My Fearful Boerboel Help!!!!!!!!!!

[Dennis Cal]

I need some advice. I purchased Apollo back in May of 2012, he was 4 months when I got him. He's is now 11 months. When I brought him home he was extremely scared of everything, sounds, humans ect. However he has never been scared of dogs.  So I have been on a journey since to help him not to be scared however I am having no luck.  Apollo was very scared of me for several months however over the last month he has began to trust me. I suspect this is because I am doing extensive training with him everyday.  The biggest problem that I have with Apollo is that he and my wife do not get along. For some reason he treats her like a stranger and is extremely scared of her.  Apollo has grawled at her several times. Today he was asleep and my wife came to sit down on the couch, Apollo then woke up and began to bark at her making her very upset. His behavior is quite strange at times he is ok but often he is scared of everything. I don't like the fact that he is so young and he barks and grawls at her.  He is now 11 months, I absolutely adore Apollo however my wife and him can't seem to coexist.

I need help!!!!!

[Lee May]

Hi Dennis, there are quite a few things going on from your post. First off What kind of training are you doing, how long, What type of corrections etc. To start off your going to need to run your boy ball play or bike ride or jog if your into that. Tire him out and then work on proper heel work, Which sets the tone for leadership. Have your wife walk him in your yard first in perfect heel to help gain trust and raise her status with him. You can start with sit& stay. But at this point and his fearfulness I would rather keep his mind and body moving. She is going to have to work him or their will never be harmony with you all. If she's fearful he knows it and has won. You can send me a private message if you like so I can get more info. Peace and good luck to you. 

[Carrie Kruczek]

Hi Dennis:

I feel for you! I have a male going on 4 years old now who has fear issues coupled with extreme human aggression.  We've worked with degreed animal behaviorists and many highly-experienced trainers and I will pass on my best advice.

First...(and others may disagree) Apollo is what he is!  Yes, there are situations where people ruin good dogs, but especially in this breed there are dogs that are born with bad wiring.  You cannot change that, you can somewhat modify and learn to manage it but you cannot transform the dog into a stable companion.  An excellent book (also short and cheap, available on Amazon) is Patricia McConnel's "The Cautious Canine."  That will give you some insight and tools.

In my family, I am the one who adores the difficult dog.  My husband is like your wife!  My boy makes him nervous, but over time he has come to be somewhat fond of him and my dog now adores him.  We accomplished that not by training, as my husband flatly refused to have anything to do with that.  Instead, I would have my husband give him simple commands that the dog enjoyed performing and then he'd give him yummy treats. Pretty easy. 

Right now Apollo is at a very tough age.  He's entering adolescence and that is miserable. It was actually in that time range that I considered euthing my boy because of several growling incidents with my teenage daughter.  Now, looking back, I understand my dog better and can also understand how those incidents happened.  Example:  daughter was roughhousing with Gage and he got over-excited and bumped her (he is over 150lbs so it hurt.)  She yelled at him and pushed him away.  He growled.  She yelled louder.  Then he seriously threatened her and would not back down.  When she calmed down, so did he.  Some might look at that as a dominance issue, but it wasn't.  Gage is a fearful dog.  When a dog is afraid then can choose "fight or flight."  He is highly over-reactive and also has an extremely high defense drive.  What makes him dangerous is that he will choose "fight" when he's scared.  You cannot deal with a dog like this with Cesar Milan type methods.  He really is not choosing to act that way, it is the way his brain is wired.  Positive counter-conditioning has helped but when push comes to shove, the genetics come through.  He needs plenty of calm, quiet handling and I suspect that will help Apollo too.  Perhaps if your wife would do just a little bit of training with him, again, very simple commands that he is really good at, and gives him high-value rewards (especially ones that she alone gives him.  They're not healthy but squeeze cheese in cans, cheetos, and liverwurst are big favorites with my boy) then he will have some positive bonding experiences with her.  If she can relax and get some positive feedback from Apollo, that will help him relax with her too.  Lol, remind her that another advantage of a dog like this is safety in her home.  His very presence will deter "bad guys."  I never worry that a burglar will creep into our house! Good luck with him.  Some of this is teen-age dog stuff and will pass.  His basic temperament won't.  You might also consider finding a trainer with mastiff experience, and if you haven't neutered him....do it!  It doesn't change dogs but it never hurts to take all that excess testosterone out of the equation. 

 

[Shelia A. Townsend]

I have a 15 month old bb she is fearful of sounds, movement and darkness. She will bark and growl at sounds she is not familiar with. She will try to runaway if something moves all of a sudden like a shopping cart. She will not go up or down a dark staircase unless I am with her. She seem to lack confidence in herself. I will be looking for a trainer this spring to work with me.

She is great with people and other dogs. I have had no issues in this area. She is a very friendly dog. I have tried to expose her to all types of noises and movement. Example I live next to a small park. They are redoing the park so when the big dump trucks the CATS came in she was very afraid in the house because of all the noise (plus they were shaking the house). She would go and hind in her crate shaking. I put a leash on her and sat on my porch every morning while the trucks and earth mover went in and out of the park. Construction is still going on but she doesn't try to run and hind anymore. She now watch them from the window (to cold to sit on the pouch for me) with little or no interest.

So I need to help her with confidence.

[Marco]

Hello Dennis, I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your BB.  I am glad though you are trying to do what you can solve the problem.  Theres a lot of great information already mentiond from others here.  I'd like to ask you some questions first if ok.  Did you purchase Apollo from a breeder, or previous owner?  Why was he being sold at 4 months to begin with?  Do you know how much he was socialized up to the point of purchase.  Is it possible he had been caged up all the time till purchase?  Do you know if he could be in pain from anything?  It would be a good idea to check him over real well.  Do you know much about Apollo's parents?  Have you been in contact with the breeder, and are they offering up any information to help?  Some of these things may play into fixing the behavior, or its possible it could be genetics.  This could be a dangerous situation for your wife or anyone else in the home.  Please do as much research as possible to know what your dealing with.  Know the signs to look for, know what all his triggers are, and how to respond  the correct way to him.  Some links below to read over if you have not already.  Please keep us posted, and I hope things work out.

 

How To Handle Fear and Fear Aggression in Dogs - Dog Language Diagrams shown.

Fear: How to Help Your Dog Overcome It

Dealing with the Aggressive Dog - Towards the bottom it talks about Fear-Based Aggression.

 

[Lisa Tiro]

He gave Apollo away to his uncle, Marco. The uncle is a trainer. I think he should have pursued it further with the breeder but I don't think he wants to. It's a shame.

[Gijsbert Niels Terlaak Poot]

Good day to you all! Maybe this giving away is not a shame but in fact good for Dennis, his wife, Apollo and the uncle. I understand that now a disaster might have been avoided. Anyway as far as I can judge it all the advices in the replies were good. Yours kindly, Gijs