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Pupforum presents your training questions answered by professional dog trainers.
Elaine has been training dogs professionally for 14 years. She is a CPDT as well as an endorsed member of NADOI. She is also certified in narcotics detection and is one half of a (twice) certified explosives detection team - the other half being her Dutch Shepherd Spawn, who is also titled in several protection sports. Elaine is the owner of Canine's Best Behavior, a Los Angeles based training company, offering Basic Manners, CGC, K9 Games (soon!) as well as behavior modification for aggression fears phobias etc.
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9/6/2007
I adopted a dog from a shelter; unfortunately she has turned out to be a very shy dog and is scared to death of people. I have had her for four months and we have made slight progress but she still runs away and hides if a person comes into a room where she is and we have had to put boards next to all of our beds to keep her from hiding under them. She has a large fenced in yard and we also walk her. She is great with other dogs and we invite friends with dogs to our yard every day to get her used to people but she still shys away. This shyness is rather extreme; what can we do? (jntt1, New Jersey)
It sounds like you are doing many things right! Without seeing her it is hard to say whether or not she will always be this way (I suspect yes) or blossom like a big sunflower. Dr. Ray Coppinger says that a dog is "domesticated" if they can eat in front of you. Sounds overly simplistic, but it really is true. I had a dog that I found on the street when he was 3 weeks old. In times of stress, he would revert right back to that scared little feral yellow ball. But he did improve and yes, he always needed some space to eat comfortably. He lived a long life-98% was sleeping on a dog bed in the sun.
The trick is to build her confidence up
enough so she can handle the pressure of social interaction without teaching her to go forward in fear and endure it.
Some things that might help:
- If she shys away, try not to put pressure on her to meet and greet. You don't want to discourage flight, but manage as you have done, until she has some better coping skills.
- Teach her to catch treats in her mouth so people can toss her treats at a comfortable distance.
- Teach her to target hands and once she knows that-tell her to touch people's hands and come back for big praise for her bravery.
- Strong recall! With a fearful dog prone to flight, she needs to know to come to you when stressed, not run away and hide.
- Avoid babying her (I do not think you are) instead give big attention to the times when she is doing really well.
Little bit by little bit she will improve over time as long as her comfort level is not breached. Shy dogs need more time to process information because they have to work harder than a calm dog. Patience and time are your friend.
A great book to read: The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell
Elaine Allison CPDT NADOI
Canine Behavior Consultant
Canine's Best Behavior
1.866.K9s.Best
www.caninesbestbehavior.com
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