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Shy dog tips

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  Gretchen 
#1 ·
Hi all, Bella my 10 month old gsd is generally 9/10 fearful of other dogs.
She's never shown fear aggression, but will hide behind me, or run away if a dog approaches her. She has never to my knowledge had a bad experience with an aggressive dog.
This makes it quite hard to socialise her, I read her reactions and body language closely when meeting other dogs because I don't want her to be overwhelmed and fear aggression come into play. It doesn't matter the size or age of the dog, she's just scared. In the plus side at least she doesn't run up to other dogs at the dog park and jump all over them I guess. Even with dog obedience 1x weekly the same dogs she sees and meets every week, it still happens:

On the other hand when she loves a dog, she loves them. Almost as much as she loves people (literally everybody.) I have no idea if there is anyway to cure this behaviour and make her a bit more confident with meeting other dogs? Thanks :)
 

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#2 ·
Why do you want her to meet other dogs?

Your dog can live a long happy life without ever meeting a strange dog again. She is bonded with people, you can give her all the social interaction she needs.

The dog park probably isn't a good environment for her. Too many dogs. Too overwhelming. Too easy for situations to get out of hand for her to be mugged by strange dogs.

Go at her pace. Don't let other dogs approach her. Show her you have her back, learn how to body block and drive off dogs that she is uncomfortable with. Work on her obedience. When she knows that you will save her and she has a task to focus on while other dogs are around she will be more confident.

If she wants to interact with that 1 out of 10 cool. But don't worry about the other nine.
 
#9 ·
It's not so much the fact I want her to be friends with dogs, I love it how she doesn't run up to other dogs it's when they come running to her and I've got a dog running away with no chance of getting her back until she has stopped being chased.
I take her away from the other dog if she's on lead that's what I mean by watching her body language etc. I must elaborate the dog park here is very very small and when I tend to go is when nobody else does, there's maybe 1 other dog there if that. The other place we go is used by schools etx during the day. I only take her for excercise really she is very very high energy and I don't have the space to tire her out at home haha. (And I can't run with her for some reason she goes crazy, even though she walks perfectly fine on leash)

I only really want her to be a little more confident because I'm wanting to do agility with her, and during obedience training dogs are off leash 3/4 of the time.
So yeah maybe to elaborate, not be friends with dogs by no means do that but be confident enough to not run away lol.
 
#4 ·
There is a difference between being used to them and meeting them.

Obedience work will help keep a dog under control while other dogs are around, they don't bother her she doesn't bother them. Enough exposure like that and she gets used to them. She'll get to the point she can walk on by comfortably.

But meeting strange dogs? not neccessary. No matter where you live. I'm in a large city now. I lived in rural areas too. Plenty of dogs around. Where I walk my guys now we will encounter 20+ dogs on a nice day easily. Some will be loose, others on leash.

Carry mace or a club. Loose dog gets pepper sprayed. Leashed dog gets the owner told to control their dog or it gets pepper sprayed.

No need for any dog to meet if your dog is uncomfortable.
 
#5 ·
She does not need to have close social encounters with other dogs .
" I read her reactions and body language closely when meeting other dogs because I don't want her to be overwhelmed and fear aggression come into play. "


But she is overwhelmed. And fearful.
There are two options fight or flight . Her choice is flight. She avoids .


Where did this concept come from -- I mean , this idea of how dogs ought to be with each other ?
Stay away from the dog parks .
 
#8 ·
She does not need to have close social encounters with other dogs .
" I read her reactions and body language closely when meeting other dogs because I don't want her to be overwhelmed and fear aggression come into play. "


But she is overwhelmed. And fearful.
There are two options fight or flight . Her choice is flight. She avoids .


Where did this concept come from
-- I mean , this idea of how dogs ought to be with each other ?
Stay away from the dog parks .
LOL .... well certainly no one is getting it from me. :)

But ... most likely in the same book that says 100 people in 100 days???
 
#12 ·
Just like with kids, its best not to push them into situations that make them uncomfortable. It could make her more fearful. I would try to build her confidence by maybe setting up short "play dates" with dogs who are extremely mellow and are very respectful of other dogs space. I quoted play dates because they don't have to be play for it to be successful. A good goal for your dog might be to one day have her be confidant and aloof towards other dogs. Good luck!
 
#13 ·
I agree with luvsheps and chip.

She is not ready to be off leash yet.

More obedience work. Lots more.

Since any agility training you do now would only be the low impact stuff, why not put agility classes on the back burner a while a year or so. Do some agility ground work on your own and get her off leash reliability up. Then when you start agility, her growth plates will be closed and you can get right into the fun stuff like jumps.

You can work a lot of agility fundamentals into your regular obedience. Practice long down stays on pause boxes. Teach the send away along side recall (fun game to practice the recall). Do side ways heel work over step over pipes to help teach back end coordination. Etc.
 
#14 ·
Our previous GSD mix was fine with 1 other dog, but 2 dogs approaching was 2 too many. So I would avoid a dog park. There she is feeling trapped. I found it best when dogs are socializing to be on a group hike or walk. I think when they keep moving forward and can focus on other things like smells it distracts from one another. If you can find a hiking/dog group over time your dog will become familiar with the other dogs and warm up to them.
With both of the female dogs I've had, I often needed time for them to warm up to another dog. Sometimes they might like a certain dog right away. When meeting a new dog keep a distance, no touching and put her in a down stay. See if you can engage in small talk with the other dog's owner for a bit, let the dogs see you are relaxed and things are OK. If you meet this dog again, try the down stay first and if both dogs are comfortable then try physical contact. This works for neighborhood dogs, dogs we might see on a weekly basis. Doing this a couple times, my 88lb 6yr old is now aloof but friendly to the newest puppy on our block a 7 month old 15lb fluffly thing. Now they can play together. Their 1st meeting the puppy was very fearful.
 
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