Odd DDB behavior, advice wlcome..

I have recently adopted a a young DDB male named George... he is now 1 yr old, we adopted him Nov 15 /09..... please forgive my poor writing style, I am a much better reader then I am a writer..... anyways I will give a little history on George... George was raised on a native American reserve here in Canada, he was raised by people of different skin color and language , he was fed raw wild meat and lived mostly outdoors...He has ben previously attacked by a female DDB and has scars to prove it...for some reason George was kenneled with a full grown female, I guess George got a little frisky and she was not in the mood....LOL.... anyways the owner was leaving the reserve and going back to school and could not find anywhere to live where she could properly house George, so she placed an add looking for a new home... we answered the add and made arrangements to meet... On first meeting George was very shy and distrustful of us ( me and my GF), but after a 1/2 hour we had gained his trust enough to get him into our car... George was fine once inside the car, he eagerly would take treats and food from us.... However once we got home George played strange very badly, it took us 4 hours to convince him to come inside the house... here in Manitoba November weather is very cold, so I think George was looking for warmth more then companionship...... Anyways George has slowly gotten over his shyness of us, and now is fully comfortable with us as his master..her is very loving, gentle and attentive.... He is very stubborn and dignified when it comes to training, but he has slowly taken quite well to training..he now knows sit, stay, shake, hell, and off leash recall ( all with little or no distractions tho )..when we got George he didn't know anything except basic house training.... So as a whole I am very impressed with George, he is much smarter then he lets on it seems, as when there is food involved he is extremely willing to do whatever you wish...with no food he is much less attentive..he doesn't misbehave, but he doesn't jump thru hoops either.... Anyways the odd behavior has to do with guests...George is very hand shy of other people, even with people who see George every other day..It always seems George is on his guard , now I am unsure if he is scared, or just very distrustful...He will shy away from a hand left to linger in fron of him, however if a person just pets him George is fine.... He seems to crave our guests attention as we will not leave them alone..however even when he is getting petted he can sometimes spook if the person makes a fast movement or does something he does not like...George will not run away, instead he will quickly doge the offending hand ( or whatever) and then come right back looking for more pets.... Oddly enough if a person does not pet him, George will sometimes bark at them..George tends to stare everyone directly in the eyes, if a person holds a stare with no physical contact george will huff and sometimes bark.... However if the person is petting him he is fine with staring....... Now I have made much progress in George's behavior, but i only want to discuss the general behavior and what opinion people have on it..... George will also tend to always keep our guests in sight, he feels its his duty to constantly stare, unwavering and steady...... Its very odd tha George seems so hand shy at times, yet is compelled to constantly pester our guests, even if he gets spooked, he is back instantly looking for attention... He has barked at several of our guests, as welll as a odd looking jowl huff..however he has made no sign of growling,snarling or showing his teeth, nor has he nipped or anything like that.... Another odd thing is George likes to muzzle up to people, he just loves to push with his nose, mouth closed,calm demeanor with no sign of aggression..He just seems compelled to push into our guests with his face.....He will come from behind the couch and muzzle the back of a persons head, almost like a shove... This behavior makes me nervous as I am unsure what his intentions are... He seems like he is extremely curious, yet at the same time very wary of any possible threat..... He loves getting attention, but seems very wary of the people is seeking attention from........ Goerge is also intolerant of people being in parts of our house he is not accustomed to..for some reason he is perfectly fine with our guests when they are int he living room or dining room, however one day my buddy was using a phone in our sunroom and George seemed agitated by that...He stood on alert and watched my friend every second he was in the sunroom, guests almost never enter our sunroom and it seemed George was none to happpy about it...George even challenged my friend when he attempted to leave the sunroom..this is only 5 minutes after they were playing tuggy in the living room...... In the living room George and my friend were best friends, however once my friend stepped out of those boundaries George became a gaurd dog.... George made no physical threat or anything like that...he just stood tall in the doorway and gave my friend a huge deep chested Woof !......... That same friend was visiting one evening for several hours..George and him were playing for hours and all was fine, George was his best friend for the most part...a little hand shy, but more wary then skittish... However when my friend decided ti was time to leave he went outside and started his car (-40C weather ) George seen my friend off with a happy tail wagging farewell....However 5 minutes later my freind came back into my house after he started his car and George would not let him enter the main house..George stood about 5 feet from the door and barked at my friend in a defensive posture,,head up, tail straight out...only after I called George was my friend able to reenter my house..... Before I called George down my friend tried making peace with George, but George would have none of it... he was not going to let my friend enter... I found this odd considering these 2 had been playing all evening..my friend is a dog lover like me and is usually very good with winning a dogs trust.... I have never had a dog before that is like this and I find this hot/cold behavior very unsettling... I may be panicking as George has never shown teeth,snarled or snapped...all he does stare,bark and stand firm..nobody of course has ever engaged George any further so I have no idea what would happen if they pushed the issue... George is more then friendly when people are in his comfort zone ( living room,dining room,leash) but he doesn't seem to fond of allowing guests free roam of our house, nor does he seem to like guests reentering our house without me being there...even if a guest has been with us all evening....He will sometimes be hand shy and maybe skittish if a hand is raised in a threatening manner, however he does not run away or hide, instead he maneuvers to a more acceptable position and continues to investigate or play with our guests.. he always seems to prefer to have a better tactical position then the guest...But even with this odd behavior he seems very calm and relaxed... He just doesn't like anyone to be in a position where they may be able to strike him ei hand above his head, fast movement etc...If a guests plays by George's rules he is very loving and affectionate and playful with no sign of fear or nervousness.. I am unsure of George's past, so I have no idea what these odd behaviors are... I have sen a marked improvement in George and have been meaning to make this post for the last few weeks.... even tho i see a improvement I still would like to get some advice..... I will add that if something spooks George, like a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer, George will dart away to safety, yet instantly come back to investigate... It seems like the worse something spooks him the more he's compelled to investigate....Its rather odd, as usually if a dog is scared of something they avoid it..Not George, he seems compelled to face his fears so to speak......

