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Old April 9th, 2011, 07:30 PM
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krdahmer krdahmer is offline
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Question Ha! First post for me in this section!

Ok, so you all know I am new to dogs....I have a couple of behaviour questions. We knew Venus had issues when we got her... fear/aggression towards people and other dogs. I have started crating her in the living room so she can meet the cats and we are taking everything very slowly, especially meeting new people. Now when she's in the crate and she sees one of the cats coming down the hall, she stands up, barks, whines and the fur on her back stands up like a cats when it's threatened, and she pounds her front paws on the crate bottom, is that aggression or fear?? And just over the last few days there have been motorcycles everywhere and we've been out and about. We drove by one going the opposite direction yesturday and she barked at it (weird because she is normally quiet as can be in the car). Then today while we were taking a walk around the neighbourhood a harley drove past us and she put her ears back and her tail between her legs and just about ran me all the way back to the house then couldn't get in and to her room fast enough! Is this fear?? We saw other bikes (sport style) and she was fine, but both instances where she's reacted has been harleys?
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Old April 9th, 2011, 07:35 PM
pattymac pattymac is offline
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If it was one of those really loud obnoxious sounding Harley's I don't blame her! I can imagine that sound must bother their ears. I can't stand those things. Don't understand why they have to be so darned loud! Her reaction sounds like fear to me.

With the cats, I'm not sure. I've been very lucky with my cat/dog intros so far.
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Old April 10th, 2011, 02:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krdahmer View Post
Ok, so you all know I am new to dogs....I have a couple of behaviour questions. We knew Venus had issues when we got her... fear/aggression towards people and other dogs. I have started crating her in the living room so she can meet the cats and we are taking everything very slowly, especially meeting new people. Now when she's in the crate and she sees one of the cats coming down the hall, she stands up, barks, whines and the fur on her back stands up like a cats when it's threatened, and she pounds her front paws on the crate bottom, is that aggression or fear?? And just over the last few days there have been motorcycles everywhere and we've been out and about. We drove by one going the opposite direction yesturday and she barked at it (weird because she is normally quiet as can be in the car). Then today while we were taking a walk around the neighbourhood a harley drove past us and she put her ears back and her tail between her legs and just about ran me all the way back to the house then couldn't get in and to her room fast enough! Is this fear?? We saw other bikes (sport style) and she was fine, but both instances where she's reacted has been harleys?
The sound of the Harley would be scary especially seeing as she has spent so much time in the shelter. It could also be the loud sound of the bike that is hurting her ears, but I would more think itis fear of the bike is her problem.

When we first got Mindy last year, she was scared of motorcyles, trucks even bikes as I guess she hadn't been around them much. She would run away from them and I'd have to pick her up and tell her it was ok. I also would sit outside with her in the summer at the front of the house and just let her watch the traffic go by and talk to her.

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Originally Posted by pattymac View Post
If it was one of those really loud obnoxious sounding Harley's I don't blame her! I can imagine that sound must bother their ears. I can't stand those things. Don't understand why they have to be so darned loud! Her reaction sounds like fear to me.
Patty, my brother use to ride a Harley and he almost got smacked by a few cars because they couldn't hear him and didn't check their side view mirrors. So he had to put on a really loud muffler because he did a lot of hwy travel on his bike. That is why they are so loud, so people know they are there and don't smush them. *S*
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Old April 10th, 2011, 06:33 AM
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The sound of Harley's hurt my ear drums when they ride past me when I am biking, I just hate them with a passion. Is it possible that she has very sensitive ears? Maybe have the vet take a peek to see if there is any medical reason for the sensitivity.
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Old April 10th, 2011, 07:10 AM
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we have an appointment for her and Mickey on the 22nd of this month to get the troops some revolution I'll get them to take a look at her ears....although she is completely fine with hubby's big rig and it's noise, she was only in it one day....and when I met him this morning and took her to visit as he was rolling through she was trying to get in the truck with him!
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Old April 12th, 2011, 12:10 AM
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Originally Posted by krdahmer View Post
Then today while we were taking a walk around the neighbourhood a harley drove past us and she put her ears back and her tail between her legs and just about ran me all the way back to the house then couldn't get in and to her room fast enough! Is this fear?? We saw other bikes (sport style) and she was fine, but both instances where she's reacted has been harleys?
Did she react when she first heard the bike or when she first saw it?

Sounds more to me like she has a negative association with the Harley style bike, not loud sounds . Does the shelter have any information of her background that may suggest a previous incident w/a Harley ie chased/hit by one, previous owner/former neighbour had one etc?

Congrats on the adoption btw
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Old April 13th, 2011, 03:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by krdahmer View Post
Ok, so you all know I am new to dogs....I have a couple of behaviour questions. We knew Venus had issues when we got her... fear/aggression towards people and other dogs. I have started crating her in the living room so she can meet the cats and we are taking everything very slowly, especially meeting new people. Now when she's in the crate and she sees one of the cats coming down the hall, she stands up, barks, whines and the fur on her back stands up like a cats when it's threatened, and she pounds her front paws on the crate bottom, is that aggression or fear??
I would say neither. It is likely just frustration but could also be a sign that she has a strong prey drive and wants to chase the cat. I would start to work on some positive conditioning with her and the cats. This is a great use for clicker training.

Start first with some attention exercises with her. Have her either on leash or in the crate with no cats around. Just stand there until she turns and gives you some eye contact then say her name, click and feed. Do not lure her with treats (have them hidden until after the click) as you want to reward the behaviour offered not bribe her into doing it. Soon she basically will just have her eyes glued to you. Break that up by tossing the treat away from you when you reward, she should then grab it and return to give you eye contact. Gradually up the distractions and eventually include the cats. The goal is to have her associate the cats with yummy treats and calm behaviour.

When you do away with the crate then you probably want to have her tethered to your waist for added security until you can judge her reactions.

Good luck and congrats on your gorgeous pup .
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Old April 14th, 2011, 08:45 AM
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The cat thing could be play/chase, I've had dogs that did this but did no harm. Be careful, with the right training and techniques, it should work out. The bike thing, Harley's are very loud (we have a quiet bike) I don't get the deal when you can't hear your passenger talking, to each their own. I bet she's afraid of trains (I have one in my back yard). I think it's the noise level. My scardy cat dog howls at loud noises, but it scared of many many other things. I've always been told to not pamper when afraid, continue on with confidence.
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Old April 14th, 2011, 01:33 PM
Chris21711 Chris21711 is offline
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Of all the Dogs that have lived with us Kr...Jack has been the only one that had issues with both dogs and cats....

IMO I think keeping Venus in the crate when the cats are around causes her to show signs of being more agressive towards them than what she may turn out to be.

Venus has had a fair amount of training, I don't know what kind.....Jack prior to falling upon us had been trained by whoever had him before us and has a pretty good recall......Whenever he went for the cats we would call his name sharply to break his concentration and tell him nohe would listen...we kept an astute eye on him at all times. In the beginning the cats for the most part were anywhere that he was not, gradually they introduced themselves.

When you visited last year it was just after Jack had come to live with us, you saw the way he was, I think he was pretty good considering the amount of time he had lived with us.

The being scared of noises, maybe is something she will never overcome, hopefully she does. It's still early days yet Kr...give her time to feel secure.

I don't think I've ever written such a long post
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