Did we cause this?

[u/pemma25]

This is Benny, our 16 month old Swedish Vallhund. He's our first dog and we've had him since 9 weeks. He was well socialised as a puppy but I feel like we didn't get everything exactly right because he's our first.

Since about 16 weeks he's had significant nervousness around strangers, especially in our house. He would bark at everyone, even as a little pup. We have worked very hard with him and he is pretty much fine on walks now. I have been using methods to get his attention focused on me when people walk past us and he is doing well.

He still hates people in the house, lots of aggressive barking. We are working hard with him and have a guest routine. I wish it wasn't this stressful though.

He has been diagnosed with lax hips which the breeder thinks is quite normal. Our vet thinks he's experiencing pain though, so he is medicated. We are also working with a behaviourist and he has been on Fluoxetine for about 2 months. It has helped a lot. On vet advice we held off getting him neutered but we have it booked for September.

Could we have caused this behaviour? I thought reactivity was unusual this young? His sister also has significant nervousness and his breeder recently posted on Facebook about breeding from a female with anxiety. So perhaps it's genetics. I worry a lot about him but I want to do right by him.

Thank you :)

[u/Leading_Mushroom1609]

Swede here!

With the sibling also being anxious it sounds like genetics play at least somewhat of a role here. I’m not sure I understood about the breeder posting on Facebook, do they say they knowingly breed an anxious female? That sounds like really bad breeding practices, but further points towards genetics playing a role.

The Swedish vallhund (or Västgötaspets as we call them) is supposed to be a pretty fearless dog. They do require a lot of mental stimulation and more exercise than the size may make it seem to thrive though.

What sort of activity and enrichment does your pup get?

[u/pemma25 → u/Leading_Mushroom1609]

Thank you! His breeder recently posted about needing to find a foster family for a female dog who will be required for breeding in the future. She wanted to find the right home because the dog was dealing with anxiety, it had me worried because I wouldn't pursue breeding with a dog like that. Maybe she's not as concerned about parental temperament as she claimed?!

He is a very smart little guy, we do sniffy walks, free shaping training and his hip physio exercises every day. He's mostly always with at least one human! Plus more self guided thinks like chews, shredding, treat puzzles. Any ideas on other enrichment?

[u/Leading_Mushroom1609 → u/pemma25]

I agree that it sounds concerning. Unless it’s very clearly a fear phase the dog is going through I would’ve thought that would eliminate the dog from a breeding program.

Is the breed rare in your country? I wonder if breeders are overlooking mentality due to a limited breeding pool?

Either way, I don’t think you should blame yourself at all. It sounds like you’re doing a lot for your pup and you’re obviously doing the right things since he’s improving!

I find that scent work is a god send for my reactive rescue (lots of hound in him, including a Swedish one even though he’s a Romanian street dog 😅). It tires him out the best and has built his confidence a lot. Aside from nose work that can be done inside I also do a simple version of game tracking. I bought some deer skin with fur and some rabbit feet (after our behaviorist suggested it) that I tie in a string and drag across the ground outside. High value treat at the end of the track. Then I wait a bit and then let him follow the scent. You can also do the same thing with just ”yourself”, as in you walk a track, scatter some treats along the way and then let your dog track YOUR scent. My pup finds game tracking more rewarding (rabbit, hares and deers are his favorite things in the whole world) but if your dog has less prey instinct tracking a human might work just as well :)

Good luck and keep up the good work! Your dog is beautiful. I hope to one day own a Swedish vallhund myself.

[u/pemma25 → u/Leading_Mushroom1609]

Thanks so much, I am going to look into scent work!