What To Feed Your Dog

Q:  My 2-year-old German Shepherd has always been afraid of strangers and used to shy away. Now he barks and lunges at them to scare them away. He has been to obedience school and is very smart but his fear of strangers keeps getting worse. I can't have anybody new come in the house without crating him.

He just started barking at people out in public and scares them to death. He always listens to me except when he starts barking at someone. The more I try to stop him the worse he gets. I need help before it gets worse. Any suggestions?

A:  The behavior you describe is pretty typical of a shy dog reaching adulthood and beginning to go on the offensive. Lunging and barking are very successful behaviors for dogs, because if your dog lunges and barks at a person, that person usually retreats at least a little bit; since your dog is afraid, that increased distance is exactly what he desperately wants ("Get away from me, scary thing!").

This is one reason why punishing such behavior is pointless. All of us, including dogs, are very strongly motivated to drive away scary things, and the reward of having a person back away even a few inches is likely to matter more to your dog than any punishment. Besides, even if you could punish him hard enough to make him stop, that wouldn't make him feel any more at ease. Instead, you could be creating a time bomb, a dog who controls himself desperately for fear of punishment, right until the moment where he can't take it any more and explodes.

Often, lunging and barking at strangers results when a dog hasn't had thorough, pleasant early socialization to all kinds of situations and people. German Shepherds seem to suffer especially, because they tend to be alert, high-strung dogs anyway.

A sad fact about German Shepherds is that many people, unfortunately including uneducated trainers, believe they need a "firm hand" -- that is, rough treatment in the name of training. This kind of handling inevitably backfires with such sensitive dogs; if your "obedience" trainer is advising collar jerks or harsher methods for dealing with your dog's behavior, run away as fast as you can.

Your dog needs help to develop a more relaxed, less "Get away from me, I'm scared!" attitude toward people. Since his behavior sounds pretty extreme, you should not only consult a competent behavior specialist but also a veterinarian with expertise in behavioral medication, who may wish to prescribe meds that can ease the work of behavior modification.

For a behavior specialist, check www.ccpdt.org, and make sure your trainer is familiar with clicker training and counterconditioning/desensitization. No one who uses "aversives" (shock, collar jerks, shake cans, alpha rolls) has any business working with fear-aggressive dogs. If your own veterinarian is uncomfortable with behavioral medicine, visit www.avsabonline.org for a list of veterinarians who take a special interest in behavior, or consult a board-certified veterinary behaviorist.  

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