Hi All,
Looong time lurker here who posted a year ago when I first got my female standard poodle, Holly.
I think I reported a long time ago about Holly's caution around strangers and new things and things haven't gotten much better since then. I thought I'd post and see if anyone had any insight or encouragement.
Holly is very hesistant around new people, taking a long time to warm up. This usually manifests itself with barking and growling, stiff body and general unease. We've been through "Ceasar Milan type" training and positive reinforcement (ditched the ceasar guy and have stuck with the positive style for last 6 months or so). She's currently on a prozac type medication(Reconcile) that has calmed her down a bit in the last 2 months but still has set backs occassionally. She is definately what CBrand would call "sharp shy".
Her breeder isn't the best and I've since heard many many stories of either shy poodles or poodles with health problems from her. In fact--Holly just had a seizure last week. Vet visit and blood work concluded a "wait and see" approach to see if she has another one.
I guess my question is not how to deal with it--I NEVER leave the house without a clicker and treats but with all the work I'm doing--do people see these issues get better with time or is this it? I love this girl dearly but my work with her is sometimes exhausting! I should also mention that 2 months ago we went through a major life change where I ended a relationship (with Holly's "dad") and while her "protective" or fearful increased somewhat after that, OUR relationship has improved 10 fold as there isn't as much stress and tension in my life anymore.
Thanks for your help and reading this far into the post!
Rebecca
Looong time lurker here who posted a year ago when I first got my female standard poodle, Holly.
I think I reported a long time ago about Holly's caution around strangers and new things and things haven't gotten much better since then. I thought I'd post and see if anyone had any insight or encouragement.
Holly is very hesistant around new people, taking a long time to warm up. This usually manifests itself with barking and growling, stiff body and general unease. We've been through "Ceasar Milan type" training and positive reinforcement (ditched the ceasar guy and have stuck with the positive style for last 6 months or so). She's currently on a prozac type medication(Reconcile) that has calmed her down a bit in the last 2 months but still has set backs occassionally. She is definately what CBrand would call "sharp shy".
Her breeder isn't the best and I've since heard many many stories of either shy poodles or poodles with health problems from her. In fact--Holly just had a seizure last week. Vet visit and blood work concluded a "wait and see" approach to see if she has another one.
I guess my question is not how to deal with it--I NEVER leave the house without a clicker and treats but with all the work I'm doing--do people see these issues get better with time or is this it? I love this girl dearly but my work with her is sometimes exhausting! I should also mention that 2 months ago we went through a major life change where I ended a relationship (with Holly's "dad") and while her "protective" or fearful increased somewhat after that, OUR relationship has improved 10 fold as there isn't as much stress and tension in my life anymore.
Thanks for your help and reading this far into the post!
Rebecca