SS Cressa Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Lately I dont know why, Cressa acts spooked walking past a couple black German shepherd. The dogs doesnt look at her, snark at her, or generally acknowledge her present(or doesnt till she yipes). 1st time I saw it was at nationals. I went outside to potty her and we walked past a black GSD. The dog was gazing at its owner the whole time... Cressa saw the dog and immediately her ears went back, tail tucked, and slicked past it like it was after her. Then once we had walked past it she "yelped" and snap the air toward it. As if it went after her. The owner looked startle and almost started to apologize when I was like your dog didnt touch my dog. We were about 3+ feet away and I didnt know what her issue was till after she yelped. We were going different directions in both incidents. She did something similar at this last trial. We walked past a black GSD and once again she started to slink like it was after her, and yelped when we pasted it then snap at it again. It was a different dog then the one at nationals. SHe doesnt connect(we are 2-3 feet away) and it as if she is protecting herself from an attacked from the GSD. Was going to find the owner and see if I can get Cressa to tolerate the dog. I know a lot of dogs cue off Cressa intentness. She has been attack from a GSD dog before like 4 years ago ("at a play date" which we never did again.) and her arch-enemy is a female belgium malinois. She doesnt like GSD but has never done these behaviors before? Most dog she just ignores. She doesnt normally like going near GSD but generally she just gives them distants. Has anyone dogs done this before? How did you handle it? Ive never had her act competely spooked by another dog before. ETA: These are the only incidents that have happen so far. the one that attacked her was a sable. the ones she is terrified of are black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfaircloth Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 I definitely think dogs have a breed recognition ability. It's not necessarily the color, but the size and shape of the body and the head. One of my dogs (not a BC but a Pointer/Lab mix) was attacked by a neighbor's GSD when she was a youngster and to this day--13 years later--she's still afraid of GSDs. Additionally, during a play date once, she was completely taken down by a Boxer (she's usually the dominant player), and she's also afraid of Boxers. On a positive note, because she has spent most of her years around one BC or another, she loves BCs, and will go bounding up to them at the dog park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cynthia P Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 You should see the border collies at trials when i get the giant schnauzers out! Alot of them freak out... but after a sniff are usually ok; See if the GSD owners will walk with you parallel at a distance that doesn't freak out Cressa cynthia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Our old cattle-working dog, Rocket, was jumped by a large GSD. Rocket not only disliked, distrusted, and despised GSDs (and GSD crosses) for the rest of his life, but he could recognize them by scent alone - now, that's discrimination! He was largely blind for quite a number of years, and I have seen him catch the scent of a GSD (or cross) that was out of sight (even if he still had vision) and react with his hackles up and a position of concern. Celt, in particular, does not care for upright dogs that stare or whose eyes are covered with hair so he can't see them. I certainly think dogs can "form an opinion" and generalize from it. Hope that you get your problem solved. Sounds like Cressa needs to meet some nice GSDs so she can figure out that they are not all unpleasant. Best wishes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Has anyone dogs done this before? How did you handle it? Speedy has a serious phobia of German Shepherds. The way I handled it was to limit his exposure to them and I make sure that if he does need to be around any Shepherds that they are very calm Shepherds that will not even look at him. I've given up quite a lot with him because of this, but in the end it was the best thing to do. I tried desensitization when the problem first came up and it only made things worse. But that's him and Cressa may do better. I would recommend playing some LAT Shepherd at a distance with a calm Shepherd that won't bother her. That may do the trick. I would probably try that, and some classical DS/CC before moving to limiting exposure. In Speedy's case that was the right thing to do, but I made sure before we went that way. And in his case it makes no difference if the Shepherd is sable, black, or even long coated. He knows they are Shepherds. Malinois (spelling?) and Tervs cause him to look twice, but he quickly recognizes that they aren't Shepherds and he doesn't worry about them. It is extremely interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaporflowers Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Scorch was pinned by a blocky-headed Golden and bitten badly by a pit and some boxers. He generally does not care for intact males of any breed, but he's extended that now to most male Goldens and all bully breeds. With Goldens, it was usually aggression but he would freeze in abject terror when faced with a bully breed. We've played the "look at that" game (looking at the dog on command, then back at me) and he is happy to ignore them now as long as they don't get into his space. I've also planned some careful playdates; he had to warm up but he now has a boxer lady-friend and a male Golden he will occasionally wrestle with. I'm happy as long as he ignores those breeds and is relatively comfortable. He snapped at one boxer at a show; we had to