| You call the shots as far as petting
Carmen, Sue gave some very good advice:D. I have a 15 month old intact male and I prefer people not come up to him bc he may not want to see certain people for whatever reason so if I do allow it I will ask the person to stay put and we go to them and before I do so I say in a happy voice," let's go see." I had a situation the other day where 2 guys were near me and Czar saw them, he lunged and barked, I told him to stay and that it was o.k.. He is very protective of me, especially when we're out for our walks so don't feel like you have to take yours up to greet everyone. Socialization can mean many things, the mere fact of getting out and seeing people is part of it. You have to remember, we, as owners have to protect our dogs and ourselves bc in a split second, for whatever reason they can bite. I know you have a pup now but that pup will grow up to be big some day soon so make sure when she behaves in that shy way and hiding behind you that you don't pity her, say, "let's go see" with your happy voice and you'll see a big difference. A dog like that full grown would make me more leery then one who is confident;) Czar never liked anyone going over his head to pet him, I didn't allow it from day one for many reasons, one being he's a show dog and I didn't want him to pull his ears back all the time so I asked people to pet under his chin. The first reaction is for people to pet on top. So ask people to pet under instead of on top of the head and remember, your voice and your body language says it all;). Continue to do what you're doing and make sure you are confident as well. Give it time, it'll work out but please remember, do not pity her or baby her :D.
Judy  |