# Help with a shy puppy...



## Lo01 (Jul 22, 2007)

We've had the pleasure of having little Hank for about 6 weeks now. (We adopted him at 13 weeks of age). He's currently 19 weeks old, and is on week 5 of 6 weeks at puppy kindergarten and doing very well from an obedience/training perspective.

Throughout the time he's been with us, he has made exceptional strides at socialization/habituation with other adults, other dogs/species, car rides, loud noises, etc. However, my dilemma lies in his intrinsic shyness/fear toward children. Needless to say, forming a controlled positive encounter with a preschooler/toddler <10 year old child (running to pet our puppy) has been very difficult. We do not have young children ourselves, and have tried many venues to provide very controlled positive experiences for Hank -- to include daily visits to a local animal friendly mall and a weekly visit to different pet stores in addition to his puppy kindergarten.

We are currently reading both Deborah Wood's "Help for Your Shy Dog" and Nicole Wilde's "Help for Your Fearful Dog" looking for differing approaches to socialization. Per Ian Dunbar's belief, by adopting Hank at 13 weeks of age, we may have missed his critical socialization period.

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so very much in advance.

Regards,
*'Lo*


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

I got Freddie at 13 weeks too. He was very fearful and shy. I believe he was not socialized during the critical time. It takes him a long time to warm up to people. He will be 2 years in November and he is still leery of my husband. I took him everywhere as a pup fleamarkets, petstores, dog shows & matches, friends homes, work etc. He is much better now, but is still leery. When he meets someone for the first time he wants to meet them in the worst way, but you can see the fear and hesitation. He will be the first one to jump up on them and scratch them for attention, but when they go to pet him, he takes off! This is actually good, because he never use to even approach people. 

I am hoping in time, he will gain more confidence.


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## Brady's mom (Dec 1, 2006)

I think that the treat approach is always a good one when training. We do not have any children, but did our best to expose Brady to them. It wasn't hard, there are tons of children in our neighborhood. When he was small, I would have the kids give him a treat. He was never very hesitant, but it certainly made him love kids. He hears the neighbors kids outside and crys at the door to go and play with them. I would try the treat approach and see if it helps.


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Good point Karen. Treats do help!


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

Karen has excellent advice. I have used treats with Kubrick around other dogs (only when he's acting calm, not when he was freaking out) as he was very fearful of them - I also got him at 13 weeks. Now although there are some dogs he still doesn't like, he is almost like a different dog from the one we first got. It's amazing the positive changes in him!

I do agree that there is a critical early socialization period, but I don't think that just because you missed it that you have to give up on getting your puppy socialized around the things he is fearful *now*. That's one reason I didn't like Dunbar's book because he made it sound like if you missed that period of time then that's it, you're pretty much screwed. I don't believe that at all. Just by looking at how much Kubrick has changed around other dogs I can see that it is possible to get them socialized even though I got him at 13 weeks. All it takes is work and dedication. Really do try the treat thing Karen suggested, I think it works very well.

Good luck!


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## ama0722 (Nov 28, 2006)

I didn't do this intentionally but it worked wonders. One of the women at my training club has a 4 year old who loves dogs. Her mother has one of the most intelligent border collies, I have met. This dog has about 100 different tricks besides competing! Levi will even make a sneeze sound and go grab a tissue and throw it away! 

Well Leila is also a very smart little girl. Since Dora is named Dora, she immediately fell in love with her and Isabelle. She asked if she could train them, so I played along. Belle loves everyone so I wanted to see how Dora would interact. Leila grabbed a hot dog and Dora never looked back. Leila was teaching Dora by luring her walking. No leash needed and when Dora would hesitate or start to get bored, Leila would say her name and give her a small treat! Dora is now to the point where she sees kids, she associates them with good treats.

So my recommendation, find a smart and gentle kid and have them get involved in something Hank likes-obedience!

Amanda


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## irnfit (Nov 21, 2006)

We got Kodi when he was 11 weeks. He was raised in a home with an 18 month old and was not shy around kids as a young pup. However, since he has gone through that 2nd fear stage, he is a little standoffish. 

Kids get so excited when they see puppys and they tend to rush the dogs. Kodi doesn't like that, he will back off. But if they approach him calmly, he will play with them and not have a problem.


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## mintchip (Apr 19, 2007)

I belong to a dog walking group that meets every Saturday to walk along the beach. I've seen many shy dogs grow/change weekly. They start out really shy and fearful but with in weeks they start playing. 
I think an answer is to find a dog walking group and go weekly. 
Sally
PS-don't let the dog sense you are fearful either


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## Lo01 (Jul 22, 2007)

Thank you all for the support and exceptional insight.
We are still trying treats currently as well as showing no fear/stress when we encounter the (small human beings) kiddos. It is somewhat ironic given that I am a Pediatrician. 

It possibly is just tincture of time. Amanda, you are right, incorporating his eagerness to please during training and obedience may help with the little guy's socialization; I've even read that target training may help if I can somehow have the little one target stranger's hands, etc.

All the best,
*'Lo*


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## Julie (Feb 8, 2007)

I've always heard the critical time with the Mom was between 10-12 weeks.Seems like Hank would just be fine.....I like Karen's idea.


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## Havtahava (Aug 20, 2006)

Yes, target training is a very good idea. You can incorporate that with "go see", but make sure you use it with some calm gentle children at first vs. eager, energetic kids. If you can get him to associate the good with the more reserved children, then you can move to those with more energy.

Another socializing opportunity is to take a treat that Hank will always eat that is soft (hot dog, cheese, etc.) and head over to your nearest Petsmart or Petco or something like that on a busy weekend mid-afternoon. Put him in the cart up in the front where you are close to him and ask parents if you can ask their child to give Hank a treat (and you provide the treat for them). Give him the words "go see" and then ask them if they will pet his chest and NOT the top of his head. Do not baby him or talk in a sweet voice to him if he withdraws. Praise him when he leans towards the child or appears interested. If he wags his tail at a child, give him extra praise and another treat.


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## dboudreau (Jan 12, 2007)

Children can be so scary to dogs. I would trust very few dogs around my daughter, she constantly is moving, jumping, hopping, dancing. She is never still, she even makes Sam nervous at times. My son on the other hand is calm, and has alot of "dog sense" and he is only 3.

I like Amanda's suggestion, find a quiet child with lots of yummy treats.


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## Lina (Apr 26, 2007)

I wanted to add to what I was saying previously that you CAN actually socialize a dog with something that he's fearful of after the age of 16 weeks... I just came back from the dog park with Kubrick and when we got there he only took about 2 minutes to get acclimated (in comparison with last week - it took at least 15 minutes) and he was actually PLAYING with the other dogs, running around and having a good ole time... his tail was wagging like there's no tomorrow. I was so happy for him and so excited that he was having fun! He'd been going before, but he was just getting accustomed to having dogs near him and he would only follow dogs around but wouldn't engage in play at all. This time, he actually started playing with two or three of the dogs. It was great!

Hang in there, I'm sure that with your dedication to socializing him with kids Hank will get there sooner or later!


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