I Have A Female Papillon Who Is Frightened And Agressive Towards My Boyfriend.?
September 23, 2009 by admin
Filed under Care & Training Q&As
I have a 6 month old Papillon who is absolutly terrified of my boyfriend! She begins it all when he comes around and starts to growl, then she barks and shakes because she is nervous. When i am not around and he tries to help her in her crate etc. she growls and nips at his hands, she has aucutaly bit him a few times. What can i do to help her calm down? Can she get trained some how? I dont know what to do please help!
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1. Get her enrolled in obedience classes. The instructor can help you to deal with things like this appropriately.
2. Your boyfriend should leave the puppy alone. Don’t look at it, don’t talk to it, and definitely don’t touch it for now. Have him sit on the floor, place a trail of tasty treats from the puppy to him, and he needs to wait patiently. She’ll likely investigate, if she doesn’t, she’s scared out of her mind, and I would be asking your boyfriend what he might have done to her while you weren’t around, because fear that severe usually has a cause, especially if it is directed at only one person. He should not reach towards her, pet her, grab her, or pick her up until she’s comfortable being around him, he can then start to stroke her shoulder, as it’s a non-threatening area of the body. If he is patient and kind, she will come around, and the obedience classes will help this along.
Mabey he has kicked her when you were not around.
SOunds like you need to get her to a trainer… .
If this does not work you will need a trainer or for him to bring her to obedience class. This technique worked a few times for dogs that we had trouble with, a lot have fears toward men:
Leash her up and start her on a walk, have your boyfriend follow a few paces behind with out her noticing if possible, pass her off to him and have him walk her for at least 15 minutes, she will most likely not fight this, if she is showing good temperment, have him slip her a small training treat while he is walking her. If she fights it or seems disturbed keep repeating this exercise for a few days a week until she gets calmer about the situation, each time when she shows good temperment, have him slip her a small training treat and say very positive remarks, in a normal tone, “what a good girl, etc”
Once she seems ok with him walking have him enter the house with her, him entering first, then reward her with another treat and positive remark if her temperment remains the same as it did during the walk. It could take a few times for this to go smoothly.
Finally after a few tries she will automatically associate your boyfriend with going for a happy walk and getting treats. Then you can leash her up from the house and have him walk her, make sure he goes through the door before her each time to let her know he is in control and returns the same way.
If this works, he can then start playing with her around the house so she will associate more good things with him.
Best of luck to you!
Also, a side note: if you notice he seems uncomfortable, or nervous about doing it, then just skip right to obedience training, because trying to force them to bond with the wrong body language can actually do more damage.