This is more than just a fear phase...

[Tosa]

I already posted my problem about Tosa's fears before but I will retype few more important things here again. She came to our house when she was 3 months old. She was happy, playful and fearless puppy. She was running in the park, playing, going towards new people, let everybody pet her and enjoyed it. She was such a sweetheart.

At about 5 months, she started showing signs of fear towards strangers. I started to search and inform myself so we can pass that fear phase correctly. Unfortunately, she is now 8 months old and her fears are still here. She is scared of every new person that comes near her or tries to approach her. Of course i just tell people not to do it and ignore her. Sometimes she will go and sniff them and for that she is always rewarded.

I am doing trainings with her on daily basis, whenever we walk in the street and she is calm, i am giving her treats. If she starts to growl or even bark (and it is always because someone is staring at her or telling her something) i try to get her attention to me. She never goes towards people she's afraid of, but just wants to get away as soon as possible.

We are not able to have everyday happy walks and she is constantly stressed out about everyone walking beside us. We are taking local classes twice a week for the last 5 months and Tosa is very obedient dog. She loves every person that she knows (there's about 50 people on her friend list )...but everybody else is an enemy.

I tried to realize what could cause this behaviour and couldn't think about any single thing. She is not afraid of particular person type - she is scared of men, women, even children. I am seeing this as a big problem because it is killing our quality time and i am not able to take her places i normally would.

We really tried our best to socialize her every day when she was a puppy, and nothing seemed to bother her. Tosa is great with other dogs.

We started taking her to additional trainings with dog behaviourist but i am still not seeing any progress. I am really sad for her because she cannot enjoy her life fully

 

[DennasMom]

Poor puppy. Being afraid is no fun!!

How is she when you're not around?

I'm wondering if it's something related to you (which would not be uncommon) - she's either picking up on your worry about her fears, or she's worried about being able to protect you, or ???

An easy way to test this theory would be to leave her with one of her people "friends" when out at a park or some new place where she would be 'on fear alert'... and see how she does, then. Maybe that would help identify some of her triggers that you could work on?

Other than that, maybe just spending time together watching the world go by would help? Go out to a park where people like to walk/run by, and just sit on a bench and people watch. Maybe if she can relax there, realizing that her only "job" is to stay sitting or laying down next to you and supervise would give her a sense of security? It might take you a long time the first outing to get her to relax - but just be a post and wait her out. Remind her to come back and sit next to you occasionally... but otherwise, no treats, no talking, just quiet calm - let her brain unwind at it's own pace. Then give her lots of love and treats and praise and all good things once you get back to the car. If she can sit next to you calmly and supervise - providing some treats calmly might help her, too. That is also a good gauge of her stress level - if she refuses a treat, you know she's pretty stressed out... I would just wait it out... plan on 20-40 minutes for the first outing, hopefully future outings would take less time.

If she can't sit and relax, but instead gets more wound up the more you sit still... get up, have her "shake it off" maybe jump and run around for a minute or two... then return to the bench to supervise again... see if a 'reset' helps get her back on the 'relax-track'...

Let us know how it goes. I'm sure you're not the only one with this kind of issue.

 

[Hector]

Do you know what is her reactive zone? Like how close are people before she starts to act afraid on walks? Is there a certain way people approach that makes her react or is there no difference?

I would walk her not around a lot of people and not too closely to people. If people are approaching your way, turn around and walk away. If they are too close, step aside and ask her to sit/wait or distract her with a good treat. This sounds like a confidence issue. Proofing old commands on your walks might be a good way to boost her confidence. Ask for really easy behaviors and reward a lot. You may even be able to sit aside and watch people go about their daily activity such as DM suggested and try to praise and distract her with a treat she can nibble on while you're holding it like string cheese. When Hector was not very good people, I took him to Safeway and we stationed ourselves right outside of the store. I rewarded him quickly for just glancing at people that way he didn't have time to react. He got the idea pretty quick and that was the only session we needed.

 

[CeeCee]

DM's right, you are not the only person with this problem.

I was just talking to friend of mine today about my boy - who is also working to build his confidence. She also happens to be one of the Trainers for our CGC class. She shared with me the following (and it sounds like it might help you as well), "he needs things presented and done slowly so that he can gain his confidence along the way. Although he is a giant he is a big mush bug underneath and very uncertain in our world. He needs time to process situations and people and to gain his comfort level before he proceeds. He needs us to let him decide when he is ready."

