# Frightened cockapoo



## Lyn14 (Dec 5, 2014)

Hi, this is my first post, I have been reading many of the posts over the past year or so and l have enjoyed reading them and have learned lots.

I own a almost 3 year old cockapoo named Billy. He is a wonderful dog and much loved. When he was about 6 months old, while on holiday on a campsite, I took Billy into a dog walking area and let him off his lead for a run around. There were a couple of other people stood talking with their dogs by their side. Anyway two of the dogs came running over to Billy to play with him, but unfortunately he got scared and ran off, the two dogs ran after him and so the scene was Billy running around with his tail down and two dogs having a great time chasing him.

Since this time Billy has been wary of other dogs and now if we meet any dogs he usually just ignores them. About 6 months ago while I was walking Billy near my home, two men with a couple of dogs not on leads came across the field ,One of the dogs came running over to us and the dogs manner was slightly aggressive. I just stood still with a Billy hoping the owner would call him away, eventually the dog ran away thankfully! 

Since that day Billy has been fairly scared when walking in this area and in the last month or so, he will sometimes lie down and refuse to walk in this area at all or if he sees anything in the area he will try to walk the other way. It is a lovely area to walk a open field area and I hate to see my lovely friend so afraid. Can anyone please give me some advice thank you.


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## fairlie (Sep 7, 2013)

All dogs are superstitious and cockapoos particularly so. My trainer told us of a dog who heard a balloon pop as he walked past a blue door, for the rest of his life he was frightened by blue doors. There are ways to desensitize to phobias but I think you'd be best with a professional trainer because if you get the timing wrong with the rewards you could be making matters worse. Better probably is to walk with several friendly dogs he really likes. With a pack of his own his bravery will improve. One of the most difficult things is not transmitting your own fear or even wariness. Dogs are master signal readers. Even if you remain completely calm outwardly he can probably smell your own fear and maybe even hear your accelerated heart rate. Having a friend or a trainer along will help you with that. It might be that you need to stop walking him there until his confidence with other dogs has improved.


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## Lyn14 (Dec 5, 2014)

fairlie said:


> All dogs are superstitious and cockapoos particularly so. My trainer told us of a dog who heard a balloon pop as he walked past a blue door, for the rest of his life he was frightened by blue doors. There are ways to desensitize to phobias but I think you'd be best with a professional trainer because if you get the timing wrong with the rewards you could be making matters worse. Better probably is to walk with several friendly dogs he really likes. With a pack of his own his bravery will improve. One of the most difficult things is not transmitting your own fear or even wariness. Dogs are master signal readers. Even if you remain completely calm outwardly he can probably smell your own fear and maybe even hear your accelerated heart rate. Having a friend or a trainer along will help you with that. It might be that you need to stop walking him there until his confidence with other dogs has improved.


Thank you for replying so quickly, I think you are right and absolutely spot on with your advise. I do know a trainer so I think I may get in touch with her for some help.


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## Charliefarlie (Nov 28, 2016)

I think you need to get Billy socialising with some friendly calm dogs ASAP. His confidence will soar as soon as he gets to play and he will chase as well as be chased and it will become fun.

All dogs influence quite easily so will soon forget the bad things in Billy's case the bad chase. Get him socialised and see the difference !

On trainers.
There is NO better trainer for your dog than you. Your dog will love every minute of training and a strong bond will develop between you both. He will learn trust and respect quickly. Cockapoos train easily just reward each achievement and the speed they learn is incredible.

You really should not run to a trainer every time a glitch comes up. Deal with it yourself and trust me you will both gain from it. Just be firm make sure you are pack leader.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Charliefarlie said:


> On trainers.
> There is NO better trainer for your dog than you. Your dog will love every minute of training and a strong bond will develop between you both. He will learn trust and respect quickly. Cockapoos train easily just reward each achievement and the speed they learn is incredible.
> 
> You really should not run to a trainer every time a glitch comes up. Deal with it yourself and trust me you will both gain from it. Just be firm make sure you are pack leader.


This is fine IF you have the skills and knowledge and I agree that training almost anything will help develop a strong bond between owner and dog. HOWEVER when you have problems it is far better to consult a trainer who will have spent years learning about dogs and the best way to help them and help you find the right way to ease you both back onto the right path.

Sadly far too many people do not seek professional help early enough and many dogs end up being rehomed or pts due to problems which would have been easily resolved if the owners had sought help early enough.

I am not the pack leader in my house  I control the resources such as food and access to the exciting outdoors and expect some manners from my dogs but we act more as a team getting on together with mutual agreement.


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## Charliefarlie (Nov 28, 2016)

2ndhandgal said:


> This is fine IF you have the skills and knowledge and I agree that training almost anything will help develop a strong bond between owner and dog. HOWEVER when you have problems it is far better to consult a trainer who will have spent years learning about dogs and the best way to help them and help you find the right way to ease you both back onto the right path.
> 
> Sadly far too many people do not seek professional help early enough and many dogs end up being rehomed or pts due to problems which would have been easily resolved if the owners had sought help early enough.
> 
> I am not the pack leader in my house  I control the resources such as food and access to the exciting outdoors and expect some manners from my dogs but we act more as a team getting on together with mutual agreement.



Sorry I disagree. Try working it out with your dog first. The introduction of a 3rd party may confuse the issue as your dog should be bonded with you.

In my opinion far to many run to trainers many of which may not even develop a bond and if they do it takes time. 

Give it s try !


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## Lexi&Beemer (May 5, 2013)

Seems like there's a difference between training how to get your dog to sit and stay and knowing how to correct behavior that has the potential to be dangerous. Especially if your fears are feeding those behaviors. The trainer who I took my Lexi and Beemer to as puppies spent her time reassuring me that they are normal puppies. And helping to train me in my training of them. Plus I think any additional learning about ways to improve your interactions with your poos is great. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Charliefarlie (Nov 28, 2016)

I'm genuinely surprised at how people will give in so easy and resort to these so called dog trainers who very likely know no more than them and certainly won't know the dog intimately. Take 12 trainers and you will get 13 different opinions and it's very likely none may be the right one. 

I guess that's the way most live these days ?


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## cfriend (Dec 22, 2016)

I think researching trainers can go a long way. Dog training being an unregulated industry it is certainly easy to come across trainers that have no credentials at all, but trainers that have gotten an education and even going further by maybe being a behaviorist will certainly know more than a dog owner. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss them. But yes again since it is unregulated you will definitely come across many different opinions.


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

Not entirely sure if we are talking at cross purposes - in most cases the job of a trainer is not to develop and bond with the dog and train it, it is to help the owner train the dog, using the most appropriate method for that dog and owner. 

In the case of problems it is identifying the root cause of the problem and again helping dog and owner work together to resolve things. The sooner help is sought the easier it is to resolve. By the time Molls original owners asked for help the problems were too deep and they were too scared of her to work to resolve things. Her owners options were to rehome her or have her put to sleep and I have come across plenty of other dogs who have had a similar fate. I have helped others who have sought help early and enabled them to get their relationship back on track and live happily with their dogs.

A good trainer will have spent years learning, attending courses and may well have experience of many hundreds of dogs and methods. 

Despite many years of experience training my own dogs, now I am doing agility with Chance I have been helped greatly by trainers with more experience of the best ways to develop new skills - and just as with most other dog training, they are teaching me not the dog!


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