April 28, 2011
My 7 month old Great Dane/ Saint Bernard has begun displaying uncertainty with strange situations. Is this defense or avoidance or is it too early to tell?
Full Question:
Hello Mr. Frawley,I recently read your article on the web and found it very informative. I used to own a Polish Tatra and as you may know, are natural and determined guard dogs. I cannot tell you how much I miss that in an animal that offers that kind of relationship. It can be wonderful.
I am writing you because I had a question about some information on your site. My wife and I have a male Great Dane/St. Bernard mix that will be 7 months on January 16th. You mentioned on your site that a dog will display certain sings if the defense gene is present. Our dog, Solomon, has recently displayed a deepening bark in certain situations, has begun to bark if someone comes to the house and behaves uncertain on walks if something on the walk is out of the ordinary. While he does not tuck his tail between his legs immediately, he will be very hesitant about going near the object and would rather not do so. His hair will stand up on his back, he will bark but will remain unsure unless he approaches the object very slowly.
My question to you is whether this is defense or avoidance? Is it too early to tell? What signs can I look for on either side as he gets older? What can I do to increase his confidence if it is defense?
I would appreciate any feedback you have to offer.
Thank you,
Todd
Ed's Answer:
It’s a little early to tell – many, many, male dogs go through a weird stage at about 10 months of age. It’s like a kid going through puberty. Their hormones are all screwed up and they get goofy.
A lot of times a dog that acts like this can turn into a defensive dog. The thing that makes the difference between a defensive dog and a fear based dog is the dog's nerves. Dogs with good nerves can be defensive. Dogs with weak nerves slide the other way.
In my opinion it’s the owners responsibility to prepare for both. This means you run the dog through a sound obedience program like mine. Obedience is only about 25% of the solution though. The rest revolves around pack structure and correct leadership skills. This is dealt with in my DVD on DEALING WITH DOMINANT AND AGGRESSIVE DOGS.
With large dogs and small women the final stop in the process is learning to use a remote collar. This is the great equalizer. The issue there is to learn the correct way to use it. It's not rocket science but it's also not “strap a collar on a dog and shock his balls off.” I did a DVD on how to use an e-collar last year. I use a Dogtra 1700 on my personal dog. There are less expensive collars but I don’t believe there is a better collar on the market.
So you now have the material background information to deal with what comes up. I am not trying to push products – I don’t need to do that. Take advantage of my free eBooks, my podcasts, and web discussion board.
A lot of times a dog that acts like this can turn into a defensive dog. The thing that makes the difference between a defensive dog and a fear based dog is the dog's nerves. Dogs with good nerves can be defensive. Dogs with weak nerves slide the other way.
In my opinion it’s the owners responsibility to prepare for both. This means you run the dog through a sound obedience program like mine. Obedience is only about 25% of the solution though. The rest revolves around pack structure and correct leadership skills. This is dealt with in my DVD on DEALING WITH DOMINANT AND AGGRESSIVE DOGS.
With large dogs and small women the final stop in the process is learning to use a remote collar. This is the great equalizer. The issue there is to learn the correct way to use it. It's not rocket science but it's also not “strap a collar on a dog and shock his balls off.” I did a DVD on how to use an e-collar last year. I use a Dogtra 1700 on my personal dog. There are less expensive collars but I don’t believe there is a better collar on the market.
So you now have the material background information to deal with what comes up. I am not trying to push products – I don’t need to do that. Take advantage of my free eBooks, my podcasts, and web discussion board.
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