Boerboel_887
New Member
Hi everyone - recently found and joined this community and this is my first post!
I have an 8 month old male Boerboel who is very unsure and anxious on his walks. I have socialised him heavily since he was vaccinated (you name it, we’ve done it!) but on his walks his hackles are often raised and he’s always scanning his environment with “unsure” body language. I don’t understand why he does this due to the heavy socialisation I have done with him, and still do with him. He tends to relax at the end of his walks quite a lot, but for the first half he’s in unsure mode.
He’s also unsure around other dogs - his hackles raise but he’s also excited to greet other dogs. It’s like he’s super excited to say hello but equally unsure as to how they will react to him. Again, I’ve socialised him with other dogs so I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. He’s never shown an ounce of aggression, it’s always excitement/unsure. He’s never gotten into a fight although some dogs have charged and barked at him. Could it be this?
I do not think this is a fear phase because this behaviour has extended beyond a typical fear phase now. He also displays much less of the above behaviour if I walk him with an older mature dog who he knows…
Has anyone else had their boy react like this? What am I not doing right? How can I help him feel confident?
Thanks in advance from an exasperated and confused owner!
I have an 8 month old male Boerboel who is very unsure and anxious on his walks. I have socialised him heavily since he was vaccinated (you name it, we’ve done it!) but on his walks his hackles are often raised and he’s always scanning his environment with “unsure” body language. I don’t understand why he does this due to the heavy socialisation I have done with him, and still do with him. He tends to relax at the end of his walks quite a lot, but for the first half he’s in unsure mode.
He’s also unsure around other dogs - his hackles raise but he’s also excited to greet other dogs. It’s like he’s super excited to say hello but equally unsure as to how they will react to him. Again, I’ve socialised him with other dogs so I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. He’s never shown an ounce of aggression, it’s always excitement/unsure. He’s never gotten into a fight although some dogs have charged and barked at him. Could it be this?
I do not think this is a fear phase because this behaviour has extended beyond a typical fear phase now. He also displays much less of the above behaviour if I walk him with an older mature dog who he knows…
Has anyone else had their boy react like this? What am I not doing right? How can I help him feel confident?
Thanks in advance from an exasperated and confused owner!