How do you deal with a fearful puppy?.

[Lake Girl, Lizette]

b>I need advice from you guys/gals about a wonderful labradoodle almost 9 months old. I got her when she was almost 5 months old. She is the sweetest girl...loves me and my husband but is extremely fearful of people...anybody. She really dislikes men. She is easily scared if you bump into her of a sudden noise startles her, but my biggest concern is her lack of ability to socialize with others. I have had her in training and she finally on the last two visits let a few people touch her. She refuses treats from others and yes, I take her for walks in public places, go to petco, and outside malls but she still does not like people. Sometimes if she will even react to me if I call her to give her a cookie and refuses to come. I have problems with come only if she thinks I am about to do something like clean her ears, etc. Currently, we have our little Molly that had to undergo emergency intestinal surgery due to a blockage caused from infrection and constriction of her lg. intestines. It has been quite a month full of surprises. If you have a skitish , frearful dog let me know what you have done to help remedy the situation. My problem is I can't ever leave she will not go outside to potty and hides from them....even if she knows them. Any advice. Thanks

[Adina P]

That sounds pretty severe. Sounds to me like your BEST bet is to hire a behaviorist...perhaps interview a few to be sure you are comfortable with them and then pick one to try.

One other suggestion...until this has been solved or greatly improved...NEVER call her to 'come' when you're going to do something unpleasant to her like ear cleaning. Better to go get her or bribe her with a cookie but don't use the 'come' command as it could tarnish the command and her obedience to it.

[Trowby]

Hi again Lizette. I wonder what happened. She was crate shipped to you. Maybe something during transit spooked her. I think a behavioral person would be good. When Sage was little I had strangers give her treats. Maybe that would help. Best. Trowby

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Hi,
I am going through the exact same things with my Honey. She was abused and is not trusting of anyone, other than myself. When we go to the doggy park she will play but mostly with Hannah my other doodle. I have also done like you are taking her places like Walmart, pet stores to socialize her, and she still does not respond well or trust others petting her. I have tried to start small with her, not a lot of people around her and gradually taking her out more. So far it seems if I let her get use to 1 to 2 people at a time she starts to make up with them. Once I add someone new its like starting all over again. Honey had ear mites, scabieis, and scarpotic mange so she hates being groomed and ears done also. I do not make a big deal out of doing this with her, I just get her and brush her and try and do her ears while telling her all along she is such a good girl and give her rewards in a very upbeat, calm tone of voice, positive reinforcement is helping but also is taking a while for her to understand. I think it really is best to get a pet sitter and let them work with your dog also, the dogs will get to know the pet sitter and someone who you can rely on to help take care of the dogs, this way if you need to go somewhere and the dogs can't, you have someone they know and will accept. It takes time, a lot of time. I have had Honey for almost 4 months and got her at age 6 months, she was crated and mistreated for the first 6 months of her life. The best thing for these dogs is constant reinforcement to assure they will never be hurt again. I also agree a behaviorist might help, however I have not gone that route yet with Honey and trying to give her the time to adapt on her own. After working with her for 3 months she is finally starting to accept me and wanting to cuddle with me, it's hard to have a dog like this but I believe with Practice, Patient's, and lots of Praise they will be alright. To me the key is finding a way to their broken hearts and rebuilding them.
Best of luck also with Molly, I can really sympathizes with intestinal surgery for a dog, my brothers Doberman just passed away on Monday after having 3 surgeries on his intestines, 7,000.00 later and feeding him the Vet's diet which cost him over 80.00 a month for 2 cases of food, and also hamburger and rice in between the can food. The doberman was only turning 2 years old this month. My family is very upset over all of this, so I can sympathize how you feel with Molly. Take care, Good Luck, DeniseNHannahNHoney

[Debbie, Brianna and Duncan]

Lizette, Your dogs are beautiful. I think this can be common at this age, but I am no expert. Something to consider is the info found here in this article..I found it very interesting reading and hope it is helpful to you. I wish all the best to you and hope the last sentence in this article will be true.

http://www.doberman.org/articles/puppy.htm The following is copied from this article......

