Shy

[Joy D]

I adopted a rescued corgi in Feb. When she first came home, she seemed confident and friendly with other people. Over the few months here, she has become very shy and sesitive to noises. How can I help her? She is still very loving with my daughter and I. Strangers are a no go.

[peep_erz]

Have you gone through any training with her? If you have you can have her do focus exercises while introducing new stuff.

Strummer was super approachable and outgoing when we went to pick him up from the rescue. After we brought him home he started shying away from Colins friends when we introduced them (all male) and he would shy away from rough play. When we got him he warmed up to Colin immediately so we were shocked when he didn't want to meet other people. He has shown he is afraid of new noises but is ok when reassured and repeated.

I think when we got him he was in his "wild dog survival" mode. Approach everything because he had nothing to lose. Now that he is comfortable he can show his fears and uncertainty.

[Jespah]

Hi Joy,

How old is?

Everything is about positive socialization and experiences. Definitely getting her into some basic obedience classes wil lhelp with a number of issues - manners, other dogs, and new people. What does she enjoy? Does she like to play fetch? Stuffies? Food? Try and get strangers who come to your home to do something positive with her.

Don't fall into the trap of coddling her by being overly attentive and telling her it's okay and pampering her. You have to show confidence as the "alpha" so she can feel confident.

[LoveMySadie]

Hi, and welcome! We adopted Sadie at 19 months from a breeder. She bonded immediately to my husband and me, and fairly quickly to our housekeeper. All other strangers are a completely different story! She is now 5 and is still very hesitant to come into the room if someone she doesn't know is there. She will eventually relax, and even warm up to our daughters and their families when they are here for several days at a time, but we have to start afresh each visit. I don't push her to meet people...she's not an agility dog, or obedience dog, or therapy dog, so she's not required to be around strangers very often. She's exceedingly happy with us, playful, affectionate, funny, and simply charming...so I've pretty much elected not to push her.

When we meet someone on our walks she will sit quietly at my feet while I visit for a minute or two. Then, when we walk away, she keeps glaring over her shoulder at the offending "stranger", like she's saying "See, I told you that person was trouble!" :TWITCHY:

Your corgi sounds much like Sadie! What is her name?

Leslie

[misspiz]

i think that getting her out into new surroundings and meeting new people and dogs would help - build her confidence.

[MVons]

She'll learn who and which dogs she likes and doesn't. Chester is less tolerant of large young dogs. Rightly so when they like to put their PAW on his long back. Sadly I have to reinforce his feelings as I don't want his back hurt.

[Kassie]

We got Maeve at 7 months and she had not been socialized enough as a pup. Also she was right at home with us right away, but we soon noticed she is shy of new people. It generally takes multiple meetings for her to relax. With some she never does. If she allows someone near her on a first meeting we know they are pretty special!. We have had her in classes and take her places. She is much better, but will never be the people lover her sister is. On the other hand, Maeve never met an animal she didn't like and Aine bears some watching on that front.