13/09/2021
Mark Vette is a nationally recognised Animal Behaviourist - We thought some of his tips might be useful for our followers. Hope you enjoy!
- DOGS THAT ARE SCARED OF MEN
I’m asked fairly regularly about what to do to help a dog that’s scared of men. Often the dog will be fine with men in the household or men she knows very well, but fearful or nervous of others. This can result in the dog cowering or going into defensive threat (becoming aggressive).
WHY does this happen?
This can happen for a variety of reasons. If the dog wasn’t socialised well with men during her formative period (2 - 4 months) then she will discriminate against this group of people that she didn’t get enough early exposure to. Or if she has ever been hurt or mistreated by a man, this can create a fearful reaction of all men too. A dog can also become fearful even without these factors if she just doesn’t see men very much in her daily life. Men are often taller with deeper voices, which are both a sign of dominance to a dog, which is why it’s often males that are more intimidating than females in these situations.
WHAT can you do about it?
Your dog will need to be taught to trust, accept and relax around men again. You can do this by facilitating controlled meet and greets with men using a clicker and treats to reward positive, appropriate, pro-social responses and a slip collar and lead to correct any inappropriate responses such as barking, growling or lunging. Before you get started, you will need to have your dog working on a clicker and have a slip collar and lead ready to use.
HOW to work on this problem:
If your dog only has a mild case of nervousness around new men, you can use the following technique. I would suggest you practise this technique with women first to get your dog comfortable with how the meet and greet works, then test it with men.
+ Start by running through some calming commands such as Sit and Zen Down using your clicker and treats.
+ Have a man you know ready to help you with this training. They will need to display non-threatening postures (being still, either sitting on a chair or crouched down a little, minimising eye contact with the dog, turning their body slightly side on).
+ Have your dog on a slip collar and lead and approach the man. Use the “nicely” command as you approach, and click and reward your dog for any calm, non-vocal responses as you move closer. Your own demeanour should be calm and relaxed, if you are worried your dog will pick up on this and it may make her more reactive.
+ If your dog growls, barks at or lunges at the person, then I recommend you consider using a muzzle and learn how to use the tools and techniques I recommend you to join our Virtual Dog School: https://dogzen.com/dogzen-virtual-dog-school/
+ When you get within 1 metre of the man, stop and ask your dog to sit then click and reward.
+ Get the man to throw treats on the ground for her, and click as she eats them. If she’s coping well with this, have the man hold out treats for her to take from his hand. If she is reluctant, you yourself hold a treat for her over the top of the man’s hand then gradually remove your hand so that he is feeding her.
+ Circle back away and repeat the exercise a few times. Then use this technique to meet lots of different men, always rewarding calm, non-vocal responses.
+ Don’t push your dog too far too fast. Aim to have her focused on you and working for the food rewards, then lure her into the interaction in a calm way.
+ This method desensitises the dog the men and keeps her in a learning state so we can rewire this behaviour and have an effective cue that switches the new behaviours on.
+ If she is coping well with this, ask the man to take hold of her lead and take your dog for a little walk as this will also foster pro-social responses to him.
+ Practise, practise, practise
If your dog is showing aggression to men, then you’ll need a more comprehensive training technique. This is covered in my Dog Zen Virtual Dog School so I would suggest you start there! Https://dogzen.com/dogzen-virtual-dog-school/
