Ideas on socializing a nervous puppy?

[missyfritz]

I am looking for some new ideas on how to socialize Dunkin and hoping you guys will be able to help me! We have had him since about the middle of July. He's a terrier mix, about 6 months old and 25 pounds. The only information we have on him is that our family friend found a litter of puppies living under her cabin porch in Tennessee. His mom is a purebred Cairn and his dad's unknown. He was about 6 weeks old when she found him. His mom was ignoring the pups and 2 of his littermates had recently been killed by coyotes.

Dunkin is very smart. He tries very hard to please, but he still has a lot of crazy puppy left in him. Our family isn't used to dogs this size, as our others are 12 and 14 pounds at 7 and 9 years old. He has come a long way and is getting better all the time. Dunkin never barks at anyone walking by outside, never shows aggression. He never has accidents in the house, has hopefully passed the chewing stage, but still isn't very trusting.

He is very nervous around strangers (people and other dogs alike). Whenever he meets someone new, he cowers and hides behind the closest family member he can find until he realizes that the scary stranger really isn't that scary after all. He gets along well with our other dogs, but isn't too sure about dogs we meet when we leave the house. I take him on walks a couple times a week and when we come across other dogs, he cowers. Same thing when we take him on trips to PetSmart (although he is bolder here than on walks). I've tried taking him to the dog park a few times, but he hides behind my legs the entire time and snaps at any dogs that come up to play with him.

How can I better socialize him to new people and animals? We can't really take him to puppy classes due to time and all of our different schedules. Is there something else I can try?

[Remali]

Aww the poor guy had a rough life as a young pup what with being attacked by coyotes.

I would just take it slow and not force too much on him at once, maybe start with getting out for walks just with you, and wait on the dog park....he doesn't sound ready for so much action and the dog park is full of crazy dogs with no manners that are going to really intimidate him even more (well, quite a few anyway). Just start by walks with you, getting him to accept that. Maybe a dog training video may be of some help? I watch Cesar Milan on National Geographic Channel, he is pretty good with scared dogs. He has some videos out, as do other trainers too I imagine. Another trainer I like is Brian Kilcommons, I have one of his books.

[miatapony]

i would keep going to the dog park and just let him be .. dont pamper him ... only if there is a fight or something but i would go to a dog park.

[CaddoCinnamon]

Some dogs don't grow out of it. My dog Sadie is a Border Collie/Jack Russell mix and she is afraid of other dogs. We have had her since she was 6 weeks old and not a rough life to begin with like your little guy. I would still take him to the park but show him that their isn't anything to be scared about. Go to the park with another friend who has a dog.

[Remali]

Maybe I watch too much Cesar Milan on Nat Geo, he was saying to avoid the dog parks with a shy scared dog, until you can get the dog more at ease elsewhere..... I agree... makes no sense to me to throw an already scared dog into a situation like a dog park, but that is my opinion, there can often times be quite a few in-your-face type dogs at a dog park, and since your dog snaps/bites from fear, I just don't think that is a good situation at this time for him, one of the dogs or both dogs, could get hurt. Why chance it and make your dog more scared and apt to snap.

[miatapony]

if you go to the dog park and there are too many dogs there then walk around it .. let your dog sniff noses.. walk around the outside then and let him sniff again ... i dont know what someone who isnt there can do for ya.. but i know what i do with mine .. or you can go to the dog park when there is no one else there????

[Remali]

That's a good idea.

[vicklynn]

I say, bring him on over to Carolines(where I work)and we will work the skittish out of him...;) Seriously, we love to have dogs come that are timid, put them in a play group that is their type(attitude, size), and you wouldnt believe the turn around these dogs have. They go from nervous nellies to happy playful dogs who love each and every one of us who supervise their play time!
Some stay timid, but you wouldnt believe the dogs that we have had turn around from just being in our group.
Let your baby be strong, dont pamper him when he is nervous, it gives him the ok to be that way. Just protect him if there is a possible fight. He will figure it out in time. Also, if you are nervous, he will feed off of that.