Give your girl time to process what she is experiencing. When people come up to you, keep your girl close. If you need, treat/praise her for staying by your side and remaining calm. Let them know Tosa is in training. [FONT=arial, sans-serif]Have the person you're talking to COMPLETELY ignore her (no talking to her, looking at her, or trying to touch her). Start in small increments talk for 30 seconds, a minute and then move on. End on a positive note. (If they know she's in training, it they'll be more understanding when you need to move on in the middle of your conversation. [/FONT]) [FONT=arial, sans-serif]As she experiences success and remains calm, reward her - treats or praise - whatever works best for your girl. Gradually increase the amount of time you are interacting with people and she remains calm. [/FONT]

[FONT=arial, sans-serif]The other thing, I am learning and actively working on is taking my energy really, really, really low! When we encounter something that my dogs might react to, I take my energy, thoughts, and breathing really low. In doing this, I'm noticing two things. First, any reaction my dogs do have is much less than if my energy, nervousness is high. Second, somehow taking my energy low, slows down everything, I am able to see more and think more consciously about my decisions - even if a few seconds time.

Keep working at it. It will get better.

Keep us posted.
[/FONT]

 

[Tosa]

Thanks everyone for your answers. It really makes me feel better when i see there is a way. I just need to give her all my patience and time
She is my first dog and i knew what i was getting when i brought her home, so i was ready for everything.


She is acting the same way when I'm not around, my brother says it's even worse, she starts to panic and they cannot do anything to make her calm down. I can get her attention almost every time, with her favourite toy or delicious treats. She will react on that and even do some tricks if there aren't too many strange people around.


Watching people is ok, but she is reacting better if we just pass by them. For every person that she notices, she looks at me, and i reward her, so this step is already done Problem is if a person tries to come near or tries to approach her. Strangers are now ok, but only if they are ignoring her.


Our private trainings are based on a work with a new person every time. New person is coming towards us, crouchs, no talk, no eye contact and with a treat in her hand. When Tosa comes near and takes the treat, i am also rewarding her with my voice and clicker. She is now fully aware that it is an exercise and that she needs to stay calm and to be brave.. And hungry of course lol


Sometimes she is getting rewarded by that person, and sometimes by me (because the aim is to get her not to react to stranger's hand).


Step by step and in about an hour that person is standing (new position, and harder one for her), doing the same thing. She is still not ready for talk and eye contact, but sometimes, she will let them touch her under the chin.


I am very happy to see her doing this exercise althought her progress is really slow.


It is unbelieveable for everyone in my family to realize how affectionate and loveable she is with us, and how scared and suspicios towards others. I am 100% sure she would never harm anyone from my family and would put my arm in fire for that.


Her behavior is definitely one of a kind. It is something most similar to what i've read about Fila's ojeriza...


Tosa's reactive zone is about 2-3 meters if we are talking about person that is trying to communicate with her. But she can stand almost side by side with strangers if they are ignoring her.

 

[Hector]

Watching people is ok, but she is reacting better if we just pass by them. For every person that she notices, she looks at me, and i reward her, so this step is already done Problem is if a person tries to come near or tries to approach her. Strangers are now ok, but only if they are ignoring her.


Our private trainings are based on a work with a new person every time. New person is coming towards us, crouchs, no talk, no eye contact and with a treat in her hand. When Tosa comes near and takes the treat, i am also rewarding her with my voice and clicker. She is now fully aware that it is an exercise and that she needs to stay calm and to be brave.. And hungry of course lol


Sometimes she is getting rewarded by that person, and sometimes by me (because the aim is to get her not to react to stranger's hand).


Tosa's reactive zone is about 2-3 meters if we are talking about person that is trying to communicate with her. But she can stand almost side by side with strangers if they are ignoring her.

I really don't like the idea of strangers giving your dog treats.

1. What if a stranger doesn't have treats approaches too quickly? That would probably cause a step back in training.

2. Rewards should always come from you, that way she knows who to look to for direction. I wouldn't allow any interaction with strangers and only calm behavior right by my side in a sit or down. In this case where you are working with stranger interaction, I'd reward heavily for brief sniffs and calm demeanor (looking) or even aloofness. If she decides to sniff the person out, I would recall her back maybe even before she reaches the person and reward her. I really don't like the idea of people even touching or crouching down to the dog. My goals would be to get the dog to be aloof and be able to remain calm if you or someone is talking. When people approach your direction, the dog should remain focused on a command such as a heel or sit and not react or be distracted.

