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Has My Puppy Been Bullied?

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sassy

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[SIZE=14pt] My dog (15mth lab named saffi) is a lovely friendly puppy. Typical of a lab though he wants to be everyones friend and thinks everyone adores him too ( well why wouldn`t they ) anyhow he does the lab thing where if anyone comes in the house he is up there jumping and licking and giving them a very affectionate boisterous licking slobbery labrador welcome (yes he does get "down " when told to ) but most of our family and friends expect this welcome and tend to jsut brace themselves, let him say hello and everything is fine................... something very strange happened the other day and im a bit confused .... our friend (lets call him N ) called to see us , normally saffi would give N the full welcome treatment but this time he didn`t , he appeared to cower, then tried to get between my partner and the kitchen unit he was stood by . then hid behind me, each time N called saffi to him saffi`s ears went down and he was almost flat to the floor. At the time i was more suprised at first and jokingly said to N " what have you done to him, you hurt my puppy? But didnt push it cos i was joking and more concerned with re assuring saffi. who would not even be tempted with a treat from N and spent the remainder of N`S visit against my partners feet under the table and refusing to come out.[/SIZE]

But after N had gone and the more i thought about it im sure something must have happened, there is only one time when N was alone with saffi and that was when he walked saffi home once when he and my partner took saffi for a walk and my partner had to rush off in an emergency and asked N to get saffi home safely which he did,

I ahve never had reason to doubt N before and saffi has always loved him and made a huge fuss when he visited........... so am i being mean here ......... can anyone think of any other reason why saffi would suddenly be so afraid of N.

Saffi has never ever been physically hurt or punished by anyone his training is all "reward for good behaviour" and trusts humans totally.

Im bewildered but also feel myself getting really angry as the only explanation i can think of is that N has smacked him or hurt him.

I must add we have had plenty of other visitors since this and saffi is his usual self. its just this episode with this one person.

sorry for the long rant give yaself a shiney if ya got this far

SAFFISEYES1.jpg
 
it does seam odd but it might be that when N took saffe home saffe thought N was taking her away from her dad. did he bring her back and leve her on her own. she may be going through a timmed stage and N is getting the brunt of it. to be on the safe ide cos you will never know. just make sure N is never alone with saffy and keep an eye on her reations with him in the futre. It may not be that hes hit her and it could be somthing very simpal thats saffys got stresses about young dogs are curious thngs. just keep your eyes peel and what Ns reactions to saffy aswell.

sorry I carnt be of any more help
 
fallenangel said:
it does seam odd but it might be that when N took saffe home saffe thought N was taking her away from her dad. did he bring her back and leve her on her own.  she may be going through a timmed stage and N is getting the brunt of it. to be on the safe ide cos you will never know. just make sure N is never alone with saffy and keep an eye on her reations with him in the futre. It may not be that hes hit her and it could be somthing very simpal thats saffys got stresses about young dogs are curious thngs. just keep your eyes peel and what Ns reactions to saffy aswell.  sorry I carnt be of any more help

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thanks , yeah will definately not leave saffi alone with N...... But no saffi did not come back to be left alone, i was here when they returned and saffi just made a huge fuss at seeing me which is normal behaviour for him , i thanked N for bringing him home and he left ......... this was a few weeks ago and N hadn`t visited since then until the other day when he came around and thats when this happened View attachment 42243
 
Hi Sassy,

I did wonder if saffi has associated bad things happening when N is around cos of the emergency, rather than any bullying, but fallenangel is right, just don't risk it and leave them alone together ever again. The doggie clearly does not want to be near N at all for whatever reasons, I'd take note of my dogs' fearing anyone, and respect their wishes to not interact with that person. If a dog felt like that about me I'd definately not want to have to be alone with it, it would be awful. Thankfully he is ok with everyone else.

I'd try not to get angry about it as you will probably never know what happened (if only they could talk eh?) and why beat yourself up over something you had no control over anyway, just take control of the situation now and enjoy your puppy.

