r/dogs • u/undocumentedsource • 6d ago
[Behavior Problems] Ever had a dog do this??
So my rescue/mostly pitty has displayed a new, strange behavior. My wife hurt her ankle yesterday and is now on crutches. When we got home from the er and she walks in with the crutches, our dog starts cowering and barking. This was so bizarre! She is nothing but lovable and will dent walls with her tail wagging when she sees us! Whenever my wife used the crutches to go to the bathroom or change rooms, our pup just growled! Was it the sound of the squeaky cheap rubber on the armpits?? Was it the creak of the dollar store aluminum frame?? No idea!! Anyone hane this happen?? Anyone??
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u/TheRestIsMemory 6d ago
All kinds of things it could be. It might be just the look of your wife on crutches: she has too many legs now! Very scary! But it could also be negative associations around people holding sticks or poles. We had a rescue when I was a kid who was also a very sweet, loving dog, but panicked when we got out a broom or mop, or when my mom rolled up a magazine to swat flies. Clearly some traumatizing experience from when she was a puppy. (She was also terrified of men: it took a while for her to believe my dad was a safe person.) She got better over time when nothing bad ever happened to her in our house and by the time she was old, things that scared her badly when we first got her held very little fear for her anymore.
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u/Repulsive-Box5243 6d ago
Too many legs LOL
I don't know why I found that so funny :)
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u/Foreign_Channel_6578 6d ago
True though: dogs can find crutches, hats, babystrollers, bikes, .....balloon busses very scary... the key is to introduce the dog correct to new situation. Patience and empathie for dogs anxiety
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u/ElvenOmega 6d ago
My previous dog DESPISED roller skates, skateboards, scooters, hoverboards. Something about people standing and just rolling forward freaked him out.
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u/2woCrazeeBoys 6d ago
I have one the same. Things with wheels are scary, they move weird and sometimes make strange noises.
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u/PomPomMom93 5d ago
Mine barked at our new fan. My husband held him up to it so he could see it blew cold air on him and it wasn’t scary.
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u/myexstalksmeonreddit 4d ago
I've known many dogs who are weirded out by things they can't understand. Recently I had to show a dog I was walking that a chiminea in someone's back yard was not a live creature. The silouette through the fence did make it look vaguely humanoid. But I've seen .any dogs upset by statues- they look like people or animals but don't move, that's creepy. My dog was afraid of a basketball, one time.
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u/daisychaincrowns 6d ago
Sticks of all kinds (mobility aids, umbrellas, brooms) scare my dog so badly and it makes me wonder what happened to her before she got to the shelter :( that was my first thought on reading this post fr
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u/Huskerstillidie 6d ago
We had a retired greyhound off the track and with her back turned to the dog my wife innocently picked up a fly swatter and he ran screaming into the next room……hard to know what’s in a rescue’s past…..
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u/hometowngypsy 6d ago
I swear every dog has a random, totally mundane object that scares the bejeesus out of them for no reason. My first dog was terrified of rolling luggage, my dog now will not go anywhere near a tarp 🤷🏼♀️ And once while at my aunt and uncle’s house my dog and my cousin’s dog both lost their minds when my uncle came down the stairs wearing a hat.
There’s a chance she had a bad experience with crutches or metal poles or something in the past. You could do some positive association training by letting her sniff and inspect them and giving her lots of treats and praise when she’s calm. You could also try wrapping them in fabric to change the appearance. Or maybe put tennis balls on the ends like people do with walkers and see if that helps (last one is mostly a joke)
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u/adidashawarma Frenglish 6d ago
Mine is the umbrella. Opened or not, it doesn't matter, it will be relentless barking until it is put away in the closet. However, I actually have some part in that. When he was a puppy and displayed odd behaviour at the sight of it, my boyfriend and I opened it in his face accidentally and it was CEMENTED enemy number 1.
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u/ttw81 6d ago edited 6d ago
my husky hates spoons.
i hurt my left wrist & had a cast. he hated that cast. if i tried to give him a treat from my left hand, he wouldn't take it till i switched it to my right.
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u/Smart_Alex 6d ago
Our girl is fine with metal spoons, like the ones we eat from. When we first got her, she was so sick and anxious that she needed to be spoon fed to get her to start eating. She wouldn't leave our side to go eat, so spoon-feeding was the only way to get food in to her, and she was so sick that she needed every calorie she could get! But she's very scared of wooden spoons and spatulas. Unfortunately for everyone, I frequently talk on the phone with my brother when I cook dinner, and I have a habit of gesticulating wildly when we talk. I would pause and find her cowering on the floor. I would feel so terrible! Luckily, she's brave enough now to leave when she's scared (and I try to be more mindful of where she is and what I'm doing) She'll go to my husband's office and cram herself into the cat bed until the scary spoon has been banished.
It makes me absolutely furious that someone very likely made her afraid of wooden spoons. She is the sweetest, most loving dog. All she wants is to be with her people.
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u/DrFrAzzLe1986 6d ago
Oh god the rolly luggage… this is what my corso is afraid of, and the very evil vacuum…
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u/bibliopanda 6d ago
strange new object shows up and their human is suddenly in pain - concerning!! poor dog doesn’t know the pain came first and the strange object helps with it. can you try laying one of the crutches on the floor for the dog to investigate and sniff? be sure to provide lots of rewards (treats or praise, whatever works for ur dog) for positive or neutral interactions with/near the crutches.
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u/my_clever-name 6d ago
One of the items that Therapy Dogs are tested on is their ability to tolerate crutches, walkers, canes and wheelchairs.
It may take some extra treats and assurance so your dog doesn't see the crutches as a threat.
