Fearful? Shy? Unsocialized? - Page 2 - Poodle Forum - Standard Poodle, Toy Poodle, Miniature Poodle Forum ALL Poodle owners too!

Lou · 12-27-2012, 10:08 AM

Fjm, thanks, i believe what my husband has told me several times : "Lou is the perfect dog!! You dont have to worry about her having issues, she is fine!" - he has had spoos his whole life / his family as well, and he says she is by far the best! So.. Her being trained, more confident will definitely make me realize there is nothing to be anxious about :-) thanks again, and I'm fine LOL

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lily cd re · 12-27-2012, 12:53 PM

Lou as I think I said in the other thread that addressed this issue, and this deals with the OP's concerns too, our dogs read our emotions so very well we cannot lie to them. When we are worried or concerned about how our dogs will act in a situation that reminds us of something bad (being attacked by another dog, whatever happened to the dog before it was re-homed, issues with men wearing hats, etc.) it often becomes a self fulfilling prophecy that there will be problems, not because the dog went into the situation fearful or reactive, but because we went in that way.

When Lily was an older puppy and we started to really walk extensively in our neighborhood, I found I had a problem walking past a certain house where there is an extremely unstable German Shepherd Dog. This dog's barking when we walked by could raise the dead! Lily's tail would drop as we got about two houses away. She would then stop and sit or pull away from me on her leash. It was very hard to get her to pass this house. After a few days of this I decided just to ignore the energy and the noise and keep moving like it wasn't happening at all. I just put my best upbeat attitude on and said let's go when Lily started to hesitate and we made it by no problem. We now walk past that house with no concerns.

Poobear and Lou, your dogs will get great benefits from you being peaceful and relaxed in the moments that concern you.

Poobear · 12-27-2012, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjm

I know exactly what you mean - I worried so much that Poppy was fearful when she was a pup, until I read up on truly fearful dogs, and realised she just needed lots and lots of careful socialisation to be perfectly OK! Excellent information here: Fearfuldogs' Blog on helping shy and fearful dogs.

I think I was mainly worried she would be that little yappy and scared dog you always see but once I watched videos I realized she is nothing like that! Just needs time to get used to everything

Thank you for the link!

Poobear · 12-27-2012, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lou

Thanks to all! Great info! Lou was shy, but was warming up quickly. Some people hate me for doing this, but after she got attacked by 2 dogs ( she did not get hurt) she was very scared of dogs, and wanted badly to great people (tail wagging) but would back up when they tried to pet her, it was getting better, But again what people hated me for doing was sending her to a 2 week dog resort and training center! I researched it a ton!! And the place seemed awesome! And they introduce 3 new people everyday, and they go slow as the dog gets more comfortable... She played with large group of dogs and got trained and a daily physical exam and got brushed to get used to bring touched by strangers... So, I'm a nervous wreck and Lou would feel my anxiety around people and dogs for not knowing how she was going to react, I think I did a good think for her, because I did not know how to help any further. But again got references and really checked the place out, she even got pictures with Santa on the 23rd!!!! So awesome, this is just MY personal experience, Im not educated to give advice. i wish u the best :-) (sorry long post)

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Aw that is wonderful! Glad it helped Lou! I was thinking of doing an obedience class with Lucy later on, I think it would be very fun for us and help her get socialized. Thanks! Lou is very beautiful btw!

lily cd re · 12-29-2012, 06:53 AM

Lily and I have gotten great benefits from our obedience work. She is very well socialized from all her travels to trials. She can be touched by anyone, since she has had men and women, young and old as judges in the stand for exam in novice and now preparing for utility. We also have really deepened our relationship as a team through our preparation in class, on our own and in matches and trials. Poobear, even if you don't do trials you should go to a class (maybe CGC) because you will find that it will help lots of the things you initially expressed concern about go away.

Lou · 01-06-2013, 07:57 AM

Thanks poobear, Lou is back :-) so happy to have her home and being even more obedient, her hair is sooooo long LOL

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Lou · 01-06-2013, 09:30 AM

One more... Happy sleepy puppy :-)

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