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My dog Max 11, a terrier mix runs around barking in a state of panic when he gets a whiff of lamb being barbequed. Its the same behaviour he exibits when thunder occurs. We got Max from the pound when he was about 8 months old, the pound figured he had been lost and on his own for at least 2 months. So he has a history that we know nothing about. We also have a Schnotty by the name of Austin 4 (Schnauzer Scotty mix) who has been taught by Max to fear the smell of lamb as well. He doesn't run around barking, he worse about it than Max, he runs crying, yelping hiding and shaking.
Is there anything i can do to get them to understand that there is no danger with regards to the smell of lamb. We don't cook lamb anymore, its not worth the insanity but we have neighbours who do and i don't have any control over them. They even had a problem when I lit the barbeque two weeks after we had cooked lamb. I have searched the internet and found absolutely nothing about dogs fearing the smell of cooking lamb.
paws you are right that dogs can't teach or train each other in the way you describe, and they do react to human anxiety. However, bushg is right. Dogs do, in a sense, teach each other, on a more basic level. They do react to another dog's behavior, anxiety, or aggression (or whatever emotional or learned response is occuring at the time) as well. If Max has exhibited this anxious behavior from the start and Austin was brought in later, he is simply reacting to Max's anxiety.
googs, this certainly is a head scratcher. I have never experienced such a "violent" reaction to cooking of a particular food. It very well may be that this stems from a bad experience early in his puppyhood. As frustrating as this is, I don't think it is something that is easily redirected. You can't successfully desensitize a dog to anything that happens only on occasion. It needs to be done through repetition and consistency. And, I have never heard of anyone able to recondition a dog with such a violent reaction to an odor. For the occasional time that lamb is being cooked by you or your neighbors, I would suggest either doing what you are currently doing, or place them both in a safe room (or crates if you have them crate trained) far enough away from the cooking, with kongs (treat toys that you can purchase from any pet store) filled with their favorite treat, closing the door to that area to minimize the odor, immediately prior to your cooking the lamb. As for the neighbors cooking, well, that is a tough one to time but you might want to do the same thing. Get them sealed off from the odor as much as possible, until the cooking is completed.
Actually, I read an article recently (and, of course, now can't find it!) where some researchers did a test where one dog was trained to get a treat by stepping on a lever. They put that dog (sometimes carrying a ball and sometimes not) in with other untrained dogs, and found out that more of the untrained dogs would try and get the treat by stepping on the lever when the trained dog didn't have the ball than when it did. (When the dog didn't have the ball, the other dogs would be more likely to use their mouths to work the lever.) The conclusion that the researchers drew was that the dogs watching the dog without the ball reasoned that there was a significance to using the paw to work the lever, and copied that action. So it appears that dogs can learn from each other.
googs, this certainly is a head scratcher. I have never experienced such a "violent" reaction to cooking of a particular food.
Maybe Max saw lightning strike and kill a lamb. Would account for the fact it is the smell of cooking lamb and thunder that sets off his fear.
Best to try and re-train him that both are harmless. This is not easy with thunder. My 5 year old Sheppard Jack flunked cop school because he ran and hid when thunder was present. He acted the same way on 4th of July or to gun fire. But I have made improvements by not coddling him during storms and by bringing him outside with the rest of us to watch the fireworks. Now he has gotten to a point that he just pants and looks at me when thunder starts. He still has issues, but he is under control during the storm.
We just had a recent situation while grilling lamb on the barbeque. We thought it was just a coincidence that that dog got really nervous when the lamb was grilling. She goes crazy (stands on her hind legs and sniffs the air, she shakes, her tail is between her legs, she paces back and fourth, she acts unconsolable). She doesn't have any history to being exposed to anything out of the ordinary, but now whenever we turn on the barbeque an cook lamb she acts peculiar.
Regarding the question about a dog training other dogs: The book I'm currently reading is a true story, Merle's Door by Ted Kerasote. Ted had rescued a skinny Lab mix while white-water rafting in southern Utah and brought the young dog to his home in Kelly, Wyoming. Some time later, since dogs aren't leashed in that small town, Ted installed a dog door so Merle could come and go freely, and had to actually demonstrate to Merle how to crawl in and out. Merle's dog friends, Zula and Jack, came over to visit, and Merle proceeded to show them how to use the doggy door.
My cats teach each other behaviors, so I would guess it is the same with dogs, squirrels, elephants, etc.
I found one report puzzling, but figured who knows. Now a second one? Could it be these dogs suffered a burn sometime in the past and barbecued lamb smells enough like burned dog to bring back painful memories?
Very strange. I was thinking along the same lines KISS. There are a lot of chows out there that are lamb based and I have never known of a dog that will turn it's nose up to it. So, maybe there is a component within the odor of lamb while it is cooking that certain dogs are more sensitive to than others. We can speculate until the end of time on what exactly it may be that is triggering these reactions. Maybe someone who knows the answer will see this thread.
OK, I just googled dogs fearing the smell of cooked lamb and came up with this blog. The reason being, I came home last evening with our two mini wire hair dachsies Cosmo and Olivia and as soon as we got to the front door Cosmo would not enter the house, although Olivia would without reservation. When we finally coaxed Cosmo in he began tail tucking ears down and wimpering (very unusual behavior for him). Olivia was her normal self. Both are from the same litter and have never experienced anything traumatic. The only thing different in the house was that a leg of lamb was being cooked in the oven.
Very interesting. I have poked around a little on this and I found a reference to an article in the AKC Family Dog Magazine on the subject. I haven't managed to track it down. If somebody else does, please post it here.
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