Is Your Dog Afraid Of Men?

Dogs may be afraid of men because of past unpleasant experiences. If a dog has been traumatized in the past, the issues to be concerned with are: did the event have physical or psychological consequences? Did the dog recover from the trauma, and if so, how long did it take for him to recover from the event? Has the fear of men increased over time?

This fear might also be the result of a total lack of contact with humans during his critical socialization period. A dog shouldn't usually generalize a fear of one man to a fear of many unless the dog has had multiple traumatic events revolving around men, or the one trauma was significant enough to prevent recovery.

As with all effective processes, you must find the early triggers and begin there. When your dog sights a man, begin soliciting focus toward you. Be sure to greatly reward your dog for that focus. Many repetitions are required to produce a dog that is willing to focus on the owner when a strange man is in sight.

When you begin, the man should be a great distance away in order to achieve focus from your dog. You will be working toward getting closer and closer to the man. Before you pressure your dog with being close to the man, you want to first teach a simple behavior like
"Sit." During this the man should be quiet, nonthreatening, and non-confrontational. You must require the “Sit” at the early stage of this work.

The sit position helps to settle your dog as well as create a better platform for your focus training. When your dog is ready and focusing on you, the man may approach quietly and offer your dog a treat. You should free your dog of his focus command and allow him to eat the treat from the man. If your dog is too afraid, then move farther away from the man, and then have him throw the treats from a distance. As your dog comes to expect these treats he will begin to tolerate the man's presence. Your dog will eventually look forward to the approach of men, generalizing that he will receive a reward from them.

Always be careful with a dog that is phobic. Phobic dogs may bite from the breakdown in their nerve thresholds. The humane thing to do in the case of a phobic dog is to try your best to work through the dog's problem and get your veterinarian's advice regarding possible drug intervention during the course of behavior therapy. Many dogs do very well with this treatment. If it works, keep in mind that it is a good idea to keep up the socialization or the dog can break down and resume the old behavior.

If after all your efforts, the dog is extremely unreliable despite professional help, then perhaps the dog should be placed in a situation that would not evoke the response. Containing a dog like this is possible with the help of safe indoor and outdoor enclosures.