hand shy corgi puppy

We have had Russell, our 11 week old corgi, since he was 7 weeks old. He has always been a little shy about being picked up or approached but he seems to be getting even more shy. We have to lure him with treats to get him to come near us and he backs away or runs and hides if we make a motion towards him. He likes to play, will bring us toys to throw or play tug, and seems confident when playing but can quickly become skittish. Has any had a similar experience with their corgi?

Stephanie

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Comment by Mike and Vicki Baylus on January 25, 2012 at 8:08am: One of my corgis backs up if I go towards her with my hand. She will come to me and lay by me if I am on the floor, and "ask" to be rubbed and scratched. When it comes time to put her leash on for a walk I have to wait for her to come. She wants to go for a walk but has to fight that back-up feelings to go. I have to let her come to me on her own time. I think the rewards out way her fears on that. I think it is important to use a soothing command voice and be patient. She is 1 1/2 now and it gets better over time.

Comment by Stephanie on January 21, 2012 at 3:21pm: Neither of mine like to be picked up - and if you overpower their resistance they will wiggle wildly to escape even flipping out of your arms.

As for being approached, if I come at them suddenly they back up like they're scared, but when I change my approach - turn my hand over or something like that, they calm down.

Corgis are just really independent and don't want to be "handled" a lot - mine come to me to be loved on and when they're done, they're done. We live on corgi time.

Comment by Snickmom on January 21, 2012 at 12:40pm: Snickers has always hated being picked up. She will snarl and growl until you get her in your arms then she will tolerate it. She does not want to be cuddled, she wants to PLAY. She is 4 now, and I recently started learning about conditioning and am trying to get her where she will tolerate being picked up and cuddled. We are making progress, especially in the evenings when she is tired. Her breeder was small and Snickers had children to play with. She would go nuts trying to get at young children at parks, so I assume they would pick her up. We blame my mom for giving her a taste of ice cream when we first got her LOL. I suggest reading up on conditioning, where you give the dog rewards for letting you get close and touching. There is also a skill called targeting that I am going to start working with Snickers on where you teach them to touch something like the palm of a hand. The touch brings a treat and since it is initiated by the dog and the hand makes no attempt to approach him, he gains confidence. Good luck.