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Permalink Reply by Cathie on December 26, 2012 at 1:42pm

Welcome to the forum!

Ollie may not have had any bad experiences, necessarily, just not enough GOOD ones involving people and children, starting at a very early age, from what I've read. He was probably around other dogs, off leash, at the breeder's, which is why he does fine, off leash, around other dogs, at the park. It is not "just a phase" in my opinion; it will require attention and training to get him properly socialized.

You could start getting him used to people and children by having one or two of them at a time visit him at home and having them give him treats.  Take it slowly and don't force him. Please watch him closely around children until he is no longer afraid of them. This may take some time!

I'm sure others here, with more training expertise than I, will offer tips too.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Bonhard on December 26, 2012 at 1:55pm

Hi Cathie,

thanks for your reply!

Yes, with kids we figure we'll take it slowly and get him used to them over time.

Do you have any ideas on what could make him so scared walking on a sidewalk and what we can do to help him get over it? It's because I can't see anything obvious that could freak him out ...

thanks!

Phil

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Permalink Reply by Jane on December 26, 2012 at 2:04pm

Do you have any idea what is scaring him? A certain car passing, a man wearing a hat, etc?

I would get a treat pouch that you can carry with you on your walks. Pay close attention to his body language and if you see him start to tense up, immediately call his name and give him a treat. Keep treating him as you walk and talk in a happy voice until he seems more relaxed. Obviously this is easier if you know what his trigger is, but that may take some time to figure out.

You can do a similar thing with new people. Ask if they will crouch down at an angle facing away from Ollie, and let him approach on his own terms. Then have the person offer the treat. It will take time but he can improve. Do not force him into any situations that make him overly uncomfortable - at this stage you want all his experiences with strangers to be happy!

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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on December 26, 2012 at 3:49pm

Puppies do go through a couple "scardy cat"phases and he might just be in one. Just be sure to get him out in non-threatening situations often and if possible have strangers offer him a treat once in a while. I would not push people on him but don't give into his refusing to keep waking either. With mine I just kept walking (dragging if needed) but some trainers will use treats as a lure or just turn a circle and then come back in the same direction. Never punish and be careful at dog parks that he doesn't have a bad experience at this development stage. I had one corgi that was pretty shy but agility and obedience classes really helped her. She was never as outgoinga s my other ones but wasn't real shy as she grew older.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Bonhard on December 26, 2012 at 6:00pm

Thanks everyone for your replies!

We will be patient with him and I'm sure over time he'll get over it. He's better every day ... So we'll see how we do.

I'll deffo try taking along treats
...


Thanks again!

Phil

PS.: will keep you posted!

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Permalink Reply by Beth on December 26, 2012 at 10:57pm

How old was he when you got him?   The socialization period ends around 14 weeks of age (MAYBE 16 if you are lucky), and for many dogs anything they have not experienced by that age will be scary to them.  The evolutionary reason for this is that in a natural state, pups will be learning about their environment during the denning stage of their life, and anything they see then is "normal" and therefore ok if it does not hurt them.  But anything new after that stage is alarming to them.  New sights, sounds, smells, walking surfaces etc should all be introduced in the first 14 weeks of life if you want to ensure a dog will be comfy with them.  It's also true that the more variety of experiences a pup has that are fun, the more inclined he is to enjoy experiencing new things later in life.  Some dogs are naturally shier and some bolder, but by and large early socialization is key.

So if you got him when he was older and he was not walked in busy cities he will find them alarming.  Both of mine are ok with most things they see in the city or the woods, for instance, but are very afraid of horses; they were never socialized to anything that big when they were pups and it's just scary to them.  A dog raised with horses would not be afraid.

At this point, keep his outings short and make sure they always lead to good things.  Distract with food or a favorite toy.  As soon as he relaxes, reward heavily and  call it a day.  If he doesn't relax, try again later.  Learning that walks lead to fun things like the park he likes will naturally help as well.  You can use food to lure, but don't force him to confront his fears over and over.  That's called "flooding" and it can have a role in experienced hands, but most of us pet owners don't do it right and it can make things worse.  

With lots of short positive experiences, he'll get better over time though he'll probably never be a bold dog.  Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Bogart the Cardigan on December 27, 2012 at 1:22pm

I agree that your Ollie probably just isn't used to the noise and the traffic.  Bogart was 6 months old when we got him and was raised in a rural area.  When walking him in our neighborhood I noticed he was especially scared of the school bus but also cars as they drove by.  Now, 3 months later, he doesn't even notice the school bus and cars, just continues happily sniffing and marking every mailbox post on our daily walks.

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Permalink Reply by Phil Bonhard on January 2, 2013 at 10:06am

Hi everyone,

again thanks for the tips!

We got him when he was 10 weeks old, but then he had to stay home for another 4 weeks because of the immunisations.

I took Ollie to the countryside the other day and while the trip there (London tube, then train) was quite scary for him, he loved the countryside!

We headed out to the fields where he met horses for the first time.  Funnily enough he was not scared of those at all and started herding them immediately.

I guess we'll just have to be patient with ...

cheers,

Phil

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