Totally freaked out

Zeus has been well socialised with people at a young age and we've never had a problem with him meeting new people, in fact, just like majority of dogs, he loves meeting new people and jumps up on them, plays with them etc.

BUT.. yesterday, we had a family get together, there were a fair few people at my house and my cousin was there who hes never met, hes a large lad but didn't do anything out of the ordinary to Zeus, he loves dogs and all he wanted to do was play with Zeus. As soon as Zeus seen/smelt him, he completely freaked out. He ran away from him as fast as he could and he started to shake/tremble, anytime my cousin got near him, Zeus felt threatened and tried running away, when he couldnt run, he started to growl at my cousin (which he's never done before). He completely freaked out, I've never seen him do that before, its not like him at all.

Has anyone any thoughts on what it could be? It wasn't nice seeing him like that, he was petrified.

Poor Zeus, unfortunately Im not too sure what it could be, im sure someone will be along shortly with some advise

Sometimes a dog will fear/dislike somebody for no reason that we can see.

I know it's distressing to you & your cousin (I don't know how old he is?) but you must respect Zeus's needs in this. He's obviously very scared (for whatever reason, you may never know) and his only defense is flight or fight. He tried running away, but your cousin carried on, and Zeus then felt the need to warn him that he wasn't happy. It isn't aggression, it's the only way a dog can convey that they are uncomfortable with something.

Maybe some other time they can be gently reintroduced, maybe when there are fewer people around?

Caryll wrote:Sometimes a dog will fear/dislike somebody for no reason that we can see.

I know it's distressing to you & your cousin (I don't know how old he is?) but you must respect Zeus's needs in this. He's obviously very scared (for whatever reason, you may never know) and his only defense is flight or fight. He tried running away, but your cousin carried on, and Zeus then felt the need to warn him that he wasn't happy. It isn't aggression, it's the only way a dog can convey that they are uncomfortable with something.

Maybe some other time they can be gently reintroduced, maybe when there are fewer people around?

He's only a few years older than me, 30-odd, but as I said, hes a large lad so maybe the size could be a factor? I have to go to his house today, so I'm going to take Zeus with me and let him get used to his back garden first, then slowly introduce my cousin again. Hopefully, he's a little better. At times, he did run up to him, sniff him then ran off again, but in the end, we just let him be and didn't bother Zeus, he did calm down but he was exhausted after and fell asleep.

Your cousin must have been threatening to him. Going over to him when he has ran away is not the right thing to do, i would have asked him to just ignore zeus and let him settle.

goldie87 wrote:He's only a few years older than me, 30-odd, but as I said, hes a large lad so maybe the size could be a factor? I have to go to his house today, so I'm going to take Zeus with me and let him get used to his back garden first, then slowly introduce my cousin again. Hopefully, he's a little better. At times, he did run up to him, sniff him then ran off again, but in the end, we just let him be and didn't bother Zeus, he did calm down but he was exhausted after and fell asleep.

I wouldn't take him, I'd just let him settle. Maybe take a bit of old cloth for your cousin to rub his hands on - then give the cloth to Zeus, with a couple of treats wrapped in it. Good things wrapped in a scent that he may find frightening might help.

I agree. Give it a little time before trying to reintroduce. Too soon may actually work against you and actually cause him to be more frightened. I know it is difficult, but you don't always know the why of things and it is best to not push too hard.

Could be his aftershave (Scent) or maybe he did not like his dress sense.

Could have been one tiny bit of body language that freaked zeus out, it could be that he has seen it a thousand times in other people as he is a big lad it may have amplified it in the dogs mind. They are sensitive creatures, was chatting to a lass tonight who dropped her hairbrush on her 44 kg gsd's head and he was cowering every time she went near him afterwards. When she went to try make up he rolled on his side and put his legs in air... we think they are rough and tough but inside they are very sensitive to us

Yep, I agree with you all. I didn't take him there yesterday, thought I'd give him time to relax but I will use the cloth technique and hope it gives us some progress. Will keep you all informed, thanks!

Following on from this thread.. it appears that Zeus 'freaking out' wasn't just with this one guy.

Ever since that day, he doesn't want to meet anybody new. It's totally out of character as ever since we've had him, he'd always jump up on people, tail wagging and would want to meet them.

But now, he gets scared and tries to run off.. most recently, when two 4 year old girls came up to stroke him.

What could it be? He hasn't had a bad experience with anyone new, it's just came out of the blue...

There are thoughts that there is an extra fear stage at around 10-14 months old. It's possible that Zeus is going through that (the jury's still out of whether there is one at that age or not!), and the fear will be imprinted on him.

All you can do is try to make all meetings with people calm & positive. Don't ler anybody crowd him & let him go to them, rather than the other way round. If possible have the people hold treats out to him, but don't force it.

Hopefully he'll come round after a while.

Poor little Zeus. First thing is not get freaked out yourself. Be comforting and cheerful. Maybe he needs some time with you and your family? Perhaps he feels overwhelmed meeting so many people at the moment?

Or perhaps there is no particular reason. He might be feeling unwell or a bit solitary. Don't let it get you down. Dogs can be complex and that's ok too.

I'm interested to know what happens so keep us posted.

Poor Zeus I hope he manages to overcome his fears soon.

Hi all, thanks for your advice, it seems that Zeus doesnt like people approaching him, but if they ignore him, he'll go over to them, have a sniff then be fine with them. Maybe it's just a change in his personality, as hes doing this with everyone he meets now?

Anyhow, it doesn't seem like hes scared, just doesnt like it.

Piggie is similar. Terrified if people come up to her, but will go and have a sniff on her own. It is about knowing your dog so you can effectively communicate to others how to behave around him. Give him a little space and time and he may become easier going with more forward people. You will have to be careful to warn people that's all.

Ben wrote:Piggie is similar. Terrified if people come up to her, but will go and have a sniff on her own. It is about knowing your dog so you can effectively communicate to others how to behave around him. Give him a little space and time and he may become easier going with more forward people. You will have to be careful to warn people that's all.

Thanks for the advice, Ben. It's good to know that it's not just Zeus who reacts like that.

Hope you get him settled soon , once you know the pattern to it , it then becomes much more manageable