Aggression with strangers

[Rip's Girl]

Ripley is (always has been) very wary of strangers, and he goes through periods when he reacts aggressively to a stranger in the house.. It's getting to the point where I think he is going to snap or bite someone if they force him into being 'buddies' with them, or try to pick him up.
I have tried having the visitors toss a treat his way, but he won't do anything more than sniff at it. He won't take food or toys from strangers, he doesn't enjoy being petted by them. I can't figure out a way to make him associate the visitors with good things, because he won't accept any of the good things that they bring!

Lately I've been keeping him in his crate when visitors come, because he's just so aggressive.. Any suggestions or tips on how to help him calm down around strangers would be greatly appreciated.

[flyndog]

First, Dakota's getting more adorable with each picture!

If I recall earlier Rip stories (correct me if I'm wrong), he's associated people coming into the house with ickiness because certain outsiders always came in, bent over, and scooped him up. Very scary. Grrrr.
A good way to keep strangers away...tell them your dog bites!

Do you put him in a stay when people come to the door? You might try working more on that. Get some helpers to ring the doorbell for you. He doesn't have to like strangers, he just has to not bite them. I hope you won't have to keep putting him in his crate. If you can get him to stay (keep lead handy at door) when the Ickies come over, tell them to ignore the dog, don't even look at the dog, there is no dog. You can personally reward any non-growling non-snapping behavior with a really special and *extremely* yummy guaranteed to make his tail wag reward after the Ickies go inside and you release Rip from the stay after they are gone. And I would not let strangers have anything to do with him. Tell them why. I know, it's inconvenient to go through all that when somebody comes to the door, but that's the first thing I'd try. If you can't control the strangers beyond the doorway, then you have a duty to Rip to "protect" him by putting him in his crate or another room after the greetings. Desensitisation can take a real long time. Poor Rip. That's the price he has had to pay for being little and cute.

BTW, are there other behavior problems? Is there a general Ripley revolt happening?

Kit

[Rip's Girl]

Originally Posted by flyndog

First, Dakota's getting more adorable with each picture!

Thank you! He's a great little dog.

Originally Posted by flyndog

If I recall earlier Rip stories (correct me if I'm wrong), he's associated people coming into the house with ickiness because certain outsiders always came in, bent over, and scooped him up. Very scary. Grrrr.
A good way to keep strangers away...tell them your dog bites!

Yes, we have certain friends who would come in and pick him up by his arms, and then yell about how cute he was, right into his ear. I think that is one of the reasons he is so wary of visitors.
I've tried the "he bites" thing.. It works with some people, and it doesn't with others. If he was Buster's size, I'm sure they'd heed my warning, but nobody seems to respect small dogs..

Originally Posted by flyndog

Do you put him in a stay when people come to the door? You might try working more on that. Get some helpers to ring the doorbell for you. He doesn't have to like strangers, he just has to not bite them. I hope you won't have to keep putting him in his crate. If you can get him to stay (keep lead handy at door) when the Ickies come over, tell them to ignore the dog, don't even look at the dog, there is no dog. You can personally reward any non-growling non-snapping behavior with a really special and *extremely* yummy guaranteed to make his tail wag reward after the Ickies go inside and you release Rip from the stay after they are gone. And I would not let strangers have anything to do with him. Tell them why. I know, it's inconvenient to go through all that when somebody comes to the door, but that's the first thing I'd try. If you can't control the strangers beyond the doorway, then you have a duty to Rip to "protect" him by putting him in his crate or another room after the greetings. Desensitisation can take a real long time. Poor Rip. That's the price he has had to pay for being little and cute.

I'll start trying the stay, that could really help. I was trying it for awhile, but I stopped because I can't control most of the visitors once they're in the door.. Ripley is generally okay with them if he can approach them and sniff, but every time he approaches them, they think he wants to be picked up, and that's where the aggression really kicks in.
I will try asking him to stay, though.. If he doesn't go near them, maybe they will leave him alone.. As of right now, I'm doing my "protecting" by keeping him in my bedroom or in his crate when people come over, because I don't want him to have any more negative experiences with strangers and I also don't want him to bite anybody.

