I have a one and half year old yellow lab. He is extremely afraid of certain people. He was well socialized as a puppy and is around different people frequently. However, there are certain people that he is terrified of for no reason. He will eventually calm down and even allow them to pet him, but if they stand up or come back into a room it is like he has never seem them before and barks and acts afraid. Some of these people he has been around since he was a puppy. Any help would be appreciated.
Could you please tell me how old your dog was when you got him? Has he always been fearful or is this relatively new? And with regard to his fear is there anything common with the people he is afraid of? The sound of their voices, appearance (facial hair etc.), clothes they wear etc? Have a good think about this and write back to me and we will see what we can do.
We got him around eight weeks old. He showed signs of being afraid of certain people maybe around 6 months old. Seems to have more issues with men, but some women too. Not sure about any common themes with them. He definitely doesn't like people having things in their hands. He will even act afraid of me if I have a hammer or umbrella in my hand. He has never been beaten or anything like that, but it seems like that is how he acts.
I would also add that we had a female dog trainer come to the house and he was extremely afraid of her. She brought pieces of chicken and would throw them to him. He would come a little closer but would never get too close. If she made any sudden movements he would back up and start barking at her again.
From what you have mentioned, it certainly seems that he has been 'fear-imprinted' at some point. This might make his behavior quite difficult to change. You can, however, slowly try to desensitize him to it. In an ideal world one would begin by working out what exactly scared him initially to directly work on source of the fear, but since you don't know this you will have to take baby steps using the people/things he is currently fearful to.
Say for example, the hammer or an umberella. Pick one up during a 'happy' event, (eg. when he is playing) and encourage him to come toward you. Have treats at hand when he does. Get him to sit and stay and place the object he fears next to him. Keep trying with each object at a time till he is completely desensitized to it. Then move on to the next. Apply the same to the people he fears. Ask your friends that he fears to meet you on walks, play fetch with him, give him treats etc. and slowly with time he should be alright in their presence.
Throughout this whole training process you need to be the calm, assertive and encouraging 'pack leader', always giving him strong verbal and non-verbal cues that everything is okay. With time and perseverance he should improve. Don't forget to do all of the above in baby steps, focusing on curing him of one fear at a time.
All the best! We hope you have great success with your training.
