Client - My Rescue Dog Hates Men
(Names changed for confidentiality)
Stats: 9 months in the Dog Club
Natalie is no stranger to rescue dogs, and adopted Faith - an older dog with some medical needs - to give her a new lease of life.
Faith is generally lovely and placid but really hates men. Many rescue dogs dislike men, especially European Rescues. In Romania, many of the public shelter staff would be men and sadly many dogs in these shelters are not treated well. This is, of course, not true for all shelters and some are incredibly dedicated to their dogs. Your own dog’s unique history is important when it comes to building the picture.
Some dogs can be more fearful of men simply due to larger shoes, taller and broader build and deeper voices. It doesn’t always mean they’ve had a bad experience with a man.
In Faith’s case, we can imagine she probably did have a bad experience though, as her fear is strong and specific to men. She also had a rough start in life.
How do dogs show fear of men?
Some dogs will cower and shy away, but many will respond to fear by lashing out. Faith’s tactic was to nip the back of a man’s legs as they walked past. If a dog doesn’t provide warning signals such as a growl or bark, it usually means they have life experience of these signals being ignored. This can result in an escalation to biting.
How the Dog Club helped
Natalie didn’t have the budget to spend on a session - Faith’s medical care was expensive. Therefore, she was looking for an affordable way to get the support she needed for her rescue dog. She joined the Raising My Rescue Dog Club, where I could direct her to specific guides and tutorials that would help her firstly understand in depth why Faith bit men, but also how to increase her confidence long-term to reduce the chances of it happening again.
Nowadays, Faith is doing really well and even had a wonderful day out with a friend and her Dad recently. If Natalie needs anything, she just sends me a message and we talk it over. Having Behavioural support is included for members of the Raising My Rescue Dog Club, and it can be really reassuring for members to know a qualified Dog Behaviourist on hand for advice.
Do you want affordable, ongoing support for your dog?
The Raising My Rescue Dog Club is perfect for ongoing and affordable support from a qualified Canine Behaviourist.
You can learn more about your dog, how they think, how they learn and why your dog behaves the way they do. You can ease common behavioural challenges such as reactivity, fear, barking, hyperactivity and more, by being a member of the Dog Club.
Live a happier life with your dog, by becoming a member of the Raising My Rescue Dog Club.