[Aya Fetouh]

I have a 6 month old saarloos wolfhound white shepherd mix is a big scardey cat , I socialize her and take her to dog parks every week, we take walks at least 3 times a day, but she always scared of anything new, if I visit my parents and take her for walks there she is scared has her tail between he legs and keeps trying to drag me home, if a dog runs to play with her she has to run away first, we have to keep the other dog calm so she can approach him slowly and smell him. New people come to the house barks like crazy ( I don't mind the barking) and when I try to introduce her she keeps running backwards with her tail between her legs and barking still takes her forever to go and smell them and calm down. What am I doing wrong? I should mention she was the smallest puppy in the litter and we got her from the litter at 2.5 months. Will she grow out of this? Cause I really want her to be a bit braver


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[MadLab]

It sounds like you are putting your dog in many situations which it is not comfortable with. If you have a crate then you can use that when people arrive and aim to have the dog simply observe you and your friends instead of being the center of attention. Too many inexperienced owners force a fearful dog into socializing, dogs parks, pet shops etcetc when the dog would be better off in the safety of it's create or back garden or where ever the dog feels comfortable and safe.

When you do bring the dog aim to go slowly and try your best for the dog to not have it's tail between it's legs. That is not a good position for the tail and tells you the dog is really uncomfortable. If you have patience the dogs state will change and you wait til it is comfortable and then move. You can lift the tail and massage the dogs back and let it know it's ok and you will protect it.

Do you have a back yard and does the dog like to chase a ball. Does it gravitate towards food. You have to use this desire to bring the dog out of it's fearful state. You can't rush this process. Don't be like, 'I want my dog not to be fearful so I'll bring it to pet world' You have to use baby steps at home and slowly give the dog confidence.

Also you need to really study dog behavior and body language so the dog starts to realize that you know what you are doing and begins to trust you more. I find fearful dogs don't even trust there owner. They would rather be looking behind there shoulder rather than sitting in front of there owner giving total attention.

When walking aim to have your dog by your side. If the dog is afraid of something, accept it, don't force the dog, but slow down and go at the dogs pace and guide it through the situation. If you don't slow down the dog can try to go behind you and that is annoying and is feeding the flight and avoidance drive. You can also practice turning and going back the other direction.

 

[Baillif]

It was probably nothing you did wrong. When you mentioned it was the runt of the litter chances are it was genetics that did this to the dog. You should probably see a dog behavior specialist or a really knowledgeable trainer to start you on the path to working on the dog's fears. At 6 months this is probably the personality of the dog for the rest of its life.

It might be worth a shot getting the dogs blood tested to make sure the hormone levels all check out.

I don't know if it was genetics, something you exposed her to, or a medical issue from just your post ofc, but usually the smallest in the litter is like this with greater frequency than the others in the litter.

Was the dog ever attacked as a smaller puppy by other dogs? What other kinds of triggers does she have?

Either way you should probably not bother with the dog parks or socialization for now. The window for that has largely passed and if the dog keeps having bad experiences then they are pointless and counter productive.

 

[wolfy dog]

Wolfdogs are skittish from nature, it is the wolf part in them. Most Saarloos Wolf Dogs are that way and they are difficult as a pet.
That's why I stick with the domesticated version.

 

[ten3zro]

At six months I would not take this pup to a dog park (bad places to go at any age). You need to build this pup's confidence by putting her in situations where she feels safe. Play with her on your own. If you want to socialize her, expose her to situations where other people and dogs are around but she is NOT interacting with them. Get her to focus on YOU in those situations by showing her you're the most fun and interesting thing in her life. You are asking a lot of this pup and though she may have weak nerves, you need to pair this back a little and build some trust and confidence in this pup.

 

[doggiedad]

slowly socialize your dog. don't force your dog into
situations that you know she's not comfortable with.

 

[Linda1270]

When my 10 month old female GSD was younger, she was afraid of everything. She hated leaving the comfort of her backyard and would pull backwards to let me know that she didn't want to go on walks and if I did get her to the end of the block, she would turn and pull me all the way home. She startled very easily and was always looking behind her. As other's have stated already, you need to proceed very slowly with you pup and make sure you do not put her in uncomfortable situations. She will let you know when she is okay with meeting someone, let her go at her own pace.

I had to work slowly with my girl Tess and today, she is so much more confident. Does, your dog have a trainer? That's important, get her into some type of training class with a couple of other puppies. When Tess was 5 months I tried putting her in daycare, but she didn't like it there, she sat on the sidelines and watched the entire time she was there. Eventually, per her trainer's advice, I started sending her out on adventures with her trainer's mother, who did this 5 days a week. She would pick her up at the house and take her and a few other dogs out to trails and wildlife conservation lands to walk and swim. At first Tess did not want to go, she would whimper and try to run and hide, but after two times, she would sit by the door waiting to be picked up, she ended up loving it and it brought her right out of her shell. She learned to swim and interact with the other dogs, it was the best decision I made as far as her socialization goes. You just have to go slow and watch your girl's body language for signs that she isn't comfortable.

Good luck! By the way, your girl is beautiful, I love her coloring.