The previous owners named him Cujo..... I renamed him George already......

DDB are natural guard dogs..all the stuff about sunroom and leaving and reentering is IMO normal..this MAY have been his job on the reserve and even if it was not its still a natural instinct to watch and alert ( hes not attacking) hes letting you know something NOT NORMAL is happening., I also agree that Platz is correct in assuming somebody on that reserve is a heavyhanded SOB. Some here will disagree with this but on all my rescued Molossers I INSIST that newcomers meet them the 1st time in my house/business/property by kneeling down and slowly extending a hand palm up, and I am always there for that meet and greet..if the dog is young and a tad shy I usually tell the peson to pat his/her hand on ground to instigate play. I have found this lighthanded approach OVERTIME will let the dogs become better with people..I would also get this pup to some puppy classes ASAP to meet new strange people and to watch how other dogs act with their masters. You seem to have a good handle on whats going on so just take it slow..I BTW LOVE a dog who will work for food (rescues almost always do) I mix the food and toy play up pretty evenly and never tolerate any food or toy aggresion. BTW I also think BabiGirl is correct that this dog more than likely meet very few people indoors , so this is all new to him. Naming a puppy Cujo shows you the people were arse's IMHO

George seems to lack confidence, that much is clear. But let's not jump to conclusions of abuse just yet. He's probably had ZILCH in the way of socialization and he was living outdoors. Read this article: http://www.ukcdogs.com/WebSite.nsf/Articles/NADOI01232008 George will need a lot of guidance from you so he can ascertain what is appropriate in your household. Continue your basic obedience work to give him more confidence. Reward often and ignore mistakes. Get him out and about every day to experience "sights and sounds". Keep him on a leash when guests arrive. Instruct your guests to not stare at him or reach over his head. Let George approach them when everyone is sitting down and less threatening. Have your houseguests toss him treats or toys. Let him initiate the interaction, and when they pet him, instruct them to stroke under his chin/chest. You may never be able to completely overcome his fearfulness, but with a lot of work he may improve and be managable. Good luck.

