My dog was out for a walk the other day and was playing with some other dogs in the park. All of a sudden, she just ran all the way home and was sitting on the door step, when we caught up with her. Ever since then, she has been nervous when we take her to the park. She skulks around and gets a fright if there is another dog barking or running around. She has always been fairly timid, but this is just weird.
2007-01-10 06:37:02 · 9 answers · asked by lovelylexie 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Hmm, this is weird. She may have gotten a fright from one of the dogs she was playing with and decided she wasn't safe and took off to her 'safe-place'.
Was there anything out of the ordinary with the playing dogs? Any dominance rituals? Such as: mounting, or putting paws on other dog's heads or backs?
When she ran away did you try to call her? If you did and she didn't listen she may think that she is the 'pack leader' and therefore can make her own decisions. So if she was 'bullied' by another dog she may have decided that she is not in charge at the park, and wanted to get back to 'her' territory.
As far as being timid, this can be helped with more socialization and bringing her into situations she is usually timid in for VERY BRIEF sessions with lots of rewards for being brave. You need to anticipate when she is going to be skittish BEFORE she gets to that level. Reward her for any 'brave' behavior and IGNORE the skittish behavior, if you say 'aww its ok' or even scold, she is getting attention for her skittish behavior, and it is reinforcing the unwanted behavior.
I am a positive-reward trainer, and basically it means to reward the good, ignore the bad, and redirect to another situation when the going gets tough and then try again on a smaller scale next time.
Good Luck! I hope this helps!
2007-01-10 06:50:06 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
If she's a timid dog to begin with, likely something just spooked her. Just work on socializing her more. Take her for walks around other dogs, obedience classes might be a great idea - both for the socializing and also because dogs gain confidence from success. If she gains some confidence, she's less likely to be as timid. In the meantime, you may not want to let her run off leash in the park - if she doesn't listen to you and runs the wrong way, she could get hit by a car - you don't want that to happen!
2007-01-10 06:49:27 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it is probably a result of her timidity. You will need to be patient and let her build her confidence up again as it obviously took a jolt that first day.
There is nothing wrong with walking your dog on a lead. That way she can't run home and you control the contact/proximity to other dogs.
You can get an extending lead to give her some freedom in appropriate places when on a walk It really isn't the most important thing to let her off the lead!!
2007-01-10 06:52:56 · answer #3 · answered by kilmeedyman 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like an alpha dog made your submissive dog scared to death! Try to take it to another park, slowly introduce him to the other dogs, if he doesn't want to play that day it's okay, walk around and let him know he is safe. Try just walking, no parks for a few days and see if his behavior comes alive.
2007-01-10 06:47:16 · answer #4 · answered by fisherwoman 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like something frightened her. Try taking her to a different park for a while and see if she forgets about it. Also try taking food and toys with you and get her focused on you and interacting with you to distract her from whatever upset her. Also be thankful that she ran home, not away. My mom's tibetain terrierXpoodle would just run anywhere interesting!
2007-01-11 01:21:52 · answer #5 · answered by MyNutmeg 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe one of the dogs she was playing with hurt her and gave her a bad association with the park and the dogs in it.
2007-01-10 06:44:02 · answer #6 · answered by Danielle 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a dog can suffer the same symtoms as us just give it a lot of love and if you can take it somewhere quiet that would be good for her if she's young then don't forget it's a big world out there for her she's scared thats all
2007-01-10 06:44:12 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds like a security issue, something has triggered this reaction, there is a website callled pet professor where experts will email you back about specific questions.
2007-01-10 06:45:44 · answer #8 · answered by ALEX K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
she maybe felt threatend by the other dogs
2007-01-10 06:44:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