VERY leery of strangers / protective ... THIS Young, really?

[chelle]

My guy is 14 weeks old. When he is in the presence of a "new" person, he barks deeply and is not approachable by that person (holds his distance). He doesn't actually do anything truly *aggressive* - doesn't lunge - doesn't attempt to bite - doesn't growl - but he makes it quite clear they are *not* welcome to him. If it is a visitor to the house and that person just sits down and relaxes, he will eventually sniff them out and friend them.

I'm perplexed. This is the tendency of this breed, yes? My first instinct is to not fight that. If there was truly aggressive behavior, that would be different to me. He needs to be strongly discouraged from barking at them as he is doing, but I also don't feel the need to encourage him to accept everyone who encounters him. I don't feel I should punish him for being so standoffish to strangers. Am I wrong here?

I know he is going to need extensive socialization and am committed to that. But my question is more about the limits allowed. Hope that makes sense and appreciate your feedback.

[Jax08]

You need to teach him that strangers can be good. It sounds like he is going through a fear period. He is NOT being protective. He is scared. Have people toss him treats. Teach him Look At That and make it a game for him to look at someone and look back at you.

There is plenty of time for him to mature and then he may be aloof to strangers but as a puppy he really shouldn't be.

Let me add that if you continue to allow him to do this, you could end up with a dog that is aggressive towards people.

[sagelfn]

This is fearful behavior. At 14wks he is still a baby. His protective instincts (if he has any) won't come out until he is much more mature.

Socialize him a TON. Have scary strangers toss him treats but ignore him- don't force the pup to meet/interact with strangers let him do it on his own. Ignore his fearful behavior and reward good behavior.

I'm sure someone like MRL or Debbie will be along with better advice.

[Mom2Shaman]

You need to socialize and express disapproval of this behavior. You don't want a dog later that you cannot have even in the presence of people. Now, socialize, later you can decide if you want to allow contact or just leave it as the dog is comfortable around people without adverse response. I have always had cuddly dogs that are open to people loving on them, petting them, taking family photos with them, climbing on them. My new boy is more wary. At first I briefly thought, "It would be nice to NOT have people bother me, just say NO to petting, and move on". However, just having the bugger bark at people and act on-guard all the time is not good. It's not comfortable for me, the dog, or the strangers we encounter in public. It's embarrassing. He's not aggressive at all, just wary. After him barking at people while camping (from the RV, on leash, from the X-pen, from the truck), I am determined to socialize that out of the pup ASAP. He went to the lake today and did great around people. He even solicited pets and licked a few people's hands. Much nicer for me, the dog, the strangers. Don't allow this behavior to get set in him. While the dog doesn't HAVE to be touched by people, he needs to be able to be in public and have contact when desired.

[wolfstraum]

Puppies should be happy, wiggly, licky, friendly!!!!!!!! A puppy showing this behavior lacks confidence and is fearful....this is genetic. PERIOD. Not learned.

You can condition this puppy and should do so immediately and aggressively, putting socialization at the top of your priority list. He will gain confidence this way, and become a more "normal" dog - but the bottom line is that you must always be aware that in a pinch, he may revert to being fearful.

Good luck.

Lee

[MaggieRoseLee]

First of all you need to absolutely remove the following mindset from your thought processess:

This is the tendency of this breed, yes? My first instinct is to not fight that.

Your MENTAL picture needs to be of a gloriously joyous puppy happy to step out and meet the world and all that's in it! If your mental picture is that your baby is right to believe the world is a scary scary place that they need to protect the ADULT HUMAN from.................................. you will be going down a bad path. A happy confident puppy makes a confident and secure ADULT dog that may also be a great protection dog that is able to THINK and work out a real situation (mass murderer coming KEEP THEM AWAY BARK/BITE) from a fake situation (mother-in-law coming KEEP THEM AWAY BARK/BITE)

Wolfstraum and Sagelfn have the right take on this, NO corrections or expressing disapproval. If a young puppy is already afraid, they only need encouragement and praise for any positive steps they are taking.

Originally Posted by sagelfn

This is fearful behavior. At 14wks he is still a baby. His protective instincts (if he has any) won't come out until he is much more mature.

Socialize him a TON. Have scary strangers toss him treats but ignore him- don't force the pup to meet/interact with strangers let him do it on his own. Ignore his fearful behavior and reward good behavior.

Puppies should be happy, wiggly, licky, friendly!!!!!!!!

Listen to my voice in the following socialization video I made at an agility trial with my young Glory. Listen to what I'm saying, how much I'm talking but, most of all listen to my HIGH HAPPY TONE! I'm also not dragging my puppy along but letting her pull me (cause she's HAPPY and WANTING to meet the new world) or we can sit for a minute to let her look. I let happy people who want to meet her pet and love on her!

14 Week old German Shepherd puppy Agility Trial Socialization - YouTube

14 Week old German Shepherd puppy Agility Trial Socialization - YouTube

At around 2:30 in this video you can see how the young girl with the other puppy is NOT helping her puppy. The dragging it away and yelling useless 'sit' and 'stay' . I just want them to meet and BOTH puppies have a good experience so I 'pretend' the girl is afraid her puppy will attack but I am NOT AFRAID so she brings the puppy finally close enough for a good normal meeting.

German Shepherd puppy 15 Weeks - Socialization at Dog Fair - YouTube

German Shepherd puppy 15 Weeks - Socialization at Dog Fair - YouTube

[Minnieski]

Please take the advice here and socialize socialize socialize him. Over do it. Everyone is nice. Everyone is a friend. This won't hamper his protective instincts, but it will help him be less fearful. Believe me, living with an adult GSD with fear aggression is horrible. You want to nip this in the bud ASAP.

[chelle]

Ok... got it.. Thank you for the feedback. None of my dogs has had this behavior, so I apparently greatly misinterpreted it! Well, the Shiba was always - and still is - standoffish, but doesn't bark and so on. I had a big advantage when my oldest dog was young in that we were always going to various school events, little league baseball, etc and such so she got heavily socialized.

My thought is to go to a very popular nearby park where people ride bikes, walk and jog and just go sit off in an area and watch people go by. Would this be a good start? If someone approaches him and he barks, what would be the best reaction for me to have?

Thank you all so much!!!

[chelle]

I hope I haven't overstated things... it's not like he totally wigs out and it's not with everyone. But still, I see I need to do some serious work.

[Mom2Shaman]

The sit in a corner and watch is good. I take my boy to a Christian Camp on a lake and sit in this shady corner by the snack bar. There are people with food, other dogs, people with boat oars and vests, running people, biking people, singing people, and people who ask to approach and pet. It gives him the chance to think out people. I also take my rock-solid older dog who just naps and remains calm. He takes cues from my relaxed attitude and the other dog's. When people approach the other dog often takes the lead in approaching positively. If he barks, hackles, or growls, I correct him with "Stop" or "No". Nothing harsh. Nothing coddling. He stared at a firefighter (partially in gear) yesterday and I just told him "unacceptable, fire people are good people and they are our friends". Sitting outside a Starbucks is good too as people come and go, and they are not all axe-murderers.