Is afraid of men… I've had her for a few months now and I live with my boyfriend, who is around quite often and while she doesn't start shaking when he tries to pet her anymore… She's still afraid of him. She'll walk out of her way to go around him if she's going somewhere, she won't go to him when he calls her, etc… And it's worse with other men.
If a man comes to the apartment, she hides behind me with her tail tucked between her legs and shakes… She's not like that with women or children (of either sex) at all. She's incredibly social and loving with both..
My boyfriend takes her for frequent walks, gives her treats and feeds her most of the time (as part of the effort to get her used to him…) but aside from not shaking anymore, nothing has really changed… If he's around, she's by my side, on my feet or my lap and watching him.. If he looks at her, though, she immediately looks away.
Aside from all of that, she's a very good dog. She's obedient and sweet and loving.. She was completely house trained within two days of getting her and she learned to sit and lay within a day. She doesn't pull on the leash when I walk her and doesn't bark and she's crate trained as well for when neither of us are home.
Anyway, there's a man in the area that I live that does obedience/agility training and he also does 3 hour a day (However many days a week you want) exercising programs… Where he'll pick up your dog and take it out for three hours to various places for not only exercise, but socialization with other people and dogs (He usually takes a few dogs at a time, and I should mention that my dog loves other dogs..)… So not only would she be getting exercise that I can't provide (I do take her to the park once or twice a week and on regular walks.. But she has a lot of energy and he could give her more of a workout than I can)..
I'm wondering if this, in addition to the exercise benefits, would help her get used to men? He would be spending at least one 3 hour period a week with her and she'd be with other dogs… He's a very experienced dog trainer and I've heard nothing but good things about him.
Yes, I'm very familiar with the stereotypes associated with the breed…
I constantly get comments from people at the park and whenever I take her on walks about how well-behaved and sweet she is.
I just really want her to learn that men are okay and she doesn't have to be afraid.
I'm generally pretty good at training dogs and I've never had one that is disobedient (at least not for long)… But her fear is a little beyond my abilities and I'm thinking that positive exposure to a man that has experience with training and socializing dogs would be good for her.
She was about 8 months old when I got her and the person before me neglected and abused her… That's where her fear of men comes in.
The way that he does it…. He meets with the owner and the dog and spends nearly an entire day with them… He'd take her for a walk after a while (without me) and then for a drive… To see how she'd handle change.. If it's needed, he'd schedule a few house visits with me before taking her out for an actual outing.
He keeps them on a leash most of the time… And since she'd be new to the group, he'd have her on it all of the time until she got used to being out with him… And when he took her off, it would be in a dog-safe area (either with a fence or some other structure(s) that would limit at least to a certain degree how far she could go).
As for the boyfriend… He's been nothing but nice to her from the start. He absolutely loves dogs and would never hurt her… Other than him, no one has been around her without me around since I got her.
Sounds ideal. I would sign her up right away. Discuss your concerns with him and he may have suggestions and or you know if he thinks it will be a problem. I am certain you've heard about all of the stereotypes of pitbulls - so, you need to work very hard on making your dog a well socialized good dog…this sounds like a great opportunity to help your dog. Best wishes and great idea!