Second Fear Imprint Period (6 - 14 Months) The Second Fear Imprint Period is similar to the one that occurred during the socialization period, but, it is much less defined. It occurs as dogs enter adolescence and seems more common in males. It is often referred to as adolescent shyness. Your dog may suddenly become reluctant to approach something new or suddenly become afraid of something familiar. This behavior can be very frustrating to the owner and difficult to understand because its onset is so sudden and, seemingly, unprovoked. If you notice this behavior, it is important to avoid the two extremes in response: Don't force him to do or approach something frightening to him and don't coddle or baby him. To get through situations that make your dog fearful, be patient, kind, and understanding. Desensitize him to the object or situation by gradually introducing him to it and using food rewards and praise to entice him to confront the fearful object or situation. Do not coddle or reassure him in any way that will encourage his fearful behavior. Do not correct him either. Simply make light of it and encourage him give him food rewards as he begins to deal with his fear better. Make sure you lavishly praise his attempts! This phase will pass.

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I just want to add that Nestle is from us, she was the most loving and well balanced girl before she left us. We often took her with us to the pet store and she was socialized with a great number of people including men and children.

Our best solution has been to continue training to help her gain confidence. Dont feed her during the day before she goes to training, this will make her more food motivated, have different people in class work with her during class. She will be attracted to anyone with food, make her treats extra yummy~ not dry food or commercial treats, actually use meat and or cheese.

Tether her to you during the day and feed her by hand, when ever you ask her to come to your make yourself irresistable. I know that she loves you and Gary but this is how she is going to learn to trust you completly. She must stay on a leash at all times so that she can't hind and run away.

Doggy daycare or a dog walker may also be needed to help her outside the home with strangers.

She was a much loved girl here and we will take her back in a heart beat.

[Debbie, Brianna and Duncan]

Hi Kendra, Molly is such a pretty girl. Now I can see why I thought so, she is one of yours! Hey, I am taking a Tellington TTouch class right now. Have you ever checked put this method/training? If so, what do you think? I touched on it (no pun intended) with a handout from a behaviorist many years ago. I have found it very beneficial with my other older dog who suffered from fear aggression and now I am using it, with more in depth training, for her neurological issues and spine/hip ailments...she falls down a lot. It can serve for so many reasons. One is for shy/fearful, barking, leash pulling..etc. I think it is quite good and boy my doodles love the TTouch, just because!

http://www.ttouch.com/whyTTouch.shtml

[Noble Vestal Labradoodles]

I have heard of TT and really like it. I havent found a class here in my area yet.

Molly is from Spring Creek and Nestle is from me~ I am so sad that she is scared right now....

I really enjoyed talking to you last summer, hope your crew is doing well.

[Debbie, Brianna and Duncan]

Hi Kendra, I did too. We are doing very well thanks. Hey, I was just chatting with our trainer and she mentioned D.A.P collars. She is starting a trial with them and some of her clients. They sound interesting.

http://www.entirelypets.com/dapcollar.html

If you click on the inset 1 it give some really good explanation to what it offers.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

That is really interesting. I had no idea there was such a thing.

[Clare]

Pebbles is very timed with lots of peeople especially men - my partner included. As far as we know she has never had a bad experience with men. Any advice would be great.

[Lynne B]

I read the advice from your breeder in this thread and it is 'spot on'. I don't think anyone knows why a pup that is well socialized all of a sudden becomes fearful, or even worse aggressive- but you can work through this! Don't EVER EVER listen to anyone who suggests forcing the dog to submit to the approach of a stranger, don't use any coercive methods, only positive reinforcement and alot of patience. this is an excellent site with tons of good information;
http://fearfuldog.com/
click on some of the subjects on the left sidebar. Good luck keep us informed. And if you get a trainer, please find one who is CCPDT or APDT certified