Pet Information > ASK Experts > Dogs > Canine Behavior > My service dog in training

My service dog in training

18 16:57:35

Question
My service dog in training Beau has started growling at people that scare me,I suffer from severe PTSD and allot of things scare me when they probably shouldn't but Beau only growls when they cause me absolute panic which doesn't happen often but does happen when it probably shouldn't and Beau needs to not react to it but I can understand why he does.I need to know what to do about the situation,how do I get Beau to not react badly to my fear.He needs to react to my fear to do his job,his job is to keep people from getting to close to me and causing me to panic and disassociate however he is not supposed to be aggressive,only to passively block them from getting too close to me.Beau does not get violent,he does not show his teeth,he does not lunge,he does not go towards what scares me,he backs up,puts his tail down,puts his head down,puts his lips in a howling position and growls in his throat.what should I do,I don't want to train another dog to assist me but this behavior is unacceptable for a service dog.PLEASE HELP!!!!

Answer
You must IMMEDIATELY contact the people from whom you got this dog.  He is not temperamentally suited to be a service dog.  He is reacting to your adrenaline rush (he can smell it on your breath) with what appears to be a strong fear response or (even worse) a dominant aggressive posture.  This dog should be removed from service at worst, and at best retrained.  Do NOT attempt to deal with this situation yourself.  This is far beyond your ability to rehabilitate.  Only an educated, experienced animal behavior expert should attempt it and this is the job of the service dog agency which placed the dog in your home.  Do NOT keep this dog without professional intervention. Contact the service dog agency tomorrow first thing in the morning.