Rewards should still come from you even if you want her getting used to people using gestures. You can ask the person to do simple raising hand from a distance and work up from there by changing one variable at a time such as more gestures at a non-reactive distance or less intense gesture at a closer distance, etc.

3. Another thing I don't like about strangers handing out treats is that your dog might see a person and become highly excited and be expecting a treat and you try to call to her and she will blow you off until she gets something from them. Basically, they become a competing motivator and you don't want that.

My dog started off lunging and barking at people walking by at 4 months. I kept taking him out and kept our distance. Once a week I would test his reaction with people. At first I avoided all people. Then I would walk towards people walking towards us for a couple of feet and then swerve off path or turn around and walk away from them. Next, we pulled aside and I had him in a down/stay. We were at a point where people could talk to us and he'd wait, but we kept our distance. Now we can walk by people with my dog in a heel, but we still like to keep our distance.

You know her reactive zone, but you also know she's okay with neutral strangers and she's okay walking by people. She is not okay with people talking and she's not okay with gesturing. I would work on the talking before I move onto people gesturing. How often do you do the stranger drill? I would work on just walking by people and engaging her before moving on too fast.

 

[dogman#1]

I'm going to put my 2 cents in... my way is WAY more aggressive but EVERY dog that I have ever had responded immediately. I do not pussy foot around the issue, if they are afraid of people guess where they are going? a parade, petsmart (after school), city streets at 5pm, etc. If they are afraid of water? guess who is going for a swim, getting bathed more often, etc... If I am walking him and he stops because someone is approaching I just make believe he didn't stop... he would get dragged until he complies... This allows the dog to move past those issues quickly and realizes that he/she didn't get hurt by the stressor being an object or a person.. do not look back at the dog or anything, just keep going as it isn't even happening. not looking back shows the dog that it didn't worry you and doesn't validate his fears... constant forward movement helps them understand that there is nothing to fear, stopping when he does validates that there is something wrong.... there is nothing to fear but fear itself. The other way has not helped... try it this way and get this annoying thing over with. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. He showed stable nerves and now bad nerves??? it is def. something that you guys did (not intentionally) but a good nerved dog cannot develop bad nerves only bad habits and your attention is reinforcing the bad habits (as well intentioned as they may be). Again this is without seeing this dog in person and only going by what you wrote. good luck.

 

[Tosa]

I really don't like the idea of strangers giving your dog treats.

1. What if a stranger doesn't have treats approaches too quickly? That would probably cause a step back in training.

2. Rewards should always come from you, that way she knows who to look to for direction. I wouldn't allow any interaction with strangers and only calm behavior right by my side in a sit or down. In this case where you are working with stranger interaction, I'd reward heavily for brief sniffs and calm demeanor (looking) or even aloofness. If she decides to sniff the person out, I would recall her back maybe even before she reaches the person and reward her. I really don't like the idea of people even touching or crouching down to the dog. My goals would be to get the dog to be aloof and be able to remain calm if you or someone is talking. When people approach your direction, the dog should remain focused on a command such as a heel or sit and not react or be distracted.

Rewards should still come from you even if you want her getting used to people using gestures. You can ask the person to do simple raising hand from a distance and work up from there by changing one variable at a time such as more gestures at a non-reactive distance or less intense gesture at a closer distance, etc.

3. Another thing I don't like about strangers handing out treats is that your dog might see a person and become highly excited and be expecting a treat and you try to call to her and she will blow you off until she gets something from them. Basically, they become a competing motivator and you don't want that.

My dog started off lunging and barking at people walking by at 4 months. I kept taking him out and kept our distance. Once a week I would test his reaction with people. At first I avoided all people. Then I would walk towards people walking towards us for a couple of feet and then swerve off path or turn around and walk away from them. Next, we pulled aside and I had him in a down/stay. We were at a point where people could talk to us and he'd wait, but we kept our distance. Now we can walk by people with my dog in a heel, but we still like to keep our distance.

You know her reactive zone, but you also know she's okay with neutral strangers and she's okay walking by people. She is not okay with people talking and she's not okay with gesturing. I would work on the talking before I move onto people gesturing. How often do you do the stranger drill? I would work on just walking by people and engaging her before moving on too fast.

