Hand shy

[Diana]

Thanks so much for the advice! I think you are right Smudge, just tell people to pat her on the back of her neck. I could be a little better about advocating for her in some situations. And I should order that book.

When I walk her I often go through the city and a lot of people stop (there were like 8 on a half-hour walk today) so I can understand that's a lot for a young dog to handle. That on top of the sirens, odd noises, busses, trains, etc. She doesn't freak out like she used to be she often does stop and listen, and when people come up sometimes she is busy trying to figure out all those weird sounds. Then she realizes there are people petting her and gets excited.

Ashley, Shelli, and Michele, thanks for telling about your dogs, nice to feel that maybe it's not just me. Earnhardt sounds like he's a good dog to have as a friend!

I am hoping that over time we too can work on this. I know I shouldn't feel sad, but when she ducks away from my hand it kinda hurts my feelings and when she does it in front of stangers I always get the feeling that they will think that my dog doesn't like me (or that I do hurtful things to her ).

But I get what Katniss is saying too--some people get sad if the puppy ducks away from them. I do tell them she does that to everyone, but people who are not dog people sometimes just don't feel comfortable with it. But Katniss, don't worry it is typical Sheltie behavior, it's not you.

 

[Caro]

I agree, a hand held above the head can be pretty daunting - a gentle pat on the ruff or a rub between the shoulders is much friendlier (in fact, a pat on the rear is the friendliest of all, most dogs cant resist). Just ask people not to pat her on the head. A lot of children are taught not to pat a dog on the head and will often let the dog sniff them first. Not sure what the sniffing does but its a bit less daunting for the dog if the kids dont just dive in first.

Both mine were hand shy, Tully in particular. They are much better now, having been patted so many times by so many strangers. Plus now they have such full ruffs people like patting their ruffs instead anyway.

I have Help for your shy dog too - its very handy, has lots of good ideas

 

[mbfrench]

Thanks so much for the advice!
Ashley, Shelli, and Michele, thanks for telling about your dogs, nice to feel that maybe it's not just me. Earnhardt sounds like he's a good dog to have as a friend!

He's a gentle sweet soul,there will never be another Earnhardt.

Glad that our experiances could help a bit.

 

[take4roll10]

Bailey is hand shy. She will back away from a person if they go straight for her head. She used to do this to me too. She now lets me pet the top of her head, but still doesn't like it from strangers.

 

[Ann]

One of ours is hand shy too, and will duck if you go straight for her head. But she loves affection and attention, so it's not that. Our other two could care less if you touch their heads first. It must be an individual trait.

 

[BarbV]

Bacca can be hand shy too. I find he's better if I approach is head with my hand palm up, and stroke the side of his face instead.

 

[Diana]

So - we went to our first Dog Therapy class yesterday. Turns out that being petted on the head is part of the dog therapy test as well as part of the CGC test. So I think Buffy eventually will need to work up to it.

However, I did tell a few people yesterday "she really likes to be petted on her white collar" and that seemed to work well. I think that if they start on her collar and work their way up Buffy will be fine. It's not like she snaps when someone tries to pet her head.

I am really excited about this dog therapy stuff! I hope it works out. Buffy is the youngest one in the class, only 8 months. The other dogs were all about 2 years old. She was very distracted since it was a new place and there were DOGS around. I think she will be better next week, though. She was already starting to improve at the end of class.

Dog therapy class is certainly different than our other classes... I think we were spoiled by our previous trainer. These people are more old-fashioned and they use different methods. Yes, they use positive reinforcement but they also yank on their dog's collar and yell when their dog does something wrong. One of their dogs was really aggressive during a demo. I am thinking I will stick to the positive reinforcement methods we learned in the last class and take this class more as listening to people talk about dog therapy and learning the new skills we need. Luckily they seem pretty loose about how to train your dog. Just different from our obedience classes, is all. I wish our obedience trainer did dog therapy classes!

Buffy did really well walking up to the wheelchair and staying quietly, and she did well in heeling and sitting too. There are some REALLY well-trained dogs in the class but i think she held her own, especially considering her age.