do out-of-sight group stays right next to each other, so the owner and I walked our dogs together, fed them treats, and I played the "look at that" game. Scorch sat beside him for 3 minutes, even as the boxer laid down close to him. During the 5 minute down-stay, the boxer got up and started bouncing around the ring. The steward gathered him up, and Scorch didn't budge. So setting Cressa up for some successful counter-conditioning might help her tolerance and fear greatly. It made a huge difference with us, and when we needed it, it really helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Cressa Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Well we don't really have many gsd friends. The ones she yip about were "working/sports " bred ones. The frog leg gsd are the one she just give a wide berth to. She does have or used to br friends with a gsd/malinios police dropout dog. This was the 1st,time I've seen this dog at our trial. Hope to see her again so I can talk with the owner. Thanks for the suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rua Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Kaida really dis-likes standard poodles n labs...not sure why though. We took her to pack play on Saturdays for months and she never had issues till the poodles showed up. Them and the labs would run like maniacs and bug her to play(wouldn't take no for answer types) I think that's what ticked her off bout em. Anyways she gets snarky round certain types of dogs so during agility practices I would have her sit next to a yellow lab and reward her for not reacting aggressive. She can be near that lab now without being a booger 95% of the time. I started doing the same trick now with a poodle in our group so hopefully we can sort that one out. She tried to fuss once at a king shepherd but thought better of it when he turned around and walked towards her.. Think she realised she wouldn't stand a chance against that big boy ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Moon Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 You should see the border collies at trials when i get the giant schnauzers out! Alot of them freak out... but after a sniff are usually ok; See if the GSD owners will walk with you parallel at a distance that doesn't freak out Cressa cynthia My mom-in-law's standard poodle HATES giant schnauzers. What's that about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Kaida really dis-likes standard poodles n labs...not sure why though. Maddie hated Labs. I always found that amusing because she was part Lab!! But she lived with Border Collies and I guess in that way, she took after her Border Collie half!! Dean hates Poodles. He completely ignores most strange dogs, but he will get a little testy if a Poodle approaches him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KelliePup Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Kayzie doesn't get to hang out with other border collies that often. She's okay with other breeds, but they tend to annoy her. Personally, I don't think she thinks of them as "dogs." That being said, we drove down to Texas near the beginning of November, just Maverick, Kayzie, and myself, and I thought a good way to get rid of the car ride crazies would be to go directly to one of the dog parks down there and let them run. It was a great idea, they were both cool with it and I earned the best mom award for about two hours (it was retracted after the baths). Long story short, I looked up and noticed Kayzie was missing. She had found the only other border collie people in the park and was having fun running with their four border collies! Basically, it was like she said "So long, Mom! I'm hanging with my peeps!" To the point that she almost left the park with them. Two things brought her back: Maverick crying as he tried to catch up to her, and the owners saying, "Hey, that's not one of ours!" So, breed recognition? Yeah, definitely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 I don't have any advice for you, but I am also sure they recognize other breeds. Who ever mentioned shape build etc I think is onto something. Recently we took a six month old foster dog over to a friends house to meet their children, he was fine with the kids BUT before he ever got in the house he had elevated on top of large wooden box at the sight of their Aussie, he then remained unsure of him through the visit. We later realized he might never have met a dog that was not a border collie, certainly not a dog without a tail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SecretBC Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 My dogs have issue with specific energy levels more than anything. They don't like the "crazy stupid" energy, and that is commonly seen by labradors and golden retrievers -- so as a result, they tend to go on alert any time they see these dogs. Focused energy (like border collies and other herding breeds) doesn't set them off. It's the bouncing, frothing, barking, "happy" energy that the retriever breeds throw off. All they have to do is walk by our crates at a trial and my dogs go ape shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex BC Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 My dogs have issue with specific energy levels more than anything. They don't like the "crazy stupid" energy, and that is commonly seen by labradors and golden retrievers -- so as a result, they tend to go on alert any time they see these dogs. Focused energy (like border collies and other herding breeds) doesn't set them off. It's the bouncing, frothing, barking, "happy" energy that the retriever breeds throw off. All they have to do is walk by our crates at a trial and my dogs go ape shit. I'm wondering if this is a common BC trait as well? Dex is the same way; he has no problem