Labs are so adorable!

WW

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The emergency was not anything that would have disturbed saffi, saffi is used to my partner having to leave quickly due to the nature of his job. so saffi has grown up with this

saffi was not like this with N on any previous occasions , before this incident he always appeared really happy and playful with N, thats why its so strange and so NOT typical of saffi .

I just hate the idea of saffi being hurt or afraid . like you say .... "if only they could speak"

View attachment 42245
 
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It is very strange, but there may be another reason for Saffi's behaviour. Such as new aftershave, or he could have been in contact with something very unpleasnat to Saffi, or something like that.

When N. brought Saffi home did he act in strange way towards him?

Another thing, how old is Saffi? I do not know about labs but I find that my Whippets start really friendly to everybody and then comes a time when they become suspicious of strangers. They remember very well even years later the people they met and befriended, but it takes a while to warm up to new people.

I would just watch Saffi with N. and also with other people. :luck:
 
Is it possible that by reassuring Saffi, you have reinforced her behaviour. You may have unintentionally sent her a message saying "what a good girl you are for acting scared, mummy is so pleased with you"

Also with out sounding harsh you talk about saffi as your puppy. A 15 month old lab, is one hella of a puppy to have jumping up on you :)

:) :) :)
 
Hi

I had a wee dog a few years ago that acted like this with one person. The reason was when she was young he came into the house and she barked at him. He barked back at her and she got a fright. He thought it was funny to bark every time she appeared. At the time it really didnt seem that bad but it obvioulsy made a big impact on her because she would run away and hide when ever he came in. I know he didnt do anything else to her. As she got older she was afraid of tall men with beards which is the same as him.

Wendy
 
Aw, you must have felt really worried when it happened.

I'd do as already advised and not leave her alone with N. Try not to get too anxious and keep a quiet eye on her when he next comes round, see what her reactions are. It might have been just a one-off, but it's worth taking care. Don't let it upset you :huggles:
 
As the rest say, you will never know what, if anything happened, and who knows what goes on in dogs' brains. But I would certainly not reassure her if N comes round again as you are reinforcing the scared behaviour and I would tell N to just ignore Saffi. If she wants to approach she will and let her but N should still not give eye contact or try and do anything with Saffi until Saffi gives the first indications that she wants contact.

Other than that I would not let it bother you! We can't all like everybody and dogs are exactly the same! Saffi has taken a dislike to N so let her get on with it.
 
thank you all so much

TESA yes i realise calling him puppy is a bit much, but he is still my puppy and labs do not mature untill 2 yrs old.. yes he is a big puppy :)

but like i said in my post when he jumps up he does obey the "down " command which is needed especially for strangers .but family and friends always give him a fuss and allow him to welcome them but he DOES obey the down command as soon as they have had enough, With N who is not a stranger to him he had always been friendly and fussy and saffi had always done his usual lab welcome until this day .. saffi knows N really well,

In no way did saffi ever show aggressive behaviour towards N.

saffi was plainly very scared and wary and cowering.

I agree in hindsight reassuring saffi has probably enforced it but it was more a "whats up with you .. come on its N ya big silly " not a cuddly type ensuring if ya know what i mean ?

saffi is NOT a nervous dog, he is one dog that actually LIKES FIREWORKS

He makes a totally different approach when he doesn`t like someone for instance my hairdresser came to the house and he obviously took a dislike to her his body language was totally different. like i said with N he was cowering scared on his belly ears down and trying to hide
 
I would be more inclined to think it was the fact that N 'took hm away from his dad' than that anything bad happened. If Saffi was fine when they arrived home then I doubt that anything did. Unless he tried to go for something and perhaps N shouted at him - which (when paired with the fact that he had just been taken away from dad) might have a scary association but not abusive.

Absolutely ignore him - all of you - next time N is around. Give no recognition to the behaviour - any kind of attention is still attention and will reinforce it. If he gets neutral vibes from you then chances are over time he'll get over it.

