HOWEDY melanie,

"Melanie L Chang" wrote in message
...

I would personally not force any contact with her.

Right. That didn't work already.

If she is afraid of you,

Right. That's the OP's chief complaint.

then for her, your presence predicts the onset of fear or bad
feelings.

Imagine? You think maybe she was weaned too young/

What you want to do is change the association, so that your
presence predicts good things.

You mean bribes. That didn't work either, already.

I think it would be useful for you to take over feeding

That's idiocy.

and other care routines -

The OP would just like to live in peace.

- that she enjoys.

That ain't gonna happen cause the dog wants to attack her.

REMEMBER?

However, I would remain neutral and essentially ignore
her as you go about these things.

You mean, feedin an carin for her?

Initiating a direct interactions (like when you pet her in the
presence of your mom and stepdad) is probably too much
for her to handle.

Yeah. Your own dog Solo has problems for bein near people.

Eventually, in your "neutral but predicting good things" role
you may find that she is more at ease around you,

Your dog Solo has been on psychotropics and in treatment
at UofPA behavior clinic for three years UNSUCCESSFULLY.

and over time that she may even come to you.

Yeah...

But don't rush it.

BWEEAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!

I have a dog who is fearful of strangers.

RIGHT!

Your dog has been on medication and in trainin for three years.

UNSUCCESSFULLY.

He is most comfortable with people who completely ignore him,

And bring him his dinner and take care of his other needs while
ignoring him.

as if he is not there.

Yeah...

I reward him for approaching them and greeting them
appropriately,

Do you nHOWE? That hasn't worked in three years, already.

HAS IT.

and after a period of time he may solicit attention and pats
from them.

BWEEAAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAJAAAA!!!

But this is after a whole lot of just desensitizing him to
being
around strangers -

YOUR METHODS DON'T WORK.

- to begin with,

You HURT and INTIMIDATE Solo. He was taken
off his psychotropics when you went to Europe
and he stayed at the kennel CAUSE HE WAS NORMAL.

Solo is AFRAID cause YOU HURT HIM.

I would do things like pass him a treat simply for walking by a
stranger on the sidewalk, even if he didn't even look at the
person.

That'll make some dogs suspiciHOWES, like the OP's dog.

After some time, he started looking up at me for his treat every
time we
encountered a new person, and that's when I knew the association
was
starting to become positive for him.

BWEEEEAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!

The people Solo absolutely cannot handle are the ones who force
themselves on him -- the ones who must pet him, look him right
in the
eye, talk to him immediately and try to rumple his ears, bending
over him
with a big smile. At best he ducks away from these people, at
worst he
lunges at them with all his teeth showing.

You just never know what a dog might do, eh melanie?

It's just too much for him.

That's cause you abuse him, melanie.

They don't allow him to formulate an opinion of them (safe vs.
dangerous), they just plunge right in. This forces him to
default to
survival mode (fight/flight).

You allHOWED a stranger to beat Solo in the face with a shepherd's
crook.

"Well, Jack Did Hit My Dog. Actually I'd Call It
A Sharp Tap Of The Crook To The Nose. I Know
Jack Wouldn't HaveDone It If He Thought Solo
Couldn't Take It. I Still Crate Him Because
Otherwise I Fear He Might Eat My Cat," melanie.


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Melanie Lee Chang | Form ever follows
function.
Departments of Anthropology and Biology |
University of Pennsylvania | -- Louis Sullivan
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