Timid dog... What are some ways to reinforce confidence?

[MrJoshua]

My girlfriend and I rescued a female German Shepherd from a neglectful home about a week ago. Gypsy was kept in a 6x10 kennel for nearly 6 years and rarely was ever let out of it. When she came to us she was very skittish and would run away when approached. She didn't show any signs of aggression, but appeared nervous and would visibly shake if restrained by means of a leash, or by physically holding on to her.

Lately she will approach my girlfriend willingly, and is often glued to her side. She remains wary of me, but will approach. There is an obvious difference in her confidence when she interacts with me however; she's not as comfortable around me as she is with my girlfriend.

On a leash Gypsy responds well to either of us leading, but she does get distracted and tends to pull... expected from a dog with no training. She behaves well around other dogs, if slightly passive and she also seems curious about children. She let my son approach, but she avoided being touched.

I'm not overly experienced with meek dogs, but Gypsy does seem to be gaining confidence and is definitely less stressed now than a week ago. My question however, is what can we do to continue to bolster her confidence and break her out of her shyness? Praise and attention are obviously helping to a degree, but are there any specific methods for breaking a dog of their meek behavior?

[BlackPuppy]

My first dog, Doerak, was a kennel dog. When I got him everything was new to him. I mean everything: paper bags rattling in the kitchen, children playing on the side walk, motorcycles, and especially men.

The first thing I did was enroll in a beginner agility class. Those were the best 8 weeks. And I walked him everywhere. But I had to be careful to keep children away. They totally spooked the poor guy, and he just NEVER got used to them.

The result was, he turned out great. Every month he got a little bit better. Hopefully, Gypsy will, too. It might be just my experience, but I think females just tend to be more cautious than the boys.

[Freestep]

Lots of positive socialization in safe environments. Enroll in an obedience class, this will help her not only to learn positive behaviors, but it will help her to learn to relax around different people in different environments. If you go out in dog-friendly public, keep treats on hand, and when she shows curiosity or positive attention toward her surroundings, give lots of treats. Have friendly strangers give her treats if they are willing to. Be confident and calm yourself, she will pick up on your attitude and feel more secure. I'd stay away from dog parks for now, you just never know what kind of people and dogs are going to be there.

It sounds like her native temperament is basically good, she is just undersocialized.

[High5]

I couldnt have said it better Freestep. Again make sure the socialization is controlled at least until she gains confidence. Dont force her to do anything she doesnt want to and give her lots of hands on love. Good luck with your new girl.

[Gmthrust]

Joshua, adopting Gypsy into your family is just so sweet to hear. We adopted an older female shepherd into ours too, her age at the time was five and a half years old, and came to us with a semi-similar history. Her name is Cris, and she has been with us for one year plus two months.

If it's okay with you, I'll just tell her story and you take anything that might help.

For the first couple of weeks, my husband and I took turns hand-feeding her, one piece of kibble per meal at a time; our plan was to not ask her for any other task at that time during meals. The idea was to open up her heart to us more easily. Pretty soon, after the first or second day, we could see highly positive flickerings, so to help ease open her mind into a whole new universe, we spoke her name with each kibble offered, and then waited for eye contact, which happened very quickly, and rewarded the kibble along with the word, good.

She began to follow us anywhere we went, and anytime she offered a behavior that was good, we showed her appreciation. Michael (Gmthrust), my husband, works in search and rescue, began taking her to work with him. When I had her, she was socialized to everyone and everything with the same carefulness and support she received at home.

She needed to lose about thirty pounds, so the majority of what we did with her was ...um... treatless. Not without reward, though. It took a bit of time at first, but then we noticed how her eyes lit up just by the sound of our laughter for her!

A week after bringing her home, we signed up for basic obedience, mainly to aid in the bonding process, and also agility classes too, and then also, tracking..., just like the others previously said, it really really helps. Even during any goof ups, I'd just laugh, try again, and pretty soon Cris just became infused into our little universe.

We found out, around a month after bringing her home, that Cris has Spondylosis (on her spine beneath her shoulder blades), and also, about six months into her life with us, we found out that her chest had been grossly ripped open in a freak barn accident.......so to be careful with Gypsy, have your vet do a wellness assessment (that is, if you haven't yet).

Cris is a true blessing. She can handle all the crazy we give her now, which includes guns, C-130s, helicopters, really big honking trucks, big crowds, etc., etc...., "...good, Cris," or our laughter is still acceptable to her, but we now can offer treats, toys, or her ball.

From my family to yours, best wishes for your true blessing!

[trudy]

A few years ago i also adopted an older girl of 6. She had been trained and was a house dog but her owner was in end stages cancer and she had been returned to the breeders where she had to live in a kennel for months. When we got her we enrolled in beginner obedience classes, yeah she knew the stuff but not my ques and body language, that was fun, then beginner agility, then herding instinct, beginner tracking. She found that 1/ I could be trusted, 2/ We had fun, 3/ she bonded totally and fully. Well worth the $$ and time, they will always pay you back more than you could ever believe. Congrats on adopting an older dog, tehy are so much better than pups!!!!