Cujo Update!

Hi all - Its day 11 now of Cujo joining our household and all is coming on nicely and he seems to finally believe he is staying with us!

He's a very vocal dog always grumbling and barking however when people enter our homeinitially he is suspicious and then he relaxes and will set beside them awaiting attention!

This said I met up with a friend who has a female staffy cross who is very well trained, Cujo initially tryed to mount her but after she told him off they playecd together fine - we continued to walk the dog and then Cujo noticed my frined Dave who was wearing wrok overalls - his mood immediately changed to very frightened and he wouldnt stop barking at him, lola the female dog continued to play happily and cujos attention would be distracted from dave for 1 - 2 minutes before notcing him and constantly barking.

Dave offered cujo some chicken (normally he would sell his soul for this to any random stranger) however cujo refused and continued to sit down and refuse to walk with my friend.

This is the 2nd one of my friends in work gear he has reacted too like this both out and in the house he's incredibly vocal and growls however it seems in fear rather than aggression as he will stop once they sit down however any sudden moves and he's off!

The strange thing is some strangers who I wouldnt consider friends he loves but these guys are my close friends he hates lol!

We love him too bits and am sure he's just testing the boundaries as he settles in but i'm worried others may perceive this as aggression - Both my friends are totally unphased by Cujo and again although vocal will sit beside them almost guarding them from me, my other half and / or the kids!

Anyone got any tips, he's learning the watch command as we struggle to get his attention but when he's that wound up it can prove difficult!!!!

On the plus side though its day 11, Too date we have had no toilet accidents, watch & sit are nearly mastered, His recall is great, Drop and fetch are just naturally prgrammed and he's no longer trying to play tug with his lead and is beginning to walk to heel with just a few reminders!

We love him too bits and although hard work still cant understand why he has been through 4 homes at the moment we are assuming his random aggression towards some adult males may well have been their trigger but still he's so intelligent, loyal and grateful how could you not love him?

Rant over - Any tips on the barking and growling at random friends appreciated?

As you say it sounds like for some reason Cujo is reacting fearfully towards certain people. A few things to try might be to get you friend to change out of his overalls, I know lots of rescue cases can be sensitive (aggressive or fearful) towards people dressed in particular outfits. Next I would make sure when he does have a funny ficve minutes everyone ignores him and just carries on with what they are doing. Pretend like hes not even barking and there is absolutely nothing wrong. Taking this lead from his human counterparts he will realise that you are not phased by this 'scary person' and by you ignoring the 'threat' he will start to relax more.

As you said when you took him out with your friends staffy he would forget about being frightened for a couple of minutes before it started again. Thats great and if she is balanced and friendly she will show him how to behave and he will take a lead from her even more so than you. You could also try gettiing your friend to sit, cross-legged on the floor. Initially Cujo will probably bark at him and refuse to go near, just ignore that and carry on as if everythings normal. If you sit down close to your friend then he will be encouraged to come closer. When Cujo eventually decides to investigate dont get your friend to move, look at him or touch him strait away. Let him go away and come back a few times and maybe give your friend a few pieces of cooke chicken. If he wont accept this immediately place it on the floor the distance he is happy with and gradually place the pieces of chicken closer and closer til he is taking it from your friends hand.

It will take time, nervous dogs are the hardest to bring round as they truely think something bad is going to happen to them, itts not like dominant aggression.

Agree with the advice above. Eventually the dog will realize the person is not a threat and calm down. Let him do it at his own pace though and don't try to force it. Over time he will come to recognize your friends as well and the behaviour should decrease or come to a stop.

Can;t say too much more than that.

It's early days, and may take a little while for him to totally believe he isn't going to be badly treated.

I'd say that in a previous home he's been hurt/frightened by people in work clothes. That's something that only time & patience will change, and you may find that a little of it will stay with him for life. However, as long as you are aware of it, and you're working to reassure him, then it will improve.