Socializing a shy dog?

[dsmama]

Hi, Hive!

 

Yesterday, we adopted a dog from a local rescue organization. Dog had been in a pound and was rescued two months ago.

 

Taylor (named by our DDs) is 8 months old, springer/pointer mix, and quiet and shy. She has been so sweet with us and our kids, licking and perking up her ears, and rarely barking. She had been mostly kenneled or in a crate for much of her life, though I can tell she has some spunk in her for chasing sticks and balls.

 

This is our first rescue dog, as our last dog we raised from a puppy, and he was very sociable. For Taylor, we want to respect her need to go slowly, and we want to help her gently get used to people and her surroundings (for example, she is scared of doors, which tells me she may have had a rough experience at some point). We've been using small treats on occasion to encourage her to go beyond her comfort zone, and we do plan to do obedience training with her in the future.

 

Any advice or experience would be helpful. We would love to see this dog have a happy, sweet life with us.

 

Thanks.

[StephanieZ]

Slowly but surely. . . with LOTs of positive reinforcement.

 

Start easy, with friends, acquaintances, family, etc coming to your home over the first week or so. . .

 

Then, start taking her out to parks, soccer fields, play grounds, etc.

 

Take her to new, novel places at least twice a week for an hour or so.

 

Every new experience. . . bring a pocket or bagfull of 20-50 tiny beloved treats (small pieces of cooked turkey hotdogs are loved by most dogs) and make sure your dog is pretty hungry. Wander around meeting people, and whoever is friendly, tell them you are socializing your new dog and ask them if they'd feed her some treats for you. (Do this at home with visitors, then later at a friend's house in the neighborhood, then at a park, etc, etc.)

 

The trick is to make every interaction very positive. Lots of praise and lots of treats. No scary situations.

 

Keep her on a leash at all times in these situations. Get a Gentle Leader head collar if she seems at all difficult to control or if you have ANY inkling she's thinking about nipping/biting anyone. (And be sure to get the collar that comes with an instructional DVD and WATCH it!)

 

Sign her up for the best behavior/dog training class you can find to start in a month or so. Make sure it is positive dog training. (Using treats and praise, NOT reprimands or choke collars.) Ask your vet for recommendations.

 

ETA: Treats and Praise are EXACTLY what your dog needs. Feel free to give her most of her food this way! You can hand feed her. You can have the kids hand feed her. You can hand feed her sitting next to scary doors! (They'll soon no longer be scary if you do this!) Resolving those fears is key to a happy life for her. Be SURE not to reinforce her fears. Do NOT praise her or pet her when she is acting scared!! Instead, just act NORMAL and happy/encouraging. . . You can accidentally reinforce fears if you go "Ooooh, sweetie, don't be afraid, pet, snuggle, pat. . ." That essentially teaches her that feeling fearful is good; that is the last thing you want to do. A good dog behaviorist can teach you these principles. . . but most problem dog behaviors begin small and are escalated inadvertently by well meaning owners. (I.e., dog is afraid of doors. . . so you snuggle, pat, praise her as she fearfully shrinks from the door. . next time it will be WORSE. . . etc etc until you have a totally paralyzed dog that ends up snarling/biting in fear at some door eventually) Also, fear biting is just as dangerous as aggression biting, and at least as common. . . so you really have to be careful to reduce/eliminate the fears ASAP.

 

HTH

Edited May 8, 2011 by StephanieZ

[Laura Corin]

We took in a similar dog. She needed life to be quiet for several months until she had settled in. Then she started to come out of her shell quite naturally: enjoying walks, starting to show excitement about playing..... I would follow her lead and give her time to settle in.

 

Laura

[dsmama]

Thank you both. This is very helpful advice and quite reassuring. Bless you!

 

She did great tonight on her walk -- wanted to run and have fun. Luckily we live in a country-like area, with plenty of acreage and room to walk (though we still have her on a leash and will for a long time). Glad to see her enjoying life, then settling down in her bed with a rawhide to chew. Hopefully, she will soon realize that life is good.

[Beth in OH]

When introducing a shy dog to new people, have them stand in front of the dog 4-5 ft. away, facing sideways. Never look at the dog, but stand there awhile and toss treats in his direction (otherwise ignore the dog--no petting). It's a kind of positive conditioning. Shy dogs often can't tolerate direct attention, especially eye contact. After enough people do this, the dog will associate people with non-threatening, pleasant (treats) experiences, and will hopefully be able to greet people more comfortably.

 

I foster dogs for a rescue, and I also want to add that we advise new adopters that a dog's true personality may take a month (maybe even more) to emerge. I have found this to be true with the dogs that I foster, as well. If you are consistent with your approach, your dog will come around. It might even be that right now, less attention from his loving family would be a good thing. He'll be able to come to you on his own terms.

 

Beth

[dsmama]

Thank you! I appreciate any and all advise. We have such a sweet girl. I can tell she might be an awesome dog...just needs some safe space and TLC. Thanks!

[annlaura]

Our previous dog was rescued from a pretty awful situation. I placed his crate in my room, facing out into the house. Then we just went about our family routine, and he came out when he was ready, slowly but surely for longer periods of time. He also had door issues, so I would call him so he'd know it was in or out time, then leave the door open and walk away. It took a while, but eventually he just ran in with us. It is important not to console her if she's afraid of something. That will only reinforce that she has something to fear. Just ignore and/or calmly remove her from the situation. I had one instance with my old guy that the least reactive action I could take was to pick his 90lbs up and carry him around a group of people. With my son on my back. I didn't speak to him or look at him, just moved him. We'd been doing so well, and I knew dragging him through would have been a setback. The things we do for our furry friends... I hope your new girl warms up quickly. She sounds sweet.

[HeidiKC]

I agree with the slowly recommendation! Our first dog was 7 months old when we got her and she was SO skittish and shy that it took nearly 4 years for her to allow my dad pet her (he made the mistake of trying to pet her - after I told him NOT to try - the first day she came home home with us). It took a long time to let men pet her - and, no, she had not had bad experiences with men, they are just more threatening to dogs. She was very scared about going for walks where it was at all busy. So I started by walking in quiet neighborhoods, then moved to a pedestrian neighborhood mall where it was fairly quiet during daytime hours. Then finally we worked up to busy shopping areas.

 

I began taking her to obedience classes right away. I worked with her a lot (before kids!). Very happy ending! We spent many happy weekends at very loud and busy dog shows. She won several first places in obedience, in 2001 she was the #2 Bernese Mountain Dog nationally in her class (Open B), and went on to earn a UD (no easy thing!). I don't say this to brag on the sweet dog (well, maybe just a tad!), but honestly - a shy dog can go far with the right work!

 

Best of luck and enjoy!