Shy puppy - Page 3

Melissa, tell people to not touch the top of Ben's head. Instead, they should approach him palms-up and scratch him on the chin from beneath or rub his chest. A lot of dogs feel threatened by a person who reaches over their heads and they will try to avoid the contact. That is interpreted as an attempt at dominance in a dog's instinctive little world. Also I would not allow anyone to lean over him from above as that may also make him feel threatened. Have them squat before him and scratch his chest or the brisket area between his forelegs. This will put most dogs into the throes of a happy dog trance; Blitz actually smiles and flutters his eyes when this area is rubbed LOL. You and your husband must be able to approach him in any manner, but I wouldn't be too concerned if he doesn't allow it from strangers.

This could be more of a pack behavior than anything else. The Alpha of the pack is the one to greet outsiders. Your dog could be just submitting to you, not wanting to overstep his authority inside the pack.

That would be nice. Unfortunately, the trainer at the puppy preschool that we go to has said that she doesn't think Ben has the temperment for Schutzhund - which is kind of a bummer because that's what we had in mind when we bought him. His entire pedigree is Schh III: Mom, dad, grandparents... so, it seems unfortunate. But, that's the way things go.

Melissa, Three questions: 1) How much does that puppy preschool person know about Schutzhund? Did she title a dog to at least SchH1? 2) How about 2nd opinion on Ben's temperament? 3) Did you finally make it to MVSV (just for a visit)? Don't give up on your pup, come on! His both parents are SchH3, that tells you something... He looks great BTW ;)

HI there! Thanks! Actually, we are going to the MVSV in July. He's still just a baby, hopefully he will become more secure with strangers. We are doing our best right now - that's pretty much all we can do. Thanks again :) Melissa

Again, I'm no expert. But have you ever considered you are overdoing it, pushing this dog's natural personality to the limit? Constantly barraging the scared pup might only make him worse? Why not 1 person at a time, at home? Or maybe just once a week? As for fear-biting, I would be very wary. They don't necessarily show aggression - until it's too late. They show fear; hence the phrase. We had a dog long ago - a half-breed accident from my GS female pet - who was always showing fear at people approaching him, peeing and shrinking. Until 1 day ~1yo or so he attacked my neighbor friend who did nothing but come up our hill while we were all out (also drawing my non-aggressive GS - his mother - into it). She had a ripped head with 50 stitches and almost got run over by a Cadillac trying to run away. Max the mutt got sent to the pound. My GS went to a farm far away, courtesy of my distant aunt, as she was not an aggressor or fearful (she lived a full, innocent life after that).

Melissa, finally read the whole thread. Maybe your pup just has some sensitivity problems about his head? Either physical or maybe a mental/pyscho thing (more likely the latter if he likes "his own" rubbing him)? Remember that many cats are over-sensitive on much of their bodies, so that they don't like much being petted on their backs, withers, etc. Yet they're not all mean or even just "scaredy cats". My only concern was that you talked of him actually wanting to get up and leave and get behind you, etc. That's not simply "leaning away". It's not "aloof" - aloof means NO REACTION; essentially ignoring things. Not "run away", so I totally disagree with DH on that. So maybe there's still some concern. Does he still get up and "run away"? Or is it purely leaning away from approaches to the head?

Hi Rebel, Yes, Ben has changed quite a bit since the beginning of this thread. He sits and let's people give hiim treats, he doesn't hide behind me anymore. Yesterday, he was very sweet and friendly when he let about 6 or 7 kids all give him treats and pet him. He never hides behind me anymore. Sometimes if he knows someone wants to pet him, he will go about 2 feet away from them and sit and watch. Just out of arms reach. He will also still lean until he feels more comfortable. But, he will always go in for a treat. And he loves watching people. If you move too fast, a rollerblader, a runner... he will try to chase them. We have to really hold him when runners go by. He's still only 12 weeks old, so it's not that difficult. He shows no aggression or fear at all when people are giving him treats. He's come a long way and he is a very sweet dog. He's going camping this weekend :)