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Hi,
Cara is 3-1/2 and for at least the last 18 months we've recognized a problem she has with other dogs. I can date it fairly precisely because we made a major family move at that time. I remember that she didn't have a problem (other than being labelled the class clown) when we took her to puppy training at about seven months. At the time we lived in an area where she rarely met other dogs.
Now things have changed. Lots of folks walk dogs here and Cara avoids most of those animals when she can; this is fear, not aloofness. There are a few animals she likes, but just a few and we had an incident today when she was frightened out of her wits and ran all the way home. I won't take up space with the details, except to say that cars were not an issue and the dogs in question appeared to be friendly animals, though unknown to her. Their owner felt terrible.
She doesn't bark at all without our prompting her, and not always then. She is very friendly to adults and children, quite active, smart. She is the second golden we've had so we are not novices here. We've had a few private sessions with a trainer who advocates distracting Cara with treats when she is fearful, to sort of break the behavior.
Any other thoughts? Thanks.
Cara is 3-1/2 and for at least the last 18 months we've recognized a problem she has with other dogs. I can date it fairly precisely because we made a major family move at that time. I remember that she didn't have a problem (other than being labelled the class clown) when we took her to puppy training at about seven months. At the time we lived in an area where she rarely met other dogs.
Now things have changed. Lots of folks walk dogs here and Cara avoids most of those animals when she can; this is fear, not aloofness. There are a few animals she likes, but just a few and we had an incident today when she was frightened out of her wits and ran all the way home. I won't take up space with the details, except to say that cars were not an issue and the dogs in question appeared to be friendly animals, though unknown to her. Their owner felt terrible.
She doesn't bark at all without our prompting her, and not always then. She is very friendly to adults and children, quite active, smart. She is the second golden we've had so we are not novices here. We've had a few private sessions with a trainer who advocates distracting Cara with treats when she is fearful, to sort of break the behavior.
Any other thoughts? Thanks.