[SK Girl]

Hey Guys,
Well, as most of you know, I have a 7.5 mth old BLF. She's been coming along really nicely and I'm having a ton of fun with her. :thumbsup: However, 3 weeks ago, she got bit by a husky-type dog at obedience class. She is fine...she had a fairly deep gash in her muzzle, some punctures and there was a fair amount of blood, but for all intents and purposes, she was more scared than anything.

Long story short, it was unprovoked (this dog doesn't like pups and she was within chomping distance), so we missed an "if you bug big dogs, you'll get bit" training opportunity. However, she was really spooked by it. I tried to not make a big deal out of it, so she wouldn't. I took her back to obedience the next day and have continued with it.

However, my dilemma is this...3 weeks later, she is still really nervous, even in situations outside of obedience class! Any thoughts on how to get her confidence back??? :huh:

I've been trying to take her to places where big dogs are and get her exposure to them in a "non-scary" situation. I don't react when she gets all spooky because I don't want her running to 'mom' everytime anything scary happens. It just sucks to see my once-so-confident pooch so nervous. :sad: On the upside, getting bit made FF seem like nothing and she turned back into her little 'spitfire-retriever' self the next day... :thumbsup:

Thanks in advance,
K

 

[harvey1b]

Katherine,

Sorry to hear about the spooked pup. I think you're doing the right thing by getting her around other big dogs. I would continue this as much as possible. At this point so soon after the negative incedent, when she gets "spooky" encourage with praise to let her know everything is cool. She is still pretty young. I would think that pretty soon she'll have her swagger back.

Good luck!

 

[Goosehunterdog]

I would just keep the confidence building like you have been doing....Sorry to hear of your trouble..I am sure with time that your pup will be just fine..

 

[tripleCBoykins]

You may be inadvertantly reenforcing the behavior. Best advice is for you to forget the situation. Relax, the tension you have from the situation is being transmitted to the dog. Cesar Milan teachs to be calm cool, yet assertive. The dog will move on from this incident when you do. Rember your like a book to a dog, she is reading you in ways we often do not understand. Our body language is our line of communication with dogs. Though we often speak to them, we talk with our body.
Also remember that as the pack leader you are responsible for protecting her. She naturally expects that of you. She may be seeking the comfort of your protection in a situation she is unsure of.

3CB

 

[SK Girl]

Thanks for the encouragement guys! I had her out with a friend's lab and things went well. She's slowly coming along! :thumbsup:

3CB, you may have a point though...although I've been trying my best to act normally, I know that deep down I worry everytime a big dog comes up to her because I don't want anything to happen to make it worse and she's probably picking up on that!

I guess we both need to get our confidence back...