[maybelaterisay25]

So, I have these neighbors, and they're nice people. We don't often talk to them, but they have two children, and dog around the age of my puppy. This is what this threads about. My now 11 month old puppy, back in April or May of this year, was being walked late one evening, and I saw their younger child playing in the back yard. Now this child is around four or so, and my puppy has had problems with him in the past. My puppy also has a lot of anxiety, and a high prey drive. I went to walk him past their driveway thinking "If he only sees the child through the fence for a few seconds, maybe he will realize this child is not a threat. Bad idea. What I didn't know at the time, was that just at that moment the child opened the back gate, and I did not hear him. My pup (who had bad leash manners) saw him before I did, and jumped up at the child. The child backed up, and my pup did not bite him or anything, but he did jump up and growl a little. One the child was safe, I got control of my puppy and put him inside. That weekend, I talked to the father, apologizing, asking if the child was okay, and explaining that my pup was in training classes, but it was a real work in progress.

Long story short, while my puppy does have a bit bette leash manners now. His high prey drive, and manner of not hearing me call him back when he sees what he want's often leads to bad manners, even if they were good a second before. Now I always feel like my neighbors hate us, hate our dog, or fear for their child's safety.

To clarify, these neighbors are not mean people, and they have not said anything to make me think this way. I feel like it's just my anxiety overanalyzing.

Like tonight, the child and his mother were in the front when I walked my pup up to go in. He had just seen a squirrel in the yard on the other side of us, and pulled the leash out of my hand to get to it. I regained control of him, but then he decided to pull again when he saw the child. I panicked and pulled the leash over near myself (which is not the best thing to do), to get him in. Then i'm thinking "What if they think I've not taught him anything, or gotten control over him yet, or what if the child saw the way i handled the situation and think that's okay when it's not"? Things like that.

Sorry for the long winded explanation, but I guess since I'm not able to see my therapist right now (lack of insurance), and i'm relying on my meds, and thoughts to keep me on the right track, it''d just be nice to have people to talk to.

Thanks so much for anyone who was able to get through all that. I know I couldn't.

[Sunflower123]

What does a high prey drive mean? Am I reading this incorrectly? Has the dog gone after the child before even if it's only growling? I don't think the family hates you. I think they are probably worried about your dog and their children's safety. Best wishes.

[maybelaterisay25]

Originally Posted by Jennifer 1967

What does a high prey drive mean? Am I reading this incorrectly? Has the dog gone after the child before even if it's only growling? I don't think the family hates you. I think they are probably worried about your dog and their children's safety. Best wishes.

A high prey drive basically means that they have an instinctual need to go after things like small animals. Almost in the same way that a wolf goes after it's prey in the wild. At least, that's my understanding of it.

Thank you for your kind words.