Do any of you do dog therapy? Any tips?

 

[Strider]

So - we went to our first Dog Therapy class yesterday. Turns out that being petted on the head is part of the dog therapy test as well as part of the CGC test. So I think Buffy eventually will need to work up to it.

However, I did tell a few people yesterday "she really likes to be petted on her white collar" and that seemed to work well. I think that if they start on her collar and work their way up Buffy will be fine. It's not like she snaps when someone tries to pet her head.

I am really excited about this dog therapy stuff! I hope it works out. Buffy is the youngest one in the class, only 8 months. The other dogs were all about 2 years old. She was very distracted since it was a new place and there were DOGS around. I think she will be better next week, though. She was already starting to improve at the end of class.

Dog therapy class is certainly different than our other classes... I think we were spoiled by our previous trainer. These people are more old-fashioned and they use different methods. Yes, they use positive reinforcement but they also yank on their dog's collar and yell when their dog does something wrong. One of their dogs was really aggressive during a demo. I am thinking I will stick to the positive reinforcement methods we learned in the last class and take this class more as listening to people talk about dog therapy and learning the new skills we need. Luckily they seem pretty loose about how to train your dog. Just different from our obedience classes, is all. I wish our obedience trainer did dog therapy classes!

Buffy did really well walking up to the wheelchair and staying quietly, and she did well in heeling and sitting too. There are some REALLY well-trained dogs in the class but i think she held her own, especially considering her age.

Do any of you do dog therapy? Any tips?

That is so cool! I want to get involved as well but I'm going to wait until this summer to start her training. I have no advice but I hope you are taking good notes to help me this summer heheh..

 

[take4roll10]

So - we went to our first Dog Therapy class yesterday. Turns out that being petted on the head is part of the dog therapy test as well as part of the CGC test. So I think Buffy eventually will need to work up to it.

However, I did tell a few people yesterday "she really likes to be petted on her white collar" and that seemed to work well. I think that if they start on her collar and work their way up Buffy will be fine. It's not like she snaps when someone tries to pet her head.

I am really excited about this dog therapy stuff! I hope it works out. Buffy is the youngest one in the class, only 8 months. The other dogs were all about 2 years old. She was very distracted since it was a new place and there were DOGS around. I think she will be better next week, though. She was already starting to improve at the end of class.

Dog therapy class is certainly different than our other classes... I think we were spoiled by our previous trainer. These people are more old-fashioned and they use different methods. Yes, they use positive reinforcement but they also yank on their dog's collar and yell when their dog does something wrong. One of their dogs was really aggressive during a demo. I am thinking I will stick to the positive reinforcement methods we learned in the last class and take this class more as listening to people talk about dog therapy and learning the new skills we need. Luckily they seem pretty loose about how to train your dog. Just different from our obedience classes, is all. I wish our obedience trainer did dog therapy classes!

Buffy did really well walking up to the wheelchair and staying quietly, and she did well in heeling and sitting too. There are some REALLY well-trained dogs in the class but i think she held her own, especially considering her age.

Do any of you do dog therapy? Any tips?

I would loveeee for Bailey to be a therapy dog. I always wanted a therapy dog. However, I don't if it's something Bailey would enjoy. Right now she is more concerned with playing, playing and more playing. She seems to have no interest in people and no desire to just lay down and let someone pet her. So, I'm going to focus on training her to pass the CGC. The CGC is almost the same test as the therapy dog test. If she calms down and is more interested in people as she get older, then it is something we will definitely do.

 

[Justicemom]

This weekend, after Justice was done showing,we hung out talking to everyone. This one lady he never met before was talking to us(sitting in a chair) and Justice swung his bum around and sat down right between her feet and looked over his shoulder at her like "you can pet me now." She said "not too subtle is he". Uh Nope.

I don't remember the CGC I took with Justice. But I don't remember the petting of the head being a problem. I most likely just put him on a stand stay as part of the exercise is touching their head but the approach is from the side not straight on. Big difference for dogs.