Native American Reservation is a place usually in the semi wilderness that the Indians get to live and run life there w/o to much outside intervention. The living conditions for man or beast can be harsh.

The native lady I got George from seemed to care for him very much, sh contacts me weekly asking how he is doing... So if he was abused it was definitely not by her...However he did have a few scars on him from other dogs and I think kids with BB guns...as he had circular tufts of hair and skin come free about 2 weeks after I got him.......chances are he was harrased when he was chained up outside.... However when we got George he was well groomed with perfectly manicured nails, so i do know he was taken care of pretty good, his original owner was a very nice lady who loved him very much....according to her George was always very shy and reluctant with strangers... Anyways an update George's behavior..... He is doing excelent ! the other day we had a new guest come over and George did not make strange one bit, within 10 minutes he was sleeping at my friends feet ! However my freind followed my instructions unlike some of my other guests.... Before my freind came over I instructed him over the phone, first thing was to ignore the dog, second was do not make eye contact, third was when he went to pet george he uses a palm up approach and pet George under the chin and on the chest...My friend followed my instructions perfectly and George was perfectly fine and didn't play shy one bit..... George investigated at first, then decided he wanted to be petted and after that he fell asleep on my friends feet...... Too many of my other friends tried to look George in the eyes, or pet him immediately on the top of the head....Another odd thing is George doesn't like to have strangers call his name, he seems to take offence to that...as if only his masters can call him by name LOL !! George also started obedience class yesterday, he did very well except when people let their pushy dogs get in George's face, then he seemed to get agitated by what I gather from his body language....If a dog or a person is polite George is fine, but if a person or dog is too pushy George doesn't seem to happy....... George was also the most obedient dog in the class, which was very good as it was our first class and we had already missed 2 weeks worth of classes, I guess all the time I have spent with George so far has paid off... when we got him he knew nothing, not he sits, downs, stays, shakes, and will reliably call back offleash...George seems to be very intelligent......George did exclent at the class, however at the very end he seemed to have enough, and when we were leaving the building George couldn't get outside fast enough...needless to say I felt how strong he is for the very first time ...WOW I have never been pulled by a dog like that before, he is insanely strong, much stronger then I anticipated WOW.... I am a burly 200 lb guy and it was all I could do to hold George back as he was trying to make his escape from the training studio..George is still a puppy and has alot more growing to do... I can imagine he is going to be extremely powerful when he's full grown...I was thinking i was going to try him in weight pulling and see if he likes it.... the dog definitely has the physical capabilities ! All in all George is coming out of his shell very well, I have spent hours upon hours working with him, giving him love and affection, as well as socializing him every opportunity I get...He is definitely getting more confident and relaxed, and shows a great desire to please his masters.... I do however read a little that he may at times be dog aggressive based on his body language at the training center..a Big Irish Wolfhound was yanking his master around and the Wolfhound got right into George's face...George reared back and looked like he was going to take a snap..i immediately called George and redirected his attention.... I may be way off base as its very hard to read george as he is so naturally mean looking , he's cute but he does have a very sour expression.....many of my guests have said he is the most intimidating looking dog they have ever met....However so far al he's been is gentle Oh another thing that happened is on day 3 of owning George he did attack my 13 yr old GSD, however the GSd provoked it and pushed George to the point he reacted..George didn't hurt Roskoe, he just used his weight and pushed Roskoe to the ground, I yelled at george and he stopped immediately and has never done it again...He even lets the old dog pretend to be alpha LOL !!! so far George is doing very good considering his past and how short of a time we have had him...

The member who posted this text was banned - and the post is depricated.

And here is the most current pics of George !!!

[quote=kbcouch]how old is he now? i think he looks freaking awsome. i wish they stayed slim like that as they matured.[/quote] Thank you very much !!!! He is 13 months old in the pictures, he is still very puppy clumsy but so far is very athletic, very good runner