaking..but thanks lol
No they didn't really know much about him, he has been in the shelter for a year and came in the just a puppy,so they gave me no information on him :?
any other ideas?
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Postby blover27 » March 8th, 2007, 5:37 pm

i was just thinking how nice it would be if everyone kept a box of meat bi products at their door...how awesome would that be??? :yum: i might even be inclined to meet my neighbors :|

wouldnt it be funny if your doorbell rang and you opened the door to someone gnawing on a stick of salami lmao
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Postby blover27 » March 8th, 2007, 5:45 pm

hot dogs and patience/time? you've only had the dog 3 months...keep working with him...

michelle likes to type long winded responses....im sure she's composing a book as i post 8)
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Postby cheekymunkee » March 8th, 2007, 5:58 pm

The trick with the hot dogs is, turn your guest into a treat dispensing machine. That way your dog equates new people with yummy stuff & begins to look forward to them. It will take time but be worth it in the long run.
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Postby z28mama8 » March 8th, 2007, 6:17 pm

On March 08 2007, 4:58 PM, cheekymunkee wrote:The trick with the hot dogs is, turn your guest into a treat dispensing machine. That way your dog equates new people with yummy stuff & begins to look forward to them. It will take time but be worth it in the long run.


I guess it could work now that i think about it, i'll try it thanks
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Postby Marinepits » March 8th, 2007, 6:42 pm

On Thu, Mar 08 2007, 4:58 PM, cheekymunkee wrote:The trick with the hot dogs is, turn your guest into a treat dispensing machine. That way your dog equates new people with yummy stuff & begins to look forward to them. It will take time but be worth it in the long run.


What Debby said! :wink:
Never make someone a priority in your life when that someone treats you like an option.
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Postby katiek0417 » March 8th, 2007, 6:50 pm

Does he only act afraid in the house? Kaiden was a little nervous of people...so I started to take him to work with me, and I kept hot dogs around...every person who walked by and wanted to pet him had to feed him hot dogs....

Debby is right, though. It is well worth it, so you have to keep at it...it won't change overnight
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Postby mnp13 » March 8th, 2007, 6:54 pm

what are they doing when he starts growling and shaking? what are you doing?
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Postby z28mama8 » March 8th, 2007, 6:59 pm

On March 08 2007, 5:54 PM, mnp13 wrote:what are they doing when he starts growling and shaking? what are you doing?

well at first we would try to calm him down, but now we hold onto him by his collar, or put him in his cage, because people get scared after a while, when u have a pit growling at you it doesn't make you feel at ease :o
but that's just it he is not like that with us, just everyone that walks into the house.
we even take him to my in laws every weekend and he is fine there until people walk in and he does the same thing
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Postby mnp13 » March 8th, 2007, 7:11 pm

I'd put him on leash and have everyone ignore him. how is his obedience?
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Postby pitbullmamaliz » March 8th, 2007, 7:23 pm

Definitely DO NOT coddle him and reassure him when he's doing that. That just reinforces the fact that there is something scary. Michelle asked how his obedience is, and I think that's important. The more obedience you've done, the more he'll look at you as a pack leader - if you're not frightened, he'll realize there's nothing to be frightened of.

I've read somewhere that you should have "socialization parties." Not sure if this would be too much stress for him at once, but invite several people over, have them wait outside (perhaps nibbling on your available meat by-products) and come in one at time, lob a treat to him if he won't take it from them, and then leave. Then the next person comes in and does the same thing. Over and over. Pretty soon (theoretically, at least!) he'll be looking forward to having people come visit. :)
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Postby z28mama8 » March 8th, 2007, 7:28 pm

On March 08 2007, 6:11 PM, mnp13 wrote:I'd put him on leash and have everyone ignore him. how is his obedience?


he listens to my husband the best, but if u raise your voice he gets scared (probably from his past) He is a good dog besides that really no other problems, he is great with the kids too!
that's is what we have been doing, putting him in the cage and basically ignoring but, but i feel that is helping the problem at the time but not solving the problem all together :cry:
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Postby mnp13 » March 8th, 2007, 7:41 pm

Here's what I think:

obedience comes from the whole family, not only from your husband. He needs to learn respect for the family, respect will lead to trust, that trust will teach him to look to you for cues and trust that you will not put him in harms way.

stop focusing on his past. It's the past. His problems may NOT have to do with anything in his past. He may just be a fearful dog. Dogs don't necessarily have a traumatic past to act like he is acting.

Have you taken him to obedience classes? If not, it's time to sign up for a class (not a PetSmart class.) That will strengthen your bond and help with the trust.

If he needs to be crated when people are over, so be it. It doesn't seem like he trusts you a whole lot and you need to build your bond with him first, then ask him to learn about strangers. Right now, new people = serious stress. You're probably makeing it worse in some ways.

The hotdog machine theory is a good one and has worked very well for a lot of people. I'd give that some time to work as well
Michelle

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Postby blover27 » March 8th, 2007, 7:42 pm

removing him from the situation and putting him in his crate (which i assume is what you mean by 'cage') is different than what michelle is suggesting....
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