Question:

>I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, >Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She

Did she spend any amout of time with someone else, out of your presense?  Could they have struck her or done something to frighten her?  Is she _always_ either absolutely positively alone or in your company? Once you rule out illness as a cause; infections, injuries, sight loss etc, you will have to de-sensitise her to patting, leashing etc.  This will require patience and time. One of my dogs, acquired as a one-year-old, was extremely man-shy.  It took my husband a solid two weeks while I was out of town, and a lot of liver, to overcome her fear to the point that he could touch her without her flinching and shaking.  It was years before she would volunteer to sit next to him.  (This was an extreme case and I don’t mean to suggest you have this degree of problem, just that even a very nervous dog can be de-sentisised with liberal amounts of patience and bribes.) Good luck. Sandra Pover Reply To field intentionally incorrect to avoid spam

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, > Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She > would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing > when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her. > Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us > when we put a leash on her to take her outside.  Each time she appears > to be extremely frightened.  However, once the leash is on > (grudgingly/fearfully), she hops out the door with tail wagging. > All other behavior is normal.  She plays all the time, and is mostly > happy.  We just can’t pet her. > Can anyone tell me how to handle this problem?  I don’t understand it. > — > John Doherty > The Eden Matrix > http://www.eden.com/~doherty > The exact same thing happened to my 4 year old dalmatian.  It turned out > to be an ear infection, but she would react with a yelp and sometimes > even a show of her teeth every time she saw a hand coming towards her. > This behaviour continued for a while after the ear infection was cleared > up, but now has ended altogether with work and time. > Hope this helps! > Jen & Abbey, the spotted wonder.

Quite.  An unexplained, noticeable change in behavior in a dog more than a year old suggests there’s a cause for the change, and one that involves retreating of some kind, or panting, or trembling, may well indicate pain, or nausea.  So a check on the dog’s health seems always the first tack to take. Wed 07-May-97; 16:07  – Carol, with Feline Prancy Wallbounce, and  Australian Terriers Kaliko Achilles Thunderpaws and Kwali Twinkletoes —  * RoseReader 2.52B P001545 Entered at [BB&C]

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> Could it be static electricity?

That’s a good thought! This winter, one of my cats was *very* susceptible to getting static shocks whenever we pet him. Unfortunately, he’s less affectionate than his brother, so we weren’t wanting him to get even *less* sociable. We just had to touch something that would ground us before petting him so he wouldn’t think that petting is a bad thing (he only lets you pet him two or three times anyway). Now he’s becoming more sociable since the static problem is decreasing (Yay spring!:). Of course, this is probably only one of the many things that could be going on with the poster’s dog. I hope he/she finds what is causing this! Good luck! — Vera Casteel                   Electrical Engineering —

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, > Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She > would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing > when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her. > Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us > when we put a leash on her to take her outside.  Each time she appears > to be extremely frightened.  However, once the leash is on > (grudgingly/fearfully), she hops out the door with tail wagging. > All other behavior is normal.  She plays all the time, and is mostly > happy.  We just can’t pet her. > Can anyone tell me how to handle this problem?  I don’t understand it. > — > John Doherty > The Eden Matrix > http://www.eden.com/~doherty

The exact same thing happened to my 4 year old dalmatian.  It turned out to be an ear infection, but she would react with a yelp and sometimes even a show of her teeth every time she saw a hand coming towards her. This behaviour continued for a while after the ear infection was cleared up, but now has ended altogether with work and time. Hope this helps! Jen & Abbey, the spotted wonder.

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After reading several replies (and thank you very much, by the way) I thought I might add a bit of information… First, I’ve already made an appointment with the vet.  But I am concerned that she will not exhibit this behavior for the vet, and therefore the problem will go unsolved.  (i.e.  I’m too scared of the vet to worry about you petting me) She reacted similarly about 2 years ago and a following trip to the vet concluded nothing.  Perhaps anticipation of an old injury, they said. The behavior then stopped about 2 weeks later. I’ve considered the possibility that physical injury might be the cause, only she lets me pet her anywhere as long as I’m using my foot.  She does not bite when she snaps at me, and I’m convinced she won’t.  It’s just the intense fear she exhibits that concerns me. A couple of you have suggested that she is headshy because of a possible ear infection, or slight loss of sight.  I cannot rule it out, although getting down on her level does not seem to change her behavior. Any other comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated, as are those that have already been posted or e-mailed.  I will try to report back after my visit to the vet on Tuesday.  Thanks again. — John Doherty The Eden Matrix http://www.eden.com/~doherty

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: I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, : Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She : would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing : when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her.   : Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us : when we put a leash on her to take her outside.   It sounds like she’s suddenly become headshy.  You can test this yourself by getting down to her level and seeing if she’ll allow your hand to approach from the front and below her face, rather than from above her. If she is indeed headshy (fearful of any approach to her head from above) and you can’t think of any reason for it, get her to the vet.  This could be a reaction to a physical cause, like an ear infection or a loss of some sight. Lynn K. —

