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Problem: My dog is afraid of everyone. She has also become aggressive with a neighbor kid that has been over everyday. She is over protective of our family and I am afraid that she may bite someone.
Response: It is surprising how many big fierce dogs are really afraid underneath all of that bluster. Fear of unknown situations is really at the root of many "guard dog" behaviors. Problems can be greater if a puppy is taken her from her littermates at too early an age. But never matter. The question now is, what to do?
Allie Lee (as well as many others) would say that obedience training will give your dog confidence in your leadership - that you know what to do in unfamiliar situations and give her the confidence that you will "steer" her right. I think that most of the people who have been successful in this situation have found a compatible dog trainer.
BUT - 1) Many trainers are afraid of Chows. Check them out before you sign up. 2) Many trainers treat FEAR as if it were misbehavior and give harsh collar corrections. Now the dog fears the situation AND a collar correction. I like to desensitize. See the last paragraph on my threshold page for an example of desensitization. And I like to ignore fear as much as possible - I don't comfort the dog, I just talk to her in a matter of fact tone of voice, for example: "Phydeau, we are going to walk by our neighbor's house. George lives there. You know George, he's a bit of a pain from time to time but he really is OK." By now you have passed the house and hopefully a problem has been avoided.
Speaking of your neighbor - it is possible that he is irritating Phydeau. The kids around here are quite aggressive toward my Chow. They make growley noises, bark, and jump at him. Although this kind of behavior only seems to bother him when they are in our house.
ALSO - I think that Jean Donaldson's concept of "Bite Threshold Model" is very relevant to your problem. Please obtain her book, "The Culture Clash," James and Kenneth Publishers, 1996. This is "a revolutionary new way of understanding the relationship between humans and domestic dogs."
Most Chow Chow owners have a knee-jerk reaction: "Make sure that your Chow is well socialized." This is important BUT in your case you must not rush this. Socialize Phydeau at a pace that is comfortable for her. In the case of dog training classes for example, I would take her to visit a class before signing up - just watch, don't participate. Greenbelt Dog Training allows this. If Phydeau is uncomfortable, you can stay for only a short while and can increase the length of your visits. This will also allow you to check out the trainer's personality and his/her attitude toward Chows.
The "leave it" command is really useful. (I say, "leave alone.") It is an "all purpose" command. We might come across a bit of food on the ground as we are walking. I say, "Leave alone," and my dogs do. We approach a strange dog and I tell my Yorkie, "Jack, Leave alone," and he does. We see a squirrel and I tell my Chow, "Bruno, Leave alone," and he might. We approach a mailbox or a shrub and I tell my dogs, "Leave alone," and they do. More appropriately to this situation: We see something that bothers Bruno; I let him investigate it a bit and then I tell him, "Leave alone."
I chose "leave alone" before I knew that most dog trainers use "leave it." I continue to use "leave alone" because I think that it sounds better when applied to people and other dogs.
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