Loving people....?!

[Michelle Williams]

Hi all!  Our Marley has been with us for almost 2 weeks and she is now 18 weeks old.  She loves other dogs but has only "taken" to two of my neighbors (they both have dogs).  When around anyone other than them (except my husband and my son), she will hide behind me or if she does attempt to approach them, will only go so far and will turn away.  I was just given a comment that has me really nervous and that is....that doodles tend not to like people and can be "skiddish".  I never ran across this in my research - actually very to the contrary - and I need to prepare myself if this is what I can expect.  Can anyone shed some light on this?  Am I expecting too much too soon?  I will add that this was the case when my parents came to my place....so its not just "outside".  Thank you so much!

[Julie and Max]

Max loves people too much, and I have had to work with him a lot to get him to calm down and let others have their personal space and come to him. 

Like others have said, let Marley greet people at her pace. Don't let others rush at her. When possible have them not look directly at her, approach her from the side, quiet and calmly. Let her sniff them before they touch her. Have them pet her under the chin rather than hand over the head (it's less threatening to them). I would be careful how much you hug and comfort her because sometimes you can end up promoting her fear rather than soothing it. Try to be calm and relaxed so that she can learn to be calm and relaxed. I am sure she will come around with lots of love and patience on your part. :)

[April S.]

My Luna loves people too... she thinks anyone and everyone no matter where she is or how far away they are should want to LOVE HER.  We got her at 10 weeks old and she kinda came that way and has continued down that path.... with that said - The breeder that Luna came from had 9 children under age 12. = )

[Minda and Callie]

Callie was that way too, skiddish about some people and doing things.  She is almost 9 months old now and growing out of that stage.  She use to be super scared to go up stairs and just this week she has started to run up them!  It was amazing how she went from standing at the bottom to just running up them like it was no big deal!  I bet Marley will be just fine :)

[Linda And Loo]

Michelle, my Loo was cautious when she first met new dogs or people. She soon grew out of that mode! Loo is not as out going as my Cavense but she sure loves people and other dogs. You need to gently introduce her to other dogs and people. With family, start by having them to come in and ignore her at first and let her come to them on her terms. As her confidence grows the more friendly she will become! Soon you will be asking for tips on how to calm your dog down when she first meets people. Remember you are introducing her to a whole new world! It can be a little overwhelming at first!

[Michelle Williams]

Thank you so much, everyone!!!  I am comforted by your posts and starting using your tips tonight on our walk.  She is curious about people so I am guessing that is a good sign. I am very grateful to have found this site and all of you!  Thanks again!!!  Michelle & Marley

[Shanen Sadowski]

I'm very interested in this post because our Maslow is also very "skiddish"!  I too am surprised by this because I've heard they make great therapy dogs (my dream and a HUGE part of why I picked this breed).  She has NEVER been hit, purposely scared or any such awful thing.  But she jumps at everything and runs to us or the house to hide whenever anything is different.  (A garbage can outside?  Terrifying! :)  She's 5 mos old and seems to be getting better about people, but still is so scared of THINGS.  Would love any ideas of how to work on this.  I try calling her over to what she's afraid of and rewarding any movement towards it, but this will be a very long road!

[Linda And Loo]

Garbage cans scared Loo too! Trash pickup days became a training day for us! She would see the Garbage can at the end of the drive way and put on the brakes! Well we would approach them very slowly and RB, my Cavanese sniffed first and then Loo would watch and eventually she would walk up to them on her own! We worked on the sound of rolling them too. A little at a time. Now she ignores trash cans and I can can roll the empty can back up the drive way after our walk and the dogs are with me! It takes a lot of reassurance and patience but Loo is now two and normal! Some fears just disappear, some take a little work. There was a phase in Loo's development that I used "it's ok, Loo" alot! Just don't make a big deal of the situation but do reassure her and then move on.

[Minda and Callie]

Callie was that way too when she younger.  I took her to 2 puppy classes that had agility training.  All the other dogs would climb the ladders, run through the tubes, not Callie.  She was scared to death.  By the end of the class I could barely get her to walk on them and this took a lot of treats.  Now, just out of no where she is running up our stairs.  Callie use to take one stair at a time and half the time I would have to carry her down.  Not anymore! She beats me to the top every time.  So hang in there.  I think this could be normal for some dogs and they out grow it. :)

[Julie and Max]

Shanen I have read that you can get your dog used to noises by desensitizing them. First use training like trick training or games, then either record the sounds that scare him or you can buy cds. Start them at a very low volume almost so that you can't hear it (but your dog can) and train and play games while it's on. Eventually you can start turning up the volume slowly, until they get used to the sounds. There are cds you can buy on amazon if you don't want to make your own. 

http://www.amazon.com/Calm-Pet-Desensitizing-Sounds-Animals/dp/B002...

[Shanen Sadowski]

Thanks, Julie! I will try that.  I'm thinking I'll try to set things out at home that a visual too.  (I had a huge poster set out today and she went running for the other room! ) 

[Julie and Max]

Aww poor baby :(

Max isn't too scared of many things, but he is scared of real organ music (lol I know that's weird, but we went walking by this house at christmas where someone was playing the organ inside and he freaked) and the cloth sign on the walmart that flaps in the wind which we walk by almost every day. Not much I can do about the organ but I do keep on walking by that sign like it's nothing and he's getting more used to it. 

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

I've never heard that doodles tend not to like people -- some are just more outgoing than others. Some are more reserved.  I think Marley is normal and just trying to figure out her world.  In our puppy class, the trainer would hold our pup while each of us went around the room and introduced ourselves to each dog with a treat.  It took some dogs several sessions to feel comfortable with strangers.  I used to carry treats in my pocket on our walks and if someone asked to pet him, I would ask him to sit and ask the stranger to give him a small treat before he/she petted him. Socialize, socialize, socialize.  And be careful not to reward her skittish behavior by comforting her.  This will only teach her that there is something to be scared of.  Also, well meaning people sometimes don't understand that coming right at a dog and bending over them or grabbing them is threatening and the dog will naturally back off. Finn is good with everyone, and he's a wonderful therapy dog -- but he has his own opinion as to who deserves his show of affection.  And no matter who he's with, he always has one eye on me, because he's not about to let me wander off :)