What Should You Do If your Dog is Scared of Men

It may sound a little ridiculous that your dog is scared of just men, but this is not an uncommon occurrence. Some dogs are scared of men as they are not introduced to different men when they were in their puppyhood. There have been cases where dogs are scared of men as they faced abuse at the hands of men, but this is not always the reason. Sometimes, dogs can feel intimidated by just the stature, scent or the deep voice of men. Let's take a look at how you can help your dog cope with this and get along better with men.

If your dog turns shy or anxious around men, then you do not want to push them to interact with one. Chances are the shyness or anxiety will snowball into aggression when a man approaches them. You instead want to let the dog decide when they feel comfortable with approaching men. It may take a few instances of being in the same room without any contact, before your dog grows comfortable with the idea of even approaching them. Don't ever forcefully make your dog become friends with the man, there is a good chance they may take a nip out of fear. On the other hand, treats are a good place to start if you want your dog to become friends with a man. Every time the dog approaches the man with fear, he can give him a few treats, so the fear is replaced with a positive emotion.

Depending on what has caused your dog to develop a fear or repulsion toward men, in some cases, it may be severe. If your dog has already bitten a man out of fear, then there is a good chance that it will happen again. You want to practice isolation in such cases, and maybe keep the dog in a crate or a different room when men come home. As and when your dog grows accustomed to having the man around, even if in different rooms, you want to gradually close in on the distance, praising the dog with treats for good behavior.It may be easier for you to introduce your dog to men if it has been obedience-trained. You can even start obedience training your dog so they learn to stay calm and non-aggressive around men. If you find that your dog's aggression and fear toward men is severe, and there is no way for it to be avoided, then you can consult an animal behavior expert, to help your dog overcome it in steps.