Originally Posted by flyndog

BTW, are there other behavior problems? Is there a general Ripley revolt happening?

Kit

Yes there are some other old problems that have resurfaced.. I think part of it is due to the fact that I have been very bad and let his OB training slide.. I am meaning to get him into a new basic obedience class, that uses positive methods instead of the ol' 'jerk-the-chain' approach. He's in desperate need of re-training, but he's a difficult little dog, and I want to get some help when I start formal training again. I'm hoping that a trainer can help me build up his food motivation so he'll be a little easier to reward.
I've been so busy with Dakota, volunteering at the animal shelter & vet's office (I volunteer in the morning, which is when I normally would have worked with the Ripper) school and general holiday chaos that he hasn't been the center of my world, I think that is pretty hard on him too..

Thanks for your help, Kit.

[Barrett]

Sorry Rip, I just noticed this thread.

When Bailey was about 6 months old she began to bark and growl at small children. It happened over night. She ALWAYS plays with the kids she meets at the outdoor mall and suddenly one day she hates toddlers. It really upset me that this happened and I didn't know why she started this troubling behavior.

I started taking her to a park near my house every morning. I took a big baggie full of her favorite treats and made sure her collar was on TIGHT! For two weeks I walked her around the Jungle Gym with my husband. My husband was the blocker and wouldn't let any kids come near us. I just wanted Bailey to see and hear the kids running and laughing. I walked her around and around and gave her treats and praise when she wasn't growling or barking. Soon she began to get excited when we went to the park and couldn't wait to get out of the car.

Next, with parent permission, we let older kids (Bailey was fine with 10 year olds) come up to us and give Bailey treats and pet her and even walk her. We gave her the whole baggie full of treats and let every big kid we could find hand them out. She realized kids = treats and she loved them. After a few weeks with 10 year olds we went to 7 year olds and then to 5 year olds and finally toddlers over the span of about 4 months. The kids and parents knew us by then and couldn't wait until their age group came up. LOL It was a lot of fun and as soon as our car drove up we would hear "Bailey is here!!!!!" and the correct age group would come running.

Sorry for the long story, but what I am getting at is use your dogs stomach to get to his heart. Keep a jar of treats at the front door and everyone who comes in your house can give Ripley a treat. They could start out by ignoring him and just dropping the cookie on the floor and walking off and slowly after a few months let them hand him the treat. He will be conditioned to know the door bell means treats and will get excited when people drop by.

The first step is of course to stop people from picking him up. I would be so bold as to tell them to leave and not come back until they can learn to leave Ripley alone. LOL I hope this helps you or at least give you an idea of how to slowly get Ripley to trust people again. Poor Ripley!

Barrett

[Carrie]

Sorry Rip that you're having so much trouble with Rip. I think Kit and Barrett both have excellent ideas. I'd do both of those things. I bet you can turn this around. It's the time issue. I see how busy you must be with a new puppy and all the rest of it. It will keep you on your feet for a lot of time. But you can do it.

P.S. Don't forget to do your homework. LOL

[Rip's Girl]

Thanks Barrett for your advice! That's a very good idea to get him used to kids, something he needs.. I really wish I would have been able to avoid this by socializing him more with kids when he was a pup.

Ripley is getting better with strangers, I'm happy to report. I've discovered a way to make him crave the attention of strangers.. When visitors arrive, I take both boys to the door on the leash, and as soon as the visitors are in, if they like dogs, I release Dakota to get smothered with petting and baby talk. Well, if there's one thing Ripley hates to see, it's Dakota getting all the attention.. So, he butts in, sticks his tiny nose into their hand and waits impatiently for petting! If he doesn't get it, there is some major "woo-woo-woo"-ing, play-bowing and tail wagging.. He seems to feel more comfortable with a stranger once they have petted Dakota.
He's still very shy and doesn't want to be picked up, but he's getting better. Next project is to get him used to kids. Then, we'll neuter him, repair the knees, and get back to agility.