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Get thee to a vet!  when a dog reacts this strongly, to any touch, that quickly, my first guess is something HURTS.  It could be almost anything, so a thorough vet-exam should let you know if there is a physical reason. If not, then we can talk about behavioral changes, but it is always best to rule out the physical FIRST. Good Luck – let us know what happens! Janet Boss Best Friends Dog Obedience "Nice Manners for the Family Pet"

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I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her.   Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us when we put a leash on her to take her outside.  Each time she appears to be extremely frightened.  However, once the leash is on (grudgingly/fearfully), she hops out the door with tail wagging. All other behavior is normal.  She plays all the time, and is mostly happy.  We just can’t pet her. Can anyone tell me how to handle this problem?  I don’t understand it. — John Doherty The Eden Matrix http://www.eden.com/~doherty

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Could it be static electricity? Steve. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, > Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her. She > would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing > when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her.   > Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us > when we put a leash on her to take her outside.  Each time she appears > to be extremely frightened.  However, once the leash is on > (grudgingly/fearfully), she hops out the door with tail wagging. > All other behavior is normal.  She plays all the time, and is mostly > happy.  We just can’t pet her. > Can anyone tell me how to handle this problem?  I don’t understand it. > — > John Doherty > The Eden Matrix > http://www.eden.com/~doherty

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- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I have a six year old female sheltie named "Casey."  About 6 weeks ago, > Casey started becoming afraid when strangers would try to pet her.  She > would often yelp and run away.  Recently, she began to do the same thing > when I or my wife tried to pet, or just simply touch, her. > Now, during the last two or three days, she’s yelped and snapped at us > when we put a leash on her to take her outside.  Each time she appears > to be extremely frightened.  However, once the leash is on > (grudgingly/fearfully), she hops out the door with tail wagging. > All other behavior is normal.  She plays all the time, and is mostly > happy.  We just can’t pet her. > Can anyone tell me how to handle this problem?  I don’t understand it. > — > John Doherty > The Eden Matrix > http://www.eden.com/~doherty

John, If she weren’t napping at my feet, I would think you had somehow acquired my seven year old sheltie, Playful. Playful all of a sudden started yelping as if she were in severe pain whenever a small child tried to pet her when she was on her daily walks. I took her to the vet, and he thought she might have hurt her shoulder, and he gave her a cortisone shot. She may have had an injured shoulder at one time, but then she started to yelp and snap into the air whenever a small child approached her. At this point, I knew she could not possibly be hurt and that her behavior was caused by something else. I now think it was fear, because she would tremble and put her ears in the position she puts them in at the vet when she is afraid. I have just accepted the fact that Playful can never be around a small child. She has never bitten, but I am concerned that her snapping might escalate into biting. Your problem seems to center on Casey’s reaction to you and to your wife when you try to pet her or put her leash on. At one point Playful started her yelp and snap routine whenever I would brush her anywhere near her head. At first I was afraid I might get bitten, and I backed off on brushing her around her head. Once I had figured out that Playful was not hurting (I used a brushing motion near her head without actually touching her, and she still yelped and snapped.), I gave her a firm "No snapping" command, continued to brush and started saying in a very soothing tone "it’s alright". After just a few "no snapping commands", she quit yelping and snapping when I brushed her. She still trembles and puts her ears into the "fear" position when I brush her head, but she no longer yelps or snaps, and she still loves to be brushed everywhere but around her head. Because you are having trouble getting a leash on Casey, you might want to try a Halti collar. This device is the most wonderful thing. Although I did not have a problem with Playful yelping and snapping when I put her leash on, I did have a problem with her going absolutely bezerk whenever she heard the word "walk" or "leash", whenever we spelled these words, or whenever she saw me putting on my walking shoes. Now, she is out of control only until I can get the Halti on. She will then sit quietly while I do any last minute things I need to do in preparation for the walk, get the door open, lock the door, etc. She then heels perfectly when I tell her to, and off we go. She is extremely well behaved with the Halti on. Somehow, this collar has a magical tranquilizing effect of Playful, and it transforms her into the most obedient, wonderful dog in the world. I have not allowed any small children to get near her on her walks even though she has a Halti on, because I cannot take the chance she might hurt a child, but I would really like to know if she would yelp and snap if a child were to pet her with her Halti on. I know very little about dog behavior, so I hope you get some responses from the trainers on this newsgroup. I do think, however, that the yelp and snap routine these shelties use is caused by fear. I have heard of several shelties who do the same thing. It seems to be part of their "reserved" nature, but since Playful was the product of a back yard breeder, maybe her problem is just being breed without attention being paid to temperment. Good luck and get a Halti, Lynn

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