I agree with this part about strangers giving her treats. But on a daily basis i am working with her on ignoring people that walk by. This excercize with a new person once in a week or two is helping me to learn how to get her to approach people that i want her to hang out with and to let her know they are not here to harm. It is also impossible to make her approach anyone if they don't have treats because she sees no reason to come close to anyone without motivation I think it won't make her feel like every person that passes by her is the one that has food. Street and city walks is another thing.

I also contacted another dog trainer and am about to meet with him at the end of the month. I want to see if he has some better ideas about training her. Another opinion can only give more options

@dogman: At the beginning i tried to make her feel comfortable by just ignoring everything and i acted like she is the one that was wrong - i tried to pull her (although she already has over 88lbs), tried without treats, but there was no way to get her going on or even looking at me if i don't have something that she finds interesting enough to snap her out of it. She is really ok with people passing by and even in the park when she is off leash, she feels more secure because freedom is letting her get away every time she feels uncomfortable.

She is still not neutered so i am also wondering if it would affect this specific behaviour?
She's in heat at the moment and i am planning to get her neutered in a few months.

 

[season]

I'm going to put my 2 cents in... my way is WAY more aggressive but EVERY dog that I have ever had responded immediately. I do not pussy foot around the issue, if they are afraid of people guess where they are going? a parade, petsmart (after school), city streets at 5pm, etc. If they are afraid of water? guess who is going for a swim, getting bathed more often, etc... If I am walking him and he stops because someone is approaching I just make believe he didn't stop... he would get dragged until he complies... This allows the dog to move past those issues quickly and realizes that he/she didn't get hurt by the stressor being an object or a person.. do not look back at the dog or anything, just keep going as it isn't even happening. not looking back shows the dog that it didn't worry you and doesn't validate his fears... constant forward movement helps them understand that there is nothing to fear, stopping when he does validates that there is something wrong.... there is nothing to fear but fear itself. The other way has not helped... try it this way and get this annoying thing over with. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. He showed stable nerves and now bad nerves??? it is def. something that you guys did (not intentionally) but a good nerved dog cannot develop bad nerves only bad habits and your attention is reinforcing the bad habits (as well intentioned as they may be). Again this is without seeing this dog in person and only going by what you wrote. good luck.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm a firm believer in everything you just said. Sometimes it's not easy to hear it straight (and I've gotten scolded a few times on here for not being sensitive enough or too "from the hip"). Well as I read the original post I was thinking of a way I could phrase my opinion without having anyone get sensitive and hurt. Well, dogman#1, you beat me to the punch. Dogs will feed off of the energy we give them. You are anxious, waiting for re activity from your dog and that is what you are getting in response. You need to be assertive and move your dog past that point. You don't need to wait for the time to be right. There is no right time. The time is now. My CC appeared to be afraid to walk up the steps. The second I noticed this we had a crash course on steps. When I first brought him home and we started walking on leash I noticed he was a tad bit timid when cars drove by. I picked the busiest street to practice walking on. It works. Head up, shoulders back, straight forward.

 

[season]

And from the way it sounds to me is that your dog is more comfortable off leash because it is not comfortable with your leadership. It doesn't feel safe with you leading it. Your dog needs to see you as the reward. Not the treat. Those only last so long. I truly feel that you need to work on your leadership skills with the dog. If the dog saw you as a calm, confident, assertive pack leader then there wouldn't be these anxious/fearful episodes. So many times we look at ways we need to fix the problem with the dog instead of fixing ourselves and the underlying problems that we've created as owners. It's not always easy to admit it's our fault but 99% of the time a dog "issue" is really a "human" issue. The minute we can make that switch the dog will be better for it. It's a process.

 

[Hector]

@dogman: At the beginning i tried to make her feel comfortable by just ignoring everything and i acted like she is the one that was wrong - i tried to pull her (although she already has over 88lbs), tried without treats, but there was no way to get her going on or even looking at me if i don't have something that she finds interesting enough to snap her out of it. She is really ok with people passing by and even in the park when she is off leash, she feels more secure because freedom is letting her get away every time she feels uncomfortable.

I think working on leash pressure and more exercises on engagement at home will benefit you both.
Work on name calling exercises, hand touch or target, recalls, collar grabs, eye contact, anything that gets and holds her attention. If the dog is not good with at least one of these, you will have a hard time getting your dog to respond to you when distracted. You don't always have to use food, but if food is their currency then use it.

