Shy puppy

L

Lucy&Dash

Forums Regular
Hi everyone!

I'm new to the Forum but have been stalking it for a little while, love all the information.

I have a new Sheltie pup, who is the most gorgeous little thing but he is very timid. He is just over 16 weeks, and he was left at the breeder's longer because the original buyer she had for him defaulted (no fault of Dash's!). He is already a lot braver at home and with people he knows but I'm a little concerned about his reactions to other dogs. I know it will take time, he had his first experience of obedience school today and considering all the other puppies were bigger and A LOT more boisterous he did amazingly well and was calm by the end. But he would growl if they came close and I'm worried he might snap. Does anyone have any advice or stories to share? I'm wondering whether I should encourage a lot of dog interactions because he is leaving that 8-16 weeks old age or if I should space them out a bit so I don't over stress him. My previous dogs have always been very confident animals so any help is much appreciated!!

I should point out though that he is one clever cookie, very quick learner and everyone at the dog school couldn't get over how cute a sheltie puppy was!

Photos :-)

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b463/lucyhoward29/IMG_0123.jpg
Strutting our stuff

http://i1046.photobucket.com/albums/b463/lucyhoward29/IMG_0147.jpg
Making friends (with our oversized collar before it was fixed)
 
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Welcome to the forum. What a cutie you have.

Emma has not been exposed to many dogs, in fact very few. But she does well when she has exposure. Now that Liam is here, she is even better.

It takes time, but you are on the right track with obedience school.

Others here will have lots of good advice for you.
 
I would say go for as much exposure as your pup could tolerate. Chances of your pup "snapping" are pretty slim. He is not sure of what happening, possibly not reading well other dog's language but at 16 weeks he has not preset reactions yet so he is learning, whatever you teach him will stay with him for the rest of his life. Arrange as many play dates as you can specially if you know other pups . One caution-Che never liked labs or rotties, boxers for the reason they play differently- Che is all about chasing so body slamming games or pawing with front paws of some breeds could be too much.
While Che was pretty well socialized I remember when we brought him to pooch park at 4 month old. He was stressed first day.... after a week he was a different dog, strutting, getting to know new buds, " I own the world attitude"
 
I too would go the expose route. He needs lots of happy positive experiences with other dogs. Maybe start with smaller calmer dogs first. When he's more comfortable around those dogs, you can introduce him to the bigger more boisterous ones.
 
OMG he is tooooo cute look at him and the Bunny!
Toffee is a bit of a snapper at big dogs who are in his face or don't watch where they are stepping and puppies... so I have lots of stories.. but main thing is lots and lots and lots of exposure, and for you to be trying to make each and every encounter a happy/calm one. I think as much as I love dog parks Toffee got run over by the big dogs a few times too many when he was little.. so now he is reactive. He kinda hates puppies especially big breed ones, just the other day he snapped at a gorgeous, even polite 5 month old Newfoundland pup *sigh* :rolleyes2: It doesn't escalate and I can call him off before something like a snap even happens nowadays... as long as the other dog then leaes him alone. Takes a lot of work and positive enforcement of good hello's, that is the command then click and reward that I use when he meets dogs and he doesn't curl his lips... This has paid off so for the most part he just doesn't like rude unruly dogs in his face, but he never goes after them and sometimes I even forget he was a bit of a monster, LOL... but I don't ever get him to get too cozy with puppies :)

Main thing is let the other dog owner know your dog isn't that friendly with other dogs, and Puppies in particular.. in Agility a lot of dogs are reactive like he is, so I ask people with dogs on leash to not approach him if I feel they are too young or Labs (sorry Cadbury, Labs are just toooo happy for him, hahaha and Lab owners kinda think all dogs are happy go lucky like theirs LOL)

Now in Agility he is a charmer in class, and doesn't mind the other dogs in the least and he keeps surprising me being more interested in what I want from him than trying to go to other dogs or snap at them, lol
 
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Sca is positive that everyone loves him until they get mad so I have nothing other than what a great looking pup!

Oh and one thing that might help others on advice. What kind of environment did he have at the breeders? Was he inside/outside, with other pups, with adults Shelties, other breeds. etc.

Sca was one of two but there was a bazillion Shelties and he came in and played with everyone in the house. The strange thing is I really wonder if he thinks he is a sable since all the adults were and he warms to sable Shelties in an instant.
 
Thanks everyone, for the welcomes and advice!
I'll definitely go for the 'more is best' approach and see how we go. I'll come back with an update after next sunday's class. He did have a playdate with my Dad's two Papillon puppies, he didn't want to play with them but he didn't seem as stressed and he had also had a long day plus it was an unfamiliar place so I'm not surprised he was reserved. These two girls are his size though so I think that helped, poor Kiki was running rings around him trying very hard to get him to chase her so hopefully they'll be friends eventually because they are sweet dogs.

Toffee's Mum - thanks for the advice! Was Toffee timid or just unimpressed by the rough play? I'd love to do agility with Dash when he is older but if he is still timid I'm not sure he's enjoy it that much. And the bunny in question is my sister's rabbit who think's she a dog or some other tough animal - I have never come across a rabbit as bold as she is! She isn't afraid of anything and is the boss of the yard. She like's charging at the cat for fun and her and Dash have decided to be best friends (except when he is a bit too clumsy/rough with her, but she is smart enough to jump up on her hutch or move away). It's the cutest thing to watch... if I have taken him out when we come home she comes charging up to say hello. And I guess Effy is the right kind of gentleness that Dash wants in all his friends hehe.

SheepOfBlue - he was raised outside with at least 10 other Shelties and they were allowed inside every now and then. I wondered if he might have been more confident with other Shelties but we met one at Dog Training and he was pretty wary with her too.

He's such a doll though <3 so sweet and well behaved. I think I just need to retrain myself (my last dog was a border x lab v smart but bold as anything, more than a little wild) to take things slower and more gently.
 
I would definately suggest lots of playdates and exposure to other dogs that you trust. Domino was raised by his breeder and while he lived with several other shelties he did not have much exposure to other dogs and was very timid when we first brought him home. We have worked very hard to expose him to lots of different dogs in different situations and we have found that he has become much more confident and less fearful of other dogs. He still does not really like to play with most of them (he is much too dainty for all that rough housing) but I see that as a separate issue.

Good Luck with Dash and I would say don't worry if he doesn't want to play but work hard at giving him exposure to give him more confidence to do his own thing around other dogs.
 
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