Hope it's just a glitch and he gets past it.

Wendy
 
When I cannot explain dog's behaviour I always look at smells. As dogs' sense of smell is so much more acute it is not something apparent to us. Interesting that Saffi does not like the hairdresser, i wonder if it because the hairdresser smells of the chemicals used to do perm for instance. Sense of smell is very important to dogs like labs (more than sighthounds) and therefore if N. does not smell the way he normally does would be enough to confuse the dog. Also some medications can drastically alter the way person smells. While sighthounds are often bit put off if somebody they know grows (or shaves) a beard. :)

Considering that Saffi was fine with N. the day he brought him back, I doubt anything significant happened that day.
 
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thank you all ........... :)

i guess i was looking for something that wasn`t there ....... you have all put forward good points and now i feel a bit mean about thinking bad of N.....

seraphina your point about smells- the hairdresser- etc and the fact he was fine when N returned him that day sounds like it could be something like that.

I appreciate everyones advice and have took all your points on board.

ya just gotta feel sorry for saffi really having such a dumdum mummy :b saffi2.jpg
 
sassy said:
thank you all so much

TESA yes i realise calling him puppy is a bit much, but he is still my puppy and labs do not mature untill 2 yrs old.. yes he is a big puppy :)

but like i said in my post when he jumps up he does obey the "down " command which is needed especially for strangers .but family and friends always give him a fuss and allow him to welcome them but he DOES obey the down command as soon as they have had enough, With N who is not a stranger to him he had always been friendly and fussy and saffi had always done his usual lab welcome until this day .. saffi knows N really well,

In no way did saffi ever show aggressive behaviour towards N.

saffi was plainly very scared and wary and cowering.

I agree in hindsight reassuring saffi has probably enforced it but it was more a "whats up with you .. come on its N ya big silly " not a cuddly type ensuring if ya know what i mean ?

saffi is NOT a nervous dog, he is one dog that actually LIKES FIREWORKS

He makes a totally different approach when he doesn`t like someone for instance my hairdresser came to the house and he obviously took a dislike to her his body language was totally different. like i said with N he was cowering scared on his belly ears down and trying to hide

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Hi

Just read through all these posts & sorry call me suspicious BUT ...................... :- "

Dogs are VERY intuitive & to suddenly act this way towards someone they were initially happy with is NOT right in my books.

Had the dog of taken an initial dislike to N for whatever reason then thats different BUT to be fine & then suddenly act like this tells me something.

Dogs aren't stupid & they DONT forget, i've worked with rescues long enough to know if a dog doesn't like something or is genuinely scared then there is normally a good reason why :- "

You will probably never know what has occured BUT i would NEVER give N the oppurtunity of being alone with this dog again. ;)

Just my opinion & i wsh you lots of luck that it all settles down :huggles:
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its worth a check on aftsreshaves one of mine hate the smell of beer on peoepl her owner was a **** head. and some dog can even react to peoepl on antbiotics as it can change human sell mabe N ate somthing. its hard to say be relaxs and he will
 
I had a Shih Tzu before I had Polly, and when I was going through a period of relapse (I have MS) I had to get other people to walk Mei for me. Usually it was a neighbour who also had a small dog.

One day D called for Mei as usual but Mei ran into the bedroom and hid under the bed. Nothing would persuade her to go with D that time, or ever again.

I discovered (from a mutual acquaintance) that D always kept Mei in front of her (and her own dog behind) at a busy road on the way to the park and the person had seen a very large lorry drive so close to my poor dog. :( I suspect that frightened her so much she didn't want to go with D again.

Maybe something on the walk home frightened your dog in a similar way and she is afraid of being taken out again by your friend?

There are so many theories, but unfortunately we can't read the complex mind of our dogs and just have to accept what they 'tell' us. :b
 
I have to say I'd be suspicious of a drastic change in behaviour. Dogs don't lie and they don't make things up. If he's scared, there's probably a reason - even if it is just a different smell as others have suggested. :thumbsup:
 
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