This owner’s miniature schnauzer shows signs of fear aggression when she is around people. This is a result of the dog being abused at one of the two homes where she was placed before. Professional dog trainer Daniel Stevens recommends ways to rebuild the dog’s trust in people.
Abused Miniature Schnauzer Fear Aggression
By Daniel Stevens
Hi Daniel,
Our puppy is 17 months old and we got her when she was 13 months. We are her third home as she was abused and the breeder took her back. We have no idea what happened to her in terms of the abuse but she has several issues we are working on.
She is a miniature schnauzer and is gentle and loving and very protective of my husband and me. She has serious issues with people but loves (LOVES) to play with other dogs and does so really well.
We are teaching her that we are the alpha dog as per your on-line book (which was very helpful) and we have seen amazing results in just a few days. She seems much calmer and at peace. She listens to me more now when we are off leash and she actually will follow me on the path versus always having to lead.
Our major concern is her problems with people. This is improving but she still has a tendency to nip or bite. For example, my sister will play with her and they are having fun and all of a sudden she turned and bit her drawing blood. Another example is my mom will sit with her and give her treats but if she tries to pet her, she snaps at her. She is like this with most people. We have advised people to ignore her and we will see how that goes. We have her on a gentle lead and that works well. She tends to pull but I am stopping when she does and she will come back to me. She is very stubborn (is the breed after all) and so this will take time but it is improving.
Do you have any suggestions on how we can work with her to control this biting and snapping? We never let her out of our sight and we advise people not to touch her.
Thank you!
Claire
SitStayFetch Reply:
Hi Claire,
Thank you for your email, it was very well detailed and explained your issues well.
First of all, I think perhaps the best bet for you and your puppy will be taking time and patience, as abused dogs always take longer to adjust to their surroundings and overcome their fears.
One technique to help her overcome her fear aggression may be to fit her with a muzzle and then expose her to as many strange people as possible. Most dogs hate wearing muzzles, so make sure you have her used to it before she meets anyone. Fit it on her and then take her for a walk to distract her, this way she will not associate the muzzle with negative events, or strange people with wearing a muzzle.
She will soon learn this way that, although she has had bad experiences before, no real harm will come to her now. At the same time no one is at risk of being bitten while she receives her “exposure training”.
It is also important that you communicate with her what is unacceptable behavior. Sometimes people are too sympathetic to reprimand an abused dog, you can still be assertive with her without being aggressive. If she tries to bite/snap, growl at her and certainly keep up the good work with the “Alpha dog” training too.
Yours For Great Success With Your Dog,
Daniel Stevens
P.S. If you’re really serious about obedience training your dog then go to this page right away! You’ll discover all of my most explosive dog training secrets, strategies and tips that took me over 14 years to test, fine-tune and perfect.
