Lack of confidence

[Carolina]

Hi there, It's been a while since my last post.. now I need some advice, hopefully you guys can help me with it.

A friend of mine purchased a puppy, she is almost 3 months old, both parents have great temperaments, not shy or agresive, just as a rott should be. The problem is that this pup is very submisive, and shy. Do you know a way to bust her confidence and make her less submisive? I know maybe it is because she is still very young.. but are there any excercises or anything to do about it? She wasn't submisive with her littermates. My friend is very tough, has a very strong personality, and when angry she is scary and with not to much patience, can this influence the pup? What can she do?

Thanx in advance.

Carolina

[Lorrie]

Hi Carolina,

This pup sounds like what I would call a "shy dog" and at this young age it is all a result of genetics. Some shy dogs have been physically, verbally, and/or emotionally abused in their past. Other times they may have not had any or enough human contact when they were puppies. I have dealt with many shy dogs ... Boone - my own dog was the most extreme case I have ever seen .. I took me 7 months to be able to touch him and treat him like a "dog".

In order to help these types of dogs help themselves, you must make it a priority to build the dog's confidence. There are many easy thing you can do to accomplish this . . but the biggest most important elements are love and patients. From what you said .. I am not sure this home is going to be the best place for this little one. Has your friend spoken to the breeder? How she handles this pup from this time on will determine a lot .. and mishandling it will be detrimental to the dog.

They can try some short outings, even once a day, exposure her to something new .. walk to the gas station, to the convenience store . . walk by the park. Getting out and experiencing new people, places and things will help her gain confidence. But make sure it is not overwelming or frightening for her . . always a fun upbeat time.

Try to protect her personal space. Do not let strangers overwhelm her .. have new people armed with yummy treats and instruct them to pet her on the chest and neck .. it is less threatening that the head or ears to a dog.

Teach her how to play . . this is your best weapon against "scaredy dog". Entice her into a game of chase, with her chasing you .. never chase a shy dog. If she won't chase you when you are running, try crawling, yes really. Crawl on the floor on all fours away from her, then lie down and roll. Cover your face and make high-pitched whimpering noises. This should entice her to come over to you. If Tthis is successful, praise the dog and then walk away and try it again later. Play tuggy with a tug toy . . and let her win most of the time. Find out what toys make her "click" and use them to get her wound up a little .. that chases "scaredy dog" away.

If she is scared of new people have them ingore her . . she doesn't exist . . no eye contact, no attempting to make friends .. she WILL approach them on her own .. and when she does give her lots of praise and yummy treats!

PLEASE resist the urge to coddle her and tell her its' OK when she is scared. This is perceived as praise, instead, give robust pats on the sides and act happy, pretend there is nothing to be scared about, and if at all possible, remove her from the frightful situation.

Don't over-stimulate or push her too far to fast. The pup will regulate the pace at which she is comfortable.

Being scared is very stressful. Exercise is one of the most beneficial ways to relieve stress, so make sure she gets plenty of it. If she is good with other dogs so I would try to find her a friend to play with. Canine companionship is very important to dogs, and especially a dog that does not trust many humans, another dog can relieve more stress than anything else. Be sure to allow the dogs to romp around and play unrestricted (except for a fence) until they tire out. This may be one of the best therapies that you can give a shy dog. It truely did wonders for my own "shy dog".

Shy dogs require you to put a lot into them .. but you get it back 10 fold.

I hope things work out for your friend and this pup.

[softpawspc]

I agree with you Lori. I had a rottie that was very shy. He was five months old when I got him from the shelter. His owner was going to Iraq. From just that information, I know he probably didn't have the time to socialize Sampson. What I found worked is taking him for a walk to the pet store. This way he was getting out in public and when we got to the pet store, I would buy him a pig ear that he would eat right there. We did this quite often and slowly he started to become very socialized. I would try taking you pup to PetSmart and trying the same thing.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Tell your friend to get out & about with their dog.

Julius was (& still is to some extent) a really shy dog. He was really bad about shying away from people when he was young. He was very hand shy & really the only way that we gained his confidence was in daily socialization.

We took him everywhere & anywhere (always with yummy treats in our pockets). We made sure that his experiences were good ones.

Tell your friend good luck! It's so much work but now Julius is a confident guy.

Here are some of the threads that I stared regarding socialization questions that I had. Maybe they'll be helpful for your friend.

http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=21368
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22004
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=22448
http://www.rottweiler.net/forums/showthread.php?t=35984




Brooke