Selective Timidness

Q

Qweenbea

Forums Novice
I need help on this. My pup is just 8 months old, she is a singleton so there was no puppy socialization. I have worked really hard to socialize her in different situations. I got her at 13 weeks of age and from the very first I have taken her to work with me, she has an entire puppy set up in my office. She was VERY timid around my boss. About 2 months ago I started taking her to day care so she could have some interaction with other dogs, it took a few weeks for her to come out of her shell and she gets along with all the other dogs and really likes the "teachers". She goes for half a day then I pick her up and take her back to my office. She is still very timid with my boss. She will take treats from him but will not let him pet her. Once in a while she will go into his office and stand by his chair and let him pet her, but it has to be on her terms. Now when the bosses wife comes in she will bark at her and run to me or under my desk, she absolutely will not allow her to pet her at all. She will take treats from her as well. They are both heartbroken because they love her and want to be friends with her.

Any suggestions? :(
 
Sorry, I don't have much to suggest but I can relate to some extent. My Honey is very timid with some people she meets, and is ok with others. She seems to be worse with people (particularly men) who are tall and people with loud or deep voices. She will eventually come around to most people though. It really helps if people come down to her level when interacting with her.
 
Shelties can be very selective as to who they trust and who they don't...and their selection may not seem rational to us but obviously in their minds there is a reason.

I would suggest to your boss and his wife that they totally ignore her as if she isn't even there with you and let her initiate any move in her own time frame. It may take a long time and she may never totally let them into her selection of people she loves, but hopefully with time to evaluate and no pushing she will at least accept them as safe.

Trini
 
I'd suggest your boss & his wife quit trying to pet her. They could just casually talk to you, maybe with a treat in hand that she can come up and take from them, but with very little notice on their part. Eventually she may warm up if she thinks they're harmless cookie dispensers, well that's what mine do only we use Cheerios. My friends dole out Cheerios when they visit. One friend who Forrest was terrified of for no reason at all, she's a good person with a dog at home, he now approaches readily. But it took a few visits and plenty of Cheerios :wink2:.
 
Remember, Shelties may be "reserved toward strangers." I know you're thinking, your boss isn't a stranger, you see him every day! But your Sheltie knows he's not family, and just hasn't gotten around to trusting him yet. And also keep in mind, she's 8 months old. She's in her second fear period. Your boss and his wife need to keep doing what they are doing- make sure they are where good things come from (treats). Your puppy will come around. It also might help if they get down to her level. Are they always standing when trying to greet her? Getting down on the floor might help them seem less threatening. Keep up with the socialization, she'll come around.
 
Ahhh welcome to my world.

My dog comes to work with me every day. She has since I brought her home almost 2 years ago. She has just in the last 2 weeks started to let my boss touch her. And she came to him. Another man at the dog park can touch her because he made it his mission in life to be able to pet her, lol. It took 6 months of giving her treats, but NOT trying to touch her. She just doesn't like to be touched by anyone else but me. She's curious and friendly, but if people reach down to touch her she will bark and sometimes air snap if they don't back off. I can't stress this enough. Have people give her treats, but tell them not to try to touch her right afterward or you may end up inadvertently conditioning her that if she takes a treat from someone, they're going to touch her. Go really slowly with this and be very patient.
 
Lanie said:
I can't stress this enough. Have people give her treats, but tell them not to try to touch her right afterward or you may end up inadvertently conditioning her that if she takes a treat from someone, they're going to touch her. Go really slowly with this and be very patient.
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This is an EXCELLENT point!!! I completely agree.
 
Cara Sandler said:
This is an EXCELLENT point!!! I completely agree.
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I know this from experience. Echo was 10 months old when I brought her home and not socialized to people. I allowed people to give her a treat and then touch her. Now I'm dealing with a dog that barks and sometimes air snaps right after she takes a treat from someone. It looks like, "Thanks for the treat, but don't touch me" It can be scary to people that don't know her.
You so don't want this to happen. It's going to take me a long time to fix.
Much better to give them the opportunity for touch and let them choose who and when.
 
Another good idea is to have your boss just drop treats on the ground when he is around. Don't make eye contact or reach out--just drop treats.
 
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