Shy puppy - Page 1

My 10 1/2 week old Ben is still very shy when meeting new people. I socialize him *every day* by taking him to the park @ the lake we live near. There are always lots of people there. I try to keep him away from the dogs though, eventhough he desperately wants to play with them. He is fine walking by lots of people but gets really shy and backs away when they want to pet him. He will take treats from their hands but backs as far away as possible when they try to touch him. Finally he will just go and sit behind me - it is very frustrating for him. He really hates to be touched by anyone but my husband and me. Is this going to be a fear biting 80 pound GSD? He never growls, curls his lip, or anything like that. I don't know what more I can do. I just want him to be a good, stable dog. Has anyone else here had a shy puppy like that? Thanks

Keep socializing him like you are doing and when he goes to other people give him alot of praise and treats, make a real big deal out of it when he goes to others.

I had a very shy dog once. She never EVER turned into a fear biter but i did watch out for it, she just froze as stiff as a board if someone tried to pet her. As greatestgsd said, you are doing the right thing, just always continue to socialize him and never give up and stop. Although my girl could never do great in obedience in trials she was the best companion I could have for 13 years. (although I did have to get myself a dog that I could do the sports with). I would recommend doing agility with him if you can. It's an excellent confidence builder for a shy pup.

I would maybe take a little different approach.... since he is so uncomfortable with others touching him, don't force him to do that just yet... I do think this is awfully young for a puppy to be showing such fear, most of my pups at this age are just about mugging people... you may never have the social butterfly here just keep that in mind and still with enough exposure, he may come around.... I would however, take him to places like you are doing and find out what his level of comfort is.... watch his body language and when he starts to show some fear... move back to where you previously were - no fear area - and feed him like crazy with the very best treats you can get your hands on (that he likes) - if it means steak so be it!! Try to get him to interact with you and as he gets more comfortable... and he can really without showing signs of stress, play and have fun with you.. move a step or 2 closer to the stressor and repeat the process until he is so damn into you and your treats he won't care what the heck is going on around him!! You will have to be exciting and unpredictable and fun in order to take the pressure he is feeling off and you will have to do this everywhere you go.. He may never be a dog that strangers can walk up to and touch .... but you should be able to still have some fun if you work hard at it.. and it will be time consuming and often tediuous You may want to try some of the books Patricia McConnell has written.. about shy dogs, she is very good and very patient and kind to her animals... What was your intention with this dog?? And please, you sound like a very sensitive person.. DO NOT let this dog manipulate you, he will just have to work thru things sometimes and don't coddle and make a big deal of him when he acts frightened - that will only reinforce his fears, just the opposite of what you think you are doing! Sorry to be so long winded, things just kept coming out of my head!

Hi, thanks so much for the good advice! I wanted to do schutzhund work with him. He's very motivated to work for us. However, only one of his testicles has descended so far.. so we'll see. It's so hard to explain his fear reaction to people. He will let them hold him, but he fusses. Also, most of the time he just walks away from them, sits down, and stares at them. He doesn't cry or try to run away.. he just gets himself out of their reach. He's not timid walking through Home Depot or walking by strangers.. Again, thanks so much. This message board has been invaluable to me. melissa

hi melissa - Dkiah has given some good advice -- i would add -- dogs have certain bents based to a large degree on breeding --- but don't fret -- environment and experience paly a great role to growth and development too !!-- what i would add is that i would give people food -- and yes steak / roastbeef if you need to -- the key or one way to behavioraaly approach this situation is that the dog must decide to approach people and must be rewarded for that behavior , the dog must decide it is safe and in it's better interst to go to people-- i do not let people walk up to my pups anyway but rather take or let my dogs decide to go to them ! this also helps from people to do foolish things to my pups -- .. or let the dog invite people to greet -- i once thought i had a dog that was shy ... but i realized as an alpha pup she just wanted things on her terms. she was cautious -- --- she needed to be in control to choose --- she became my most social dog !! ..loved to play with children through the playground tunnels -- the behavioral techinique is called "flooding " -- meaning the dog is bombarded with stimulus .. in this case surrounded by people who all simultaneously approach the pup -- the theory is that the pup learns that there is no real threat ., the perception is elimanated and the pup learns to cope with people -- however when it come to feelings of being uncomfortable/ of fear , i much rather employ a behavioral approach i.e the food /reward -- one needen't make matters even worse -- food takes longer but at leas t ypou will not push the dog beyond it's threshold into a situation that it cannot handle -- so be patient , and let your pup learn where it's best interest lies with people --- BTW if yoiu sue food with people .. best if your pup is good and hungry

correct my post -- i meant to state another behavioral technique is flooding

Ya know, he's not afraid. In fact, when we're at the park, he loves to sit and watch the people run by.. I have to hold him back from chasing them. He LOVES to chase and bite. We're working on that. He also loves to take treats from people. I just realized tonight that he just hates it when people touch his head and face. Is there anything I can do about that?

Hi Melissa, You do not sound as if the pup is running away, tail between legs and ears showing fear and no teeth or growling. Dogs do not greet each other by touching the head and face...that is threatening. Dogs walk in and smell each other and then determine if they observe, play or fight. ALPHAPUP is quite correct to tell you not to let people come up and reach after your pup. For mine, I walk confidently into the area and talk to the people ignoring the pup and asking the people to do the same. I ask them to give no eye contact, talk or touch. Doing this over and over the pup with view this as a way of being. Eventually, he will go to them and that is when you reward the pup. When he goes to the other person ask them not to touch him but just to let him smell them. After a good bit everyone can sit and the pup will go near as the person ignores but tosses treats periodically. I take mine to pet stores, baseball fields, outside malls etc. but with no dogs approaching. He is only 10.5 weeks, when did you get him? Do you know what his early socialization was? Before you expose him to people walk off or play off some of his nervous energy first. When he sits for a bit, with everyone ignoring him, then say "Fido, Look" and toss him a treat. Condition him to look to you and get a reward...if he appears to get unsure (ie hackles starting to go up, body language changing) then quickly say "Fido, Look" to distract him and put him back into the sit. I would NOT let him hide behind me...simply sit him next to you and say "stay" and go on talking and ignoring him. You are doing a great job to continue taking him out and exposing him. Finally, do not be anxious yourself as your energy will be easily read by your pup. Best of luck to you!

There can be a number of different reasons a puppy is shy: unlucky genetic combination emerges which is on the shy end of the temperament spectrum genetically/neurologically, and this could include various types of epilepsy (parietal, temporal) or vascular irregularities in the brain, low pancreatic enzymes, low thyroid, etc. (probably unlikely in this puppy since it was from working lines); or the puppy could be normal genetically/neurologically but: puppy feels sick due to food allergies, sensitivities to water or or food too rich; unabated parasites, active or residual eggs irritating the gut such as giardias, coccidiosis, or amoeba; or one of the most likely, the puppy being stuck at a certain social stage of development in pack life (which can usually be remedied by enroling the puppy in a puppy class where the instructor works with the puppy owners to allow the puppies to play/socialize with each other in a puppy ring in a safe environment. One of the top dog trainers in the world (Russian Military) told me about this need to properly socialize a puppy into pack life and that it is often not done properly. It is helpful if the class has a wide variety of different breeds. I have seen many puppies attain normality this way. Strangely enough it appears that puppy play all through the first 6 months is necessary for normal pack development and proper relationships with strangers and others as an extension of pack life.