[XshadowfoxX]

Excersize, Discipline then Affection.
Those the best things, and you can thank Cesar Milan for the phrazing. Because it is so true =].

[GrungeEquestrian]

My Giant Schnauzer was just like that and is slowly getting better.

We got our dog as a rescue and at 6 months old. Unfortunately he developed ammonia (sp) from kennel cough from the pound he was at before the rescue. It was so bad they had him hospitalized and he spent a month there.

Because of these events he wasn't very well socialized with people but connected them with all the needles they were poking in him at the hospital. When we first adopted him we knew it was going to be a big challenge to get him comfortable around strangers. When we first met him it took him about an hour to warm up to us.

When he meant new people he would bark (his mean one) and cower behind me. He was disciplined for his bark but gently coaxed into letting the stranger pet him. I would inform everyone that met him that he was a bit nervous and shy. I would then instruct them to move more towards his level and let him sniff them without them trying to pet him. After they could slowly reach to pet the underside of his beard. After that I would tell them to slow see if they could pet the top of his head.

We did this for months. My mom brought him to the dog park, all my friends met him, and we took him to pet stores and such. Since he is such a massive dog and a rarer breed he always sparks attention from strangers. Although he wasn't a fan at first it has really helped him become more confident.

He is going on two and is much better. If the person has a dog he trust them completely. He also is great with little kids and has no hesitation. With women it takes a few sniffs and men a bit of food coaxing. It takes a lot of patience and make sure to give him a lot of praise for letting them touch him. Also, you don't want it to be overwhelming. In the beginning my dog only met one person at a time, now he is up to about four. In the beginning anymore would just overwhelm him and he would cower next to me ducking from anyone who came near him.

[Dandy21]

A few days late here. My dog is 75 lbs and very shy around new people. He went through a phase (a lot of dogs do) around 6 -8 months where he was afraid of everyone/thing including new dogs. What ALOK did, and I keep doing, is to take him into public situations -- on walks or to Petsmart/Petco -- and ignore him until he is calm. If he cowers, let him. Just ignore him until he ventures out then reward him. For some people clicker training works, but for others it can confuse the dog (Misha is one who can be taught a new trait on the clicker, but it cannot be used for reinforcement). Give treats to strangers to give to him, to reward him for interacting with them. If you know someone with a gentle, patient dog, get them to let your dog meet theirs in different situations. I also make Misha do basic obedience when he starts getting stressed.

Please do not take Cesar Milan's show and try to apply this methods. I have watched it and there is, in my opinion, a greater risk of injury than learning. Especially without a trainer. I think a puppy/socialization class would really be best, but if time doesn't allow, you do the best you can. For right now I would probably not take him to the dog park. Dog parks are (supposed) to be for well-maintained, well-adjusted dogs but this isn't always the case. Some dogs are aggressive or reactive, so your dog could get into trouble if he's snarking at strange dogs, and may not have the ability to recover from a retaliation from a dog at this point.

[Buckpoco]

Does the "Dog Whisperer" have a website?

[Remali]

What I take from Cesar Milan's TV show is that you have to be calm, and take things one at a time. I really do agree about the dog park tho, it is full of anti-social dogs who are acting out, and that was one major thing that I really took away from Cesar's training..... dog parks aren't always the best idea.

[missyfritz]

Thanks guys. :) I think for now I'm just going to work on building his confidence on walks, especially when we come across new people. I've noticed that when he's scared and I'm confident and just keep walking he seems to be a lot braver. I know he's a smart dog and I don't want anything to happen for him, so no more dog park for a good while!

[Remali]

It sounds like he's doing better, he'll get there. My Poodle used to be scared of people and real timid, but in time he came around and now he's the first one to greet people at the door when I have friends over. Sounds like you're doing great. :)