Timid dog

[Sam334]

Ok, so my 1 and a half year old sharpei Zelda is, and has been, a very scared dog ( http://marston.textamerica.com/?r=1801019 ). She was a very friendly puppy until she was bitten by another dog at the dog park . Since then she has been very skiddish around people and dogs. We were having a hard time walking her since she would dart off whenever people would walk anywhere near us. She was like this for a very long time. We then started walking her where there were lots of people in our neighborhood and she has since not been as timid. She walks comfortably around people (even going to sniff them). However, she tends to dart off whenever a stranger makes a sudden movement or when they try and pet her. She starts growling at them (I quickly snap the "chocke" collar to correct her). I also have been taking her to the dog park and she is much more calm around other dogs; she runs and plays with other dogs now). But I don't know how to get over the hump of letting people pet her. As soon as someone makes eye contact or tries "talking" to her and pet her....voom, she tries to run off or growls. Has anyone had a similar problem or have some suggestions?

Thanks.




Cliff's notes:

Dog's been scared ever since it was bitten by another dog as puppy.
Was very afraid of strangers and other dogs.
We've wakled her repeatedly and she's more comfortable walking around others and next to then, but as soon as they try and pet her, she growls/tries to run away.

 

[dug777]

try and get friends to pet her while you're in the room with her, give her treats if she lets them i guess...?

just keep working on that and she should recover from it eventually.

 

[Sam334]

Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do. I guess (even though she still barks at people when they enter the apartment), she has improved. It's just such a long and involving process. She used to pee whenever a stranger walked in the apartment. She would bark and get scared and pee on the floor. Now she doesn't pee, but still does some barking. Little by little, the effort she puts into barking and growling has diminished (albeit little by little). My dog's broken, hehe.

 

[akubi]

my dog was shy too... walk her a block away from my house and she would start clawing at the pavement to go back in.
outgrew it eventually.

 

[stonecold3169]

Your dog is awesome, you could use him as a towel

 

[Linflas]

Cute dog.

Timid Dogs - The Best Approach

 

[43st]

I have a similar issue. We lived in a bad area of Queens for a year next to a family that had three "in the hood" Rottweilers. Our dog became fairly anti-social and would bark and be aggressive toward both people and dogs. We've long since moved to a much nicer area. My dog now loves other people but still can't stand dogs. The problem now is that my dog went completely blind and I'm finding it hard to socialize her with other dogs. How do you introduce a blind aggressive dog to another dog without out one or both getting hurt?!?!?

 

[Sam334]

Originally posted by: Thera
I have a similar issue. We lived in a bad area of Queens for a year next to a family that had three "in the hood" Rottweilers. Our dog became fairly anti-social and would bark and be aggressive toward both people and dogs. We've long since moved to a much nicer area. My dog now loves other people but still can't stand dogs. The problem now is that my dog went completely blind and I'm finding it hard to socialize her with other dogs. How do you introduce a blind aggressive dog to another dog without out one or both getting hurt?!?!?

I'm glad to hear your dog became less agressive with a change of scenery. I live in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, so socializing him with other people isn't too hard since the streets of NYC are always littered with people.

The situation with a blind dog might be a bit tricky. Have you tried keeping him on a choke collar and introducing him/her to new dogs on "neutral territory?" Might help to muzzle him the first few times. You can also try doggy day cares; there they will slowly introduce the dog to other dogs. I was thinking of doing that with Zelda, but I'm a bit broke right now since I owe my school tons of cash. The ones I found ranged from $30-50/60 a day. There are some on craigslist, but I was a little hesitant handing my dog to a stranger without a formal business.

 

[Nitemare]

Carry around treats and have strangers give them to her.

 

[Sam334]

Originally posted by: Nitemare
Carry around treats and have strangers give them to her.

I tried that, but unfortunately strangers weren't too comfortable handing a dog that's growling at them a treat, hehe.

 

[43st]

Originally posted by: Sam334

Originally posted by: Thera
I have a similar issue. We lived in a bad area of Queens for a year next to a family that had three "in the hood" Rottweilers. Our dog became fairly anti-social and would bark and be aggressive toward both people and dogs. We've long since moved to a much nicer area. My dog now loves other people but still can't stand dogs. The problem now is that my dog went completely blind and I'm finding it hard to socialize her with other dogs. How do you introduce a blind aggressive dog to another dog without out one or both getting hurt?!?!?

I'm glad to hear your dog became less agressive with a change of scenery. I live in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, so socializing him with other people isn't too hard since the streets of NYC are always littered with people.

The situation with a blind dog might be a bit tricky. Have you tried keeping him on a choke collar and introducing him/her to new dogs on "neutral territory?" Might help to muzzle him the first few times. You can also try doggy day cares; there they will slowly introduce the dog to other dogs. I was thinking of doing that with Zelda, but I'm a bit broke right now since I owe my school tons of cash. The ones I found ranged from $30-50/60 a day. There are some on craigslist, but I was a little hesitant handing my dog to a stranger without a formal business.

I think she's mostly fine on neutral ground. She's usually too unsure of the strange setting to concentrate on other dogs. If she get's comfortable she get's aggressive. She was also the alpha of her litter... so that doesn't help the blind agression, quite literally, LOL.

Here's how she got used to strange people (mind you she never had any of these issue before we lived in Queens). We currently live in an apartment with six units. One neighbor works in a vet's office, another neighbor is in his early teens and loves our dog. Between the both of them being really nice to her she came around. Now she'll wag her tail and go sniffing most of the time, even with strangers. The only time she'll bark is if she's startled or smells another dog.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Sam334

Originally posted by: Nitemare
Carry around treats and have strangers give them to her.

I tried that, but unfortunately strangers weren't too comfortable handing a dog that's growling at them a treat, hehe.

That's why God gave you 10 fingers...

 

[Mrvile]

Cute dog!!

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Sam334
Yeah, that's what I've been trying to do. I guess (even though she still barks at people when they enter the apartment), she has improved. It's just such a long and involving process. She used to pee whenever a stranger walked in the apartment. She would bark and get scared and pee on the floor. Now she doesn't pee, but still does some barking. Little by little, the effort she puts into barking and growling has diminished (albeit little by little). My dog's broken, hehe.

Smack that bitch up, she will learn

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: Sam334

Originally posted by: Nitemare
Carry around treats and have strangers give them to her.

I tried that, but unfortunately strangers weren't too comfortable handing a dog that's growling at them a treat, hehe.

Plus if you do that and they get bit, HELLO lawsuit

 

[skim milk]

I'm not a dog psychologist so I don't have the answer

I know there was a stray dog around where I lived... I'm not sure what his history was but when he was a puppy, the owners hurt and abused him

Whenever someone tried to lend a hand, he didn't like it. He wasn't an aggressive dog at all, he was really shy and would corner himself when people get close. We tried feeding it but would only eat off a plate in a corner and not off our hands. You know one of those paranoid looks that shy people have in social situations... that's exactly what it looked like

We had to put in a gated area... and teach him the warmth and learn to trust people again.
The dog came off as being harsh because he was so sensitive.

Anyways, when he corners himself.. we would hold out our hand to show that we are not here to hurt him. The next day we kept taking it a step further. We tried to pet him but he tried to bite. This went on for couple days... but eventually, we were able to pet him and show him love and warmth from humans. It went even further when we were able to get the dog to eat off our hands. Eventually he got attached and that was a really great feeling for me. Then later on, he got taken by a local restaurant.. and we ordered it.