Here are some videos on leash pressure

[video=youtube;ayKD9taWBFM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayKD9taWBFM[/video]

[video=youtube;MzfvEMCtrIE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzfvEMCtrIE[/video]

[video=youtube;fnYtItOHbv4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnYtItOHbv4[/video]

[video=youtube;eB8dhKNichw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB8dhKNichw[/video]


[video=youtube;3nI3kwaJim4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nI3kwaJim4[/video]

[video=youtube;AgKOgv4whHU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgKOgv4whHU[/video]

[video=youtube;ic4CAwSbPnM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ic4CAwSbPnM[/video]

[video=youtube;lFRGVwYw7X0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFRGVwYw7X0[/video]

 

[Tosa]

She is really good in leash walking and that's probably the part we worked on the most. She isn't pulling, she is walking beside me and i do not need to pull, except in those situations she is extremely fearful. I am very strong with her and sometimes even feel maybe it's too much. She is very obedient and will come 99% when i call her name. There is no one person that could walk her and that i saw any changes in fear behavior. Maybe i did something wrong in the past (althought i thought about it hundred of times and cannot see it), but i am definately not the reason of the behavior now. She will bark and get away from strangers even off leash, she just feels more freedom of not having to stay and thats what makes it different in her eyes. There is not a single stranger that could approach her even off leash...

 

[Tosa]

Thanks for the videos! I will check them out as soon as i get home. Today is our third training and we are working on her bicycle problem it's weird because motorcycles for example aren't problem at all ! :/

 

[Hector]

Thanks for the videos! I will check them out as soon as i get home. Today is our third training and we are working on her bicycle problem it's weird because motorcycles for example aren't problem at all ! :/

I know what you mean. Hector is fine with bikes, electric scooters, carts, wheelchairs, but is not okay with skateboarders lol...

 

[dogman#1]

She is really good in leash walking and that's probably the part we worked on the most. She isn't pulling, she is walking beside me and i do not need to pull, except in those situations she is extremely fearful. I am very strong with her and sometimes even feel maybe it's too much. She is very obedient and will come 99% when i call her name. There is no one person that could walk her and that i saw any changes in fear behavior. Maybe i did something wrong in the past (although i thought about it hundred of times and cannot see it), but i am definately not the reason of the behavior now. She will bark and get away from strangers even off leash, she just feels more freedom of not having to stay and thats what makes it different in her eyes. There is not a single stranger that could approach her even off leash...

Get yourself a good prong collar and learn how to use it properly before you attempt it with your dog. The dog can be 200lbs and you 50lbs, a prong collar is the equalizer when used correctly. Not some but EVERY dog will comply with this. If you think its mean consider what would be meaner... an attempt to correct this in a week or a lifetime of fear. I wish I lived near you as I would help you get through this... BTW Dobre dan!

 

[krisx]

I'm going to put my 2 cents in... my way is WAY more aggressive but EVERY dog that I have ever had responded immediately. I do not pussy foot around the issue, if they are afraid of people guess where they are going? a parade, petsmart (after school), city streets at 5pm, etc. If they are afraid of water? guess who is going for a swim, getting bathed more often, etc... If I am walking him and he stops because someone is approaching I just make believe he didn't stop... he would get dragged until he complies... This allows the dog to move past those issues quickly and realizes that he/she didn't get hurt by the stressor being an object or a person.. do not look back at the dog or anything, just keep going as it isn't even happening. not looking back shows the dog that it didn't worry you and doesn't validate his fears... constant forward movement helps them understand that there is nothing to fear, stopping when he does validates that there is something wrong.... there is nothing to fear but fear itself. The other way has not helped... try it this way and get this annoying thing over with. IMO there is absolutely nothing wrong with your dog. He showed stable nerves and now bad nerves??? it is def. something that you guys did (not intentionally) but a good nerved dog cannot develop bad nerves only bad habits and your attention is reinforcing the bad habits (as well intentioned as they may be). Again this is without seeing this dog in person and only going by what you wrote. good luck.

