Timid Pup?
When we first met Ein, he instantly ran up to us, was energetic and playful, and seemed completely content. We brought him home that day to our place in the city - a much different environment than he was used to. The first day or two he didn't seem to mind the new elements much, but ever since then he's gotten much more timid and scared of all sorts of things. When we're in our apartment, he's very happy and playful, but once we go outside, he's very easily spooked by just about anything - buses, cars, people, even a foot scraping the ground next to him.
We fully expected an adjustment period for our new boy - after all, he's just over 2, and adult dogs need more time to adjust to such major changes. We just resolved to giving him lots of love and attention. And in truth, the third week we had him, we saw a definite improvement in his demeanor - but his timidness of anything outside the walls of our apartment is still very much there.
Does anyone have any advice on this? Is this a waiting game, or is there something else we should be doing? I'd hate for him to feel so scared of his environment all of the time, and would also hate for a dog that once seemed quite fearless to be scared of so much!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen Dadisman on
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Try taking him out at a time when it is quieter. Arm yourself with treats and use them to distract him. Teach him to look at you and then treat him. Praise him when he is calm and don't give him sympathy when he is scared. Go for short walks at first and keep it upbeat. He'll get used to things. If you remain calm, he'll see there's nothing to be afraid of and will relax.
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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on
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Hi Ian, find a bench and just sit there with him for an evening, bring water for him and a beer for yourself. People watch and let strangers pet Ein / interact. Do this several times a week and he'll learn to adapt in no time.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Markley on
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Give him time. It takes awhile for them to adjust to their new settings. Plus they wonder what the heck is going on...am I staying, going, what's up? Jackson was really skittish around everything and everybody for probably the first month. Once he figured out we weren't going to beat him, and that we could be trusted, he got much easier to calm. Now we can just look at him if he startles, and tell him "it's ok", and he goes on his merry little way.
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Permalink Reply by Ian Lollar on
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That's what we figured - he'd just need time. It has been a little over a month now, so I figured I wouldn't sound "crazy-guy" worried if I posted about it here :) I definitely know what you mean about "figuring out we weren't going to beat him" - sometimes the way Ein gets startled makes it look like he thinks something is going to attack of hit him!
Did you get Jackson as an adult? I'm just trying to figure out if this is common among adopting adult corgis.
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Permalink Reply by Jane Christensen on
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I hope it's ok that I answer for Jennifer...I rescued Jackson from a puppy mill that was ordered to surrender 3groups of 10 Corgis. I took 4 of the 2nd group. They lived in the country but then so do I. Corgis (as young pups) needs lots of socialization and so my rescues missed a vital part of that. My others that I still have will cower if there's loud noises and are not used to the city. It will take some time but he may still have some scared times. It takes at least 30 days for them to get used to a new situation and then you have to figure that depending on his past it may take longer.
That's what is so great about MyCorgi is that we can post questions and get answers:)
PS...Sam has great advice and along with the beer don't forget treats and even ask some people to visit with him and give him a treat!
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Ein seems like he was well socialized as a pup - he's never bugged out around other dogs (big or small), and he usually loves attention from people. He was starting some show training, so he was used to traveling and being in new environments. He actually loves car rides, which is great because he love taking him places!
And yet as we walk him down the block, if he sees someone else, he suddenly becomes very wary. The closer we get, the less inclined he is to keep walking, and often times he'll stop altogether, and it can be very difficult to get him walking again.
After meeting the breeder and going to her place, I can't imagined he was mistreated, but I suppose you never know, do you? Some of the info she gave us about him has turned out to be a bit little different than what we originally understood. We finally received his AKC papers today, and as it turns out, he's actually closer to 3 than 2, and his hip evaluations were marked as "fair" even though she said his hips checked out well (is "fair" considered normal?).
My wife and I are finding MyCorgi extremely helpful - we're naive new corgi owners, and you're all helping out so much! Thank you!
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Permalink Reply by Jane on
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What I would do is get a treat pouch and fill it with the yummiest treats you can find (chicken, hot dog, cheese, etc). Take him for a short walk and any time you see something coming up that might cause him to be scared, quickly say his name and give him the treat. Keep treating and talking to him in a happy voice until you've passed the scary thing. If he's too afraid to walk, just keep his attention on you with the treats until the person has passed and then continue on. You want him to learn to look to you for guidance when he sees something he's not sure about instead of just shutting down.
I've heard the book "Control Unleashed" is great for timid dogs but I haven't read it personally, I've been hoping my library would get it one of these days. I would also recommend taking some sort of class with him to help build a strong bond between the two of you. Obedience or maybe a beginner agility class would be really fun IMO.
A "fair" rating is fine for hips. Anything lower than that is not usually considered good breeding material but they can certainly be wonderful pets.
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Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
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Because he was with a breeder he was used to lots of other dogs around and probably very little street traffic etc. It takes a while for an adult dog to readjust to new surroundings. We adopted our son's dobe when he moved out of the country last year and she is learning how to travel all over with us after years of being in one home with very little interaction with new people and surroundings. At first she was timid but after 2 1/2 months of traveling she is beginning to lean towards new people and really enjoys being petted and sniffing new areas. I am sure it helps that our corgis think traveling is a blast. Remain patient and I like Sam's idea of sitting outside for a few hours regularly.
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I believe what Bev says is correct. When I think of my own dogs who are socialized but they don't get to towns where there is alot of traffic. When we go to classes or to the pet stores in a larger town we get out in the parking lots and go in. So at a distance they see/hear the busy streets but we really don't experience this. Just a thought. He probably had similar experiences since he is used to dogs and people but maybe not used to being in the middle of the busy streets etc.
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