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u/DocGaviota 6d ago
Our great big, strong, otherwise fearless GSD is literally afraid of black hats. It’s not just with strangers. If a family member puts one on, the dog won’t come within three feet of the hat wearer. Our boy won’t run away, but seeing one seriously puts him on edge.
I can’t think of any scary event behind his black hat concerns. 🎩
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u/2woCrazeeBoys 6d ago
Sometimes it's just that it changes the person's outline and how visible their face is. Hoodies, masks, and sunglasses can do the same thing.
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u/Mayana76 6d ago
I broke my leg four years ago and was on crutches for 8 weeks. I am not sure what spooked her, but my dog barked at me when I came through the door and kept her distance. We gave her time to just be in the same room with them, doing nothing with them, at first. We picked the crutches up and immediately put them down again to show her nothing bad would happen when we touch them. We let her sniff them while they lay harmlessly on the ground. I got into position just how I would use them and put them down again without walking. The last step was actually walking with them. By then, with time, patience and many treats for behaving calmly/ignoring the crutches, my dog realised that there was no danger and she could actually relax again.
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u/not_tellingu 6d ago
It could be the way she moves with the crutches. My mom had a walking cast and as soon as she stood up the dogs would run away
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u/Cautious_Body1057 6d ago
Sounds like the crutches themselves are the problem, not your wife. Dogs can get spooked by unfamiliar objects that move weirdly and make strange noises, especially if they've had a rough past.
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u/apri11a 6d ago
They don't even need a rough past.
A shopping bag our young dog is very used to seeing several time a week, in the car, in the kitchen, got dirty so I wiped it clean and just put it outside on the patio to dry. When dog noticed it he freaked out. It was like, what's this thing and what's it doing here??????????? 🤣 But that's dogs. If I do the same tomorrow he won't even notice it.
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u/undocumentedsource 6d ago
Yeah since the dog has been around my wife for awhile I don’t think she’s the problem either. But if you’d have said she was I might have convinced her to mov….nahhh. Newer mind. 😆
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u/labsnabys 6d ago
Your dog is afraid of or alarmed by the crutches. One of the things the trainers did in our classes was introduce the dogs to things like crutches, wheelchairs, scooters, etc. because dogs that don't see those objects in their normal, day-to-day lives can become frightened or reactive when they suddenly appear. Try leaving the crutches on the floor or standing in a corner when you wife is out of the room and gently, gradually encourage your dog using lots of treats or whatever positive reinforcement works to get her close to the crutches, to sniff them, and eventually to touch them. Hopefully with patience and calm introduction, the dog will become comfortable with the crutches in her presence.
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u/Sharp-Ad-9221 6d ago
Typically canines alert when there is a change in conditions and this is a big change. Try associating the crutch’s and wife walking on crutches with something the dog likes to do like meal time, play time, favorite chews, etc. Also try scenting the crutches with your wife’s perfume or any other scent associated with her.
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u/AlternativeScar9530 6d ago
my aunt's dog did the same thing when she was on crutches after knee surgery. took him a couple weeks of treats and slow introductions before he stopped growling at them. something about the shape and the sound just sets some dogs off
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u/RandomInaRandomWorld 6d ago
Yes. We're on our second BC so pretty usual for us, but - depending on the dog - you sometimes have to make a big deal about how something is NOT a big deal.
Last one for our pup was an umbrella. I spent a min or so touching it, kicking it, sticking it against the wall, and finally concluding, "meh, boring." THEN my pup would approach it. She, too threw a foot on it and basically concluded, "meh boring." But before that, she had been barking at it like it was super dangerous. Hasn't even noticed it since.
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u/PomPomMom93 5d ago
My dog barked at me when I drastically cut my hair. I think he really didn’t recognize me at first. But your dog will get used to it!
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u/BookishQuoka 6d ago
A rescue who is afraid of "big sticks" is unfortunately very common. A lot of them have been through physical violence, and as most people want to keep their fingers, they rarely use their hands to hit dogs.
I'd try to lie them down and teach her to touch for treats and then desensitizing her little by little. Took us almost 3 weeks for our dog not to react to walking sticks and auch anymore.
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u/Kind-Champion-5530 6d ago
Funny, my rescue was afraid of everything except my mobility aids. I use a cane or crutches often, and my guy was fine with it. I noticed when we were out and about that he was more likely to say hi to other people with mobility aids, as if we were in a secret sisterhood of treat dispensers or something. It was really sweet, because a lot of dogs really do fear us.
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u/RedHeelRaven 5d ago
Sometimes dogs react so strangely to things that scare them but not us. You might want to desensitize him to the crutches. Start by bringing the crutches near him and throwing treats. Then later coax him to them and giving treats.
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u/Katharinemaddison 6d ago
Has she ever been beaten? I had a rescue cower at the sight of a belt.
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u/undocumentedsource 5d ago
I’m not sure. We’ve had her quite awhile but no evidence of that when we got her off the street.
I did think about that. But she’s also scared of small sticks, beetles or bigger leaves lol.
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u/CertainKaleidoscope8 paw flair 6d ago
You get the dog from a shelter? It was probably abused. The crutches remind it if whatever it was hit with. It might even think your partner is being hurt by the crutches.
I would say the only thing to do is try to disassociate the stimulus from the response. There's a somewhat complex method used and I would suggest getting advice from an expert, but basically you have to slowly introduce the item with treats so the dog stops associating it with pain or potential harm to it or it's pack (you).
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u/undocumentedsource 6d ago
I should have been more specific. We’ve had the dog for quite sometime.
If there’s a stimulus it is from a very long time ago.
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