First Walk With Puppy...Oh my....!!!

[Bella]

Hey there!
I wanted to share with you the experience of the first "official" walk I took with my Rottie-pup, Scout. She has spent her entire "puppy-hood" at our country-side house with me, my grandma and my 2 Bichons. Well, since I knew that it is important to let them get used to people, traffic, noise, other dogs, etc. I took her to a little town close by where we live, as soon as she had gotten all her shots. Scout is not the bravest Rottie so I was expecting it to be a bit tough but I had no clue! She was glued to my leg so badly I could hardly walk and her tail was behind her legs. Everytime anyone passed us, she snuck in between my legs and showed her head under my skirt! She was too scared to cross streets so I had to go in front of her and crouch down and sweet-talk to her to get her to move. And meeting other dogs! Oh boy, A little lap-dog of some kind came toward us and Scout immediately flipped over on her back and surrendered...what a hero! Thankfully she still looks like the puppy she is so people just laughed at us, but I was thinking that it could have looked a bit strange with a fullgrown rottie. Oh well, I guess we have a LOT of practicing to do...
Have you ever experienced something like this? It`s been pretty clear from the beginning that Scout is not guard-dog material, but does this mean that she is SUPER-timid? If so, what can I do to make it easier and "safer" for her?
Thankful for insights,
Bella (and Scout..)

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*tail-wags to you all!*
:)

[DNeff]

My advice would be to take your puppy out into new enviroments and to meet new people daily. It may be only for a 5 minutes but I would make sure to do it as often as possible. The other thing is give people treats to feed her and if she is willing have them pet her. I would be cautious about "babying" her or making a big fuss if she is scared. Alot of times you end up reinforcing the scared behaviour rather than extingishing it. Act upbeat, excited and bring along a toy that she really likes. Get her involved in playing with it, make it lots of fun. Get her mind off of where she is. The main thing is don't overwhelm her, if she starts to shut down remove her from the situation, and stay excited like this is the best thing you've ever done and isn't she lucky to be out there with you meeting all these people. Work on it in very short bursts and maybe only introduce her to one person per session. But go as often as possible. Also I would go to new quiet/calm areas first, then begin to gradually introduce busy (scary) areas after she is comfortable in the calmer locations. It will take time, but she will come around with lots of work, before you know it she will be dragging you down the streets to meet new people. Best of luck.
Dawn Neff
dawn.neff@jcnordt.com
dplantier@aol.com

[Ct. Tom]

Your first mistake was not doing this from the get go.How old is the puppy you did'nt say.But what happened should have been expected most dogs can't handle things the first time once they see and experience it things usually improve dramatically!DNeff gave you very sound advice.The guard dog part could be totally wrong time will tell on that one Rottweilers are late bloomers in that department!The other thing is if the pup is from working lines.
Good Luck and be patient

[Bella]

Hi there again!
You know I did it from the get go, I have carried here around in busier places, but didn`t want to let her walk as she has not had all her shots yet...(she is only 4 mo. old) So now that she has, I am taking her out on short walks every day...She is getting better, but her tail is still permanently logded between her legs....
I´m sure she`ll lift it up pretty soon though..
Bella

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*tail-wags to you all!*
:)

[ikee]

Thats funny Bella!
My 11 week old Rottie.."Butch"..sounds scary right..lol....is afraid of everything. We took him to my hubbys construction site and he near had a heart attack. Bull dozers, trucks you name it..he ran. He knows all the neighborhood kids and loves them all too. Its just funny with load noises and stuff..he is soo cute.

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Love your doggies