with calm dogs but bouncy, happy breeds are always a problem. I take him to an off leash conservation area all the time and the dogs that come boucing over (often in pack) cause him no end of grief. Dex will hunker down and show some teeth and try to back away. Size is also an issue, he is perfeclty happy with small dogs but larger dogs always frighten him. We ran into a Newfie last week (one of the biggest ones I've seen) and Dex was less than impressed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 I'm wondering if this is a common BC trait as well? Dex is the same way; he has no problem with calm dogs but bouncy, happy breeds are always a problem. I take him to an off leash conservation area all the time and the dogs that come boucing over (often in pack) cause him no end of grief. Dex will hunker down and show some teeth and try to back away. Size is also an issue, he is perfeclty happy with small dogs but larger dogs always frighten him. We ran into a Newfie last week (one of the biggest ones I've seen) and Dex was less than impressed! Star intensly dislikes any dog that approaches her on its own terms unless she knows them well. She is the most anti-social dog I've ever known (maybe the bc breed is this way in general? I sometimes wonder if she thinks she's a person. She wouldn't even act like a dog if it weren't for Seven's example). Both Seven (who has really never met a stranger in her 12 years) and Star absolutely disliked a bearded collie they met one time. I wondered if it had to do with the hair covering the eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geonni banner Posted December 9, 2011 Report Share Posted December 9, 2011 Sugarfoot is fine with little dogs and most others as well, but she is not friendly with anything that looks like a Siberian Husky, and especially uptight about Malemutes. Don't recall running into a German Shepherd Dog, but there are none in my bailiwick. She shows no preference for Border Collies. My Rough Collie Sensei, who was "raised by" and loved my Doberman bitch, Blaise, loved all Dobermans, especially if they had natural ears. If he caught sight of one of these, and the wind was carrying its scent away from him, he would fuss until he either caught the dog's scent, or was able to get introduced. He was present at my Doberman's death, but never gave up hoping to meet with her again. If he was introduced to a dog he had mistaken for Blaise, he would show obvious disappointment, but still make friends. He was once attacked by a German Shepherd Dog at a dog park, but was never suspicious of the breed afterward. I have had many dogs that showed partiality for their own breed, but I always assumed that it was because of their association with their dam and litter-mates. Most of my Collies came from show breeders, and they were surrounded in their babyhood by adults of their breed as well. I also did breed rescue, so they had even more exposure to their own breed. I once, long ago, read an article that described mating choice preferences of bitches in a large range of breeds. The article said that if a bitch of any breed, in standing heat, was loose with a group of male dogs, she would be most likely to present to Collies, with Husky-type dogs as a close second. Prick-eared dogs were favored over drop-eared ones, and regardless of size, dogs with a full ruff were preferred. I pictured a St. Bernard bitch presenting to a Pomeranian male. Talk about "pie in the sky"... Don't remember who carried out this study, but I do remember they said the bitches all wore "chastity pants." Bizarre scenario, that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dex BC Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Star intensly dislikes any dog that approaches her on its own terms unless she knows them well. She is the most anti-social dog I've ever known (maybe the bc breed is this way in general? I sometimes wonder if she thinks she's a person. She wouldn't even act like a dog if it weren't for Seven's example). Both Seven (who has really never met a stranger in her 12 years) and Star absolutely disliked a bearded collie they met one time. I wondered if it had to do with the hair covering the eyes. Dexter is OK if he can keep the other dog in front of him (as long as it is calm as well). If the other dog tries to move around behind him watch out! I regularly walk him with a friend and his Golden but I need to keep him beside or behind the other dog or he gets upset. I find socializing has to be done slowly and in a controlled manner for Dex to be comfortable. German Shepards are a write-off as he had a stand off with one of the neighbors dogs when he got to close to our property, ever since he dislikes any GSD he meets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrecar Posted December 10, 2011 Report Share Posted December 10, 2011 Hannah doesn't like Labs, having been 'corrected' by one when she was a puppy in puppy socialization class (unfortunately it was the instructor's dog). I swear she has a fetish for Goldens though. She loved the one that used to live at the property next to ours. She met one at the park (a boy) and took off running with him like I've never seen her do before. She warmly greeted a Golden at a playgroup at Petsmart. At the Petsmart playgroup, the Golden was the only big dog in a group of small dogs. I specifically asked if Hannah could be with the small dogs because the big group would have frightened her, and the Golden was another that preferred the company of small dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sixx Posted December 11, 2011 Report Share Posted December 11, 2011 Seek has been attacked 5 or 6 times by loose pit bulls. She knows the breed now and growls at them. She doesn't do this with any other breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.