my thoughts exactly. firm believer in direct and practical approach. couldn't said it better my self.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I'm a firm believer in everything you just said. Sometimes it's not easy to hear it straight (and I've gotten scolded a few times on here for not being sensitive enough or too "from the hip"). Well as I read the original post I was thinking of a way I could phrase my opinion without having anyone get sensitive and hurt. Well, dogman#1, you beat me to the punch. Dogs will feed off of the energy we give them. You are anxious, waiting for re activity from your dog and that is what you are getting in response. You need to be assertive and move your dog past that point. You don't need to wait for the time to be right. There is no right time. The time is now. My CC appeared to be afraid to walk up the steps. The second I noticed this we had a crash course on steps. When I first brought him home and we started walking on leash I noticed he was a tad bit timid when cars drove by. I picked the busiest street to practice walking on. It works. Head up, shoulders back, straight forward.

exactly. with mine it was also cars. also believe in the same approach. so we went to biggest mall parking lot when there is crowd and loads of cars.

 

[Tosa]

I am still not able to say that i am completely sure what trainer told me is making her feel better. If i try to correct her when afraid she falls in even more afraid state of mind. I am thinking about making video of this simple thing just to show you it's really weird. I believe that there are people that could help us fix this behaviour and that's why i am not giving up and will do anything it takes. I am ready to meet different trainers.

Yesterday we had guests. A friend of mine arrived with her 10 month old baby. Tosa knows my friend so she wasn't very nervous about that. She was panicking about little child that just started walking.. After about 10 minutes when i realised Tosa was nervous on every baby's move (and the baby wasn't even 5 meters close), I took her to another room. I just wasn't feeling comfortable seeing her in that condition.
I have two 10 year old nephews and Tosa knew them since she was a puppy. She is extremely excited when they come over, she sleeps with them and plays gently. So she isn't a dog that wasn't socialised with children. The park that we were visiting daily is full of children and it was never a problem.

It seems to me like irrational fear of strangers. Doesn't matter if they are 10 months or 60 years old, if they have something on their head or they are riding a bike.. To her, they are strangers and she doesn't want them near.

I attached photo of Tosa sleeping with my beautiful nephew Nika. Tosa has a lot of skin hanging around her head and looks funny

 

[Tosa]

Get yourself a good prong collar and learn how to use it properly before you attempt it with your dog. The dog can be 200lbs and you 50lbs, a prong collar is the equalizer when used correctly. Not some but EVERY dog will comply with this. If you think its mean consider what would be meaner... an attempt to correct this in a week or a lifetime of fear. I wish I lived near you as I would help you get through this... BTW Dobre dan!

LOL Dogman Dobar dan i tebi

We have a simple choke collar and we use it just when necessary (on the streets when she becomes nervous, she would even jump in front of the car just to get away and i couldn't hold her without that collar…)

About the correction... The problem isn't her growl, it's her fear. With growling and sometimes barking she is telling me and others that she is afraid and she doesn't want to be near those who make her feel that way. By correcting her growling, she will still be fearful but without giving us any loud signs. Which is more dangerous than anything. Imagine 95lbs dog attacking without alarming first.

 

[Hector]

Time to amp up your socialization (exposure to people)! All I can say at this point is keep your head up and keep walking. If you know/think she is going to react, pick up the pace, do some quick turns, talk to her to get her attention, clap, make sounds, push her a little to engage her to play. Seriously make the walk busy and exciting. If she is focused on you, she cannot focus on other things that could scare her.

 

[dogman#1]

LOL Dogman Dobar dan i tebi

We have a simple choke collar and we use it just when necessary (on the streets when she becomes nervous, she would even jump in front of the car just to get away and i couldn't hold her without that collar…)

About the correction... The problem isn't her growl, it's her fear. With growling and sometimes barking she is telling me and others that she is afraid and she doesn't want to be near those who make her feel that way. By correcting her growling, she will still be fearful but without giving us any loud signs. Which is more dangerous than anything. Imagine 95lbs dog attacking without alarming first.

Dobre dan/noch liepa jena is all I know and im sure it is mispelled as well (supposed to mean "good moring beautiful girl"). I was in Bosnia Herzogovina (SFOR6) in '99-2000 so I also know "SFOR, Stani ili putsam" and that is all I remember. If you are nervous that your dog may attack then walk her in the middle of the street and not on sidewalks. The prong collar is way more effective than a regular choker but it works in much the same way as long as you are doing it correctly. IMO the prong does less damage and gets more of a response. If you are choking your dog then you are doing it wrong, remember short deliperate snaps not prolonged tension.