who all managed a timid puppy and how? - Page 1

does not seem a nerve problem as the standard indicators do not reveal it ie loud sounds, crowds, unfamiliar places no problem. no environmentals will rock here. just around people she will not engage them and will avoid any interaction.  not a gsd, a mutt hound nearly 12mo, very little progress. will never be used for sport or bite-work in case you were wondering.

question is how have other people tried to bring relief such thast dog can interact without stress with friendly people.

It's called socializing, but 12 months is kinda late to be starting.
Time and patience, lots of exposure carefully supervised.
Some things an animal never forgets, do you know how this came to be?
If not nerve, it may have been a bad experience, possibly abuse.
Knowing what caused this would go a long way towards knowing how to cure it, if it can be cured.


 

pups were born in my bedroom and as far as interactions with people i know every event to date, there was no bad experiences with people unless you count vaccinations which i was present for and spaying a month or so ago. she was the only pup of 14 that is this extreme, i kept the best and worst pup. all the pups are stand-offish to varying degrees, so is the mum and every dog i know in the line. it is not a problem for their chosen venue and none of the primary handlers have a problem handling their own dogs.  the problem only shows if the pup is approached or attempted to be handled by others. ignore the pup and she ignores the person basically.

Then it's in the line....
I've seen hounds like this and the owner's don't seem to mind.
A good GSD should be wary of strangers.

More early socializing may or may not have helped.

Is it just wary or afraid?




 

i take her to the local conformation show club once a week for socialization and basic obed. i get randoms to feed her treats. she now goes up and pushes them for the treats and have got her to follow them a few steps to get the treat, no problem with that. if they attempt to do anything further she will physically dodge them. never happened yet but i assume she would snap if she did not have an escape path. the snap would be fear biting i guess. she is a real neat hunting dog, my fastest and most crazy in a fast crazy pack. her obed is the slowest but her prey drive on real prey is the highest. ball drive does not exist. reminds me of a feral dog.

My Fiest is like that.. He was purchased as a young pup, other than kids being annoying with him, no abuse.. He will come up to get food, but scurries away when you try and get a hold of him.. Barks and chases strangers.. I've tried keeping him inside, taking him places.. Still acts half wild.. His mother is also stand offish, the dad was really friendly. He also goes crazy over squirrels, rabbits and doesn't mind a gun shot, in fact he gets excited and runs towards gun fire.. He'll hunt for strangers, but as soon as they try and pet him he snaps on them..

funny i had my hound pups at the GSD conformation thing and the town let off celebratory fireworks 30 minutes before they were scheduled to do so, i never seen so many gsd and gsd handlers scatter in all directions dogs in fear of their lives, my hounds went and stole all the scattered treats in the chaos. apparently the city doesn't let off unscheduled fireworks while a bunch of old made women are "training" their dogs to stack, they went nuts on the people responsible.

Hunting dogs love gun shots, usually a fun chew and tug on whatever they have been chasing follows.. My GSDs are good with gun shots, we shoot a lot around here.. But my rescue staffie runs and hides anytime she sees a gun, can't blame her since that jerk ACO shot her, she's been leery..

VK4,
I do all obedience training and I start them at eight weeks on some of it, the real deal begins at about four months, by the time they are twelve months we are on to other things.
I do not let them take treats or anything else from strangers, that's not the correct lesson to learn.
What you really need I'm afraid you do not have, the right kind of person to work with you and your dog.
This choice makes all the difference, bad help is no help at all.
When I say socializing I mean so much more than a romp at the conformation club, and it never ends, how you introduce your dog to new things, places, and people, other animals, the modern world and all it's trappings.

I would say my dogs do not scatter but I do have one who is gun shy, it happens, it is genetic in her case.

Why do you want your hunting dog to trust strangers?
To me that seems like a drawback for any dog, at the same time they should not snap at or bite without command or cause.

Sometimes you need at least one other person who can handle your dog, your getting a late start.



Moons.






 

moons the goal is really to have less stress in vet visits and stay at kennels etc. technically i don't like dogs being fed by others, it was an exercise to try close the physical gap between people and dog in a rewarding non-confrontational manner. i walk her down the main street of town no dramas. i would make a vid but not prepared to stress my dog for a vid.