Quote:
Originally posted by Moni:
I would like to know at what age do dogs develop their social attitudes because we brought our pup in as a 3-month old stray and in spite of the fact that he likes Rex and Rex's dad, he does not like men in general. I have to be in Grandpa's company when he goes outside, holding one of his arms to help him support himself. The pup sees me being close with him and the pup should know (if he is keen to my emotions) that I care very much for this man, but Grandpa's fear of the pup made the pup wary of him.
We have taken other male friends out into the back yard and the pup has lowered himself, his hair on end, his teeth showing, and growled. This is not a result of any anti-social behaviour that we have instilled in him!
One of his back feet has very deep scars in it...he was abandoned twice before we got him, once by his original owner and once by the kid who initially took him in but was not allowed to have him and whose mother made him take him back to the tracks where he had found the pup. When this kid approached our fence to tell us about his one-day ownership of him, the pup approached the fence very cautiously, sniffed at him, growled, backed off and barked fiercely at the boy. He hates him and it has nothing to do with the way we have raised him since he has been in our care...we had only had him for two days when this happened.
Here is a pic of our dogs. Hercules is the pup I am talking about. Zip and Code are sisters LOL!
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I've raised and trained MANY dogs (several cats, a rabbit, a rat and - believe it or not - a fish). As far as dogs go, their training begins almost from birth and AT LEAST from their weaning. Since you got your pup at three months old and, not only a stray, but one that had been mistreated and abandoned before, he's already developed emotional issues. He's got fear of abandonment to deal with, he's got a great deal of willfullness (I'd imagine) from being independent and on his own so much and he developed more of the "pack-hunting" instinct than a puppy that was raised in one, loving home would.
The way he reacted to the boy who had taken him in and then abandoned him (in the dog's eyes anyway) is understandable. He didn't trust the child anymore. All the pup knows is "one day the boy was nice, the next he told me to get lost!"
And the way he's reacting to your Grandfather has nothing to do with anything you have done wrong. He CAN be trained out of it. With time, he will come to accept your Grandpa. Mostly, your Grandpa needs to show NO FEAR. I know it's an old saying, but they CAN "smell" fear. If a dog senses someone is afraid, they see that person as a potential threat (when a dog is afraid of another dog, it usually attacks rather than runs). If a dog runs from another dog, it is chased. Either way, fear means fight. He needs to also be slowly brought closer and closer to your Grandpa, but on a restraint or even with a "soft muzzle". If Grandpa is frail, your dog may sense his weakness. The old and weak are often driven out to die in pack society.
The way he reacts to other men is probably due to two things: the first, men have been "bad" to him (and animals do know the difference between the sexes). The second seems to be a tendency for one sex of dog to bond with opposite sex humans. If your pup likes women, he will be protective of them. If he gets along okay with your husband, then you have properly shown him who is "alpha-male" and as long as he knows who is boss (but who also loves him), he will continue to respect that male.
As far as your puppy "knowing how you feel about someone else"...hmm - as much as I feel that our pets are our family and that we should all give them more credit than most do, there are still limits to his understanding of emotion only. They understand tone-of-voice and body language, scents and volume of noise. I don't know if they ALL pick up on "emotion". Fear is an emotion, true, but when you are afraid, you give off a strong scent.
I hope this helps you. Do not be alarmed! I doubt that your pup will hold on to these attitudes once he sees you aren't going to abandon him.
I've had similar problems with my own rescues and they have all worked out just fine. Also, you could try to gradually get your Grandpa to give him his favorite treat. First have him sit across the room and gently toss a treat. Eventually (over a few visits), have him see if your pup will take it from him. Talk soothing to him and pet him the whole while (the dog, not your Grandpa
- unless you think Grandpa needs the gentle encouraging, too).
And, sorry for getting off the original topic. Just trying to help make the world a better place.
(Can't we all just get along?)
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