Dog Training Your Shy Or Timid Dog
I am telling you two of my stories so you can help your shy or timid dog live a normal life and have fun in it.
I have had a dog since I was four years old.
I trained my first dog tricks and he would do almost anything I asked of him.
Some how dog training just came natural to me.
I believe that this is how it is.
With some people dog training is natural and with others it must be learned.
I don't know why this is, however, all of us are born with different talents.
Over the years, I was never without a dog and most of the time we had several dogs.
There was never a time that I could not work through any problems until, along came Kiki.
We are getting a little ahead of ourselves now.
Let's start with Manny.
Manny we adopted because no one else wanted him.
He has deformed back legs, extremely large ears and is shy and non-responsive to anyone that approaches him.
Oh, he is a purebred Greyhound and we saw him the first time at a picnic for Arizona Adopt A Greyhound.
At that time we were not looking for another dog and did not even consider him or any other dog.
The day after the picnic, a friend of ours that was there asked my husband if we saw Manny.
He did not recall seeing him and our friend told Carl about him.
She said you should see if he was adopted and if not, you guys should take him.
You could give him a good home and help him with his shyness.
Carl called to ask if I knew if he had been adopted, which I did not.
Long story short, we ended up with Manny.
We went and picked him up and brought him home from the race track.
It was in November and rather chilly out.
We got him loaded into the SUV and off we went.
All the way home I tried to talk to him and encourage him to come up close to the front seat to see me and get love.
Not a Chance! He cowered in the very back corner and shook all the way home.
Finally we arrived home and coaxed him to come with us out of the SUV and into the house.
We have a doggie door and that is always the first thing we show any new dog we bring home.
As soon as we showed it to him, and he realized he could make his escape, he zoomed through it and - just as fast - we heard a large splash in the pool, loud yelps and Greyhound feet trampling about the yard.
I swear, if I did not know better, I would swear he walked on the water.
He jumped in one side and came out straight across on the other side.
The very odd part is, most Greyhounds can't or won't swim.
He flew straight across and out the other side before we could even get through the door and out back.
I am only telling you all of this to let you see how severe his shyness and fear of strangers was.
Yes, I said was.
He has now traveled all over the Southwest with us and has attended, not competed, many AKC Trials, with us and Kiki.
We will now get to her story.
As this unfolds, you will learn the secrets of helping these less fortunate dogs.
Arizona Adopt A Greyhound actually called us to see if we would foster Kiki for them and socialize her so they could adopt her out.
Well, Carl fell in love with her before we even arrived home, and that was that as far as foster home.
We called and told them she was adopted.
Kiki was even worse than Manny.
The very first day, she crawled under our computer desk, which she was much too large to fit under, and ripped her side open.
I mean open.
It cost us over $1,000 to take care of her wound.
As time went on she just was not responding the way we thought she should.
This was the first time I was at a loss.
Then I found a trainer that specialized in problem dogs.
This was all I needed.
I took off and ran with it.
Just to let you know how bad Kiki was, at the first dog training lesson, she would have been inside my skin if she could have gotten any closer to me.
If someone else approached us, I thought she was going to shake herself off her own legs.
Now, through what I am going to share with you, you too will be able to bring your dog into a normal life.
To start with, let them know that you love them, but that you are in control.
This will actually be the great secret you were looking for.
They don't want to be in control, they want you to love them and they want to know exactly what you expect and want from them.
Let's start by giving them a place that is only theirs and this will become their safe place.
Choose an object like a pillow, rug, or purchase a bed or raised cot for them.
We will call this "place" and teach them to stay on it when told place.
You do this by taking them to it and telling them place, if they try to get off, just place them back on it with the same command "place".
Don't make them stay for extended periods of time at first.
Start small and add time as you go.
In a very short time, your dog will like it there and feel safe and secure.
There is your first secret, you made them feel safe and secure.
As you continue with this structure, they will start feeling that way more often and soon they will start gaining self confidence.
As you are continuing with this positive training, make them feel they are the smartest dog that ever lived.
Never yell at them or make them feel less important.
You also do not want to make them feel in control or that they have to take control.
This is not what these dogs want.
They want a pack leader and not have to be pack leader.
Now you can continue on with general obedience training.
The thing to remember, is that you must remain in control with love and confidence building.
At this point, I do not use any treats other than love and building up their spirits and confidence.
It will take longer with some of these shy dogs than others, but it will work every time.
Just give it time.
Work with them every day and move to a new command every week.
You will soon see a huge difference.
Using this method of love and building up, becoming the pack leader by your dog training, and leading in your training will get your dog right where you want him.
I have had a dog since I was four years old.
I trained my first dog tricks and he would do almost anything I asked of him.
Some how dog training just came natural to me.
I believe that this is how it is.
With some people dog training is natural and with others it must be learned.
I don't know why this is, however, all of us are born with different talents.
Over the years, I was never without a dog and most of the time we had several dogs.
There was never a time that I could not work through any problems until, along came Kiki.
We are getting a little ahead of ourselves now.
Let's start with Manny.
Manny we adopted because no one else wanted him.
He has deformed back legs, extremely large ears and is shy and non-responsive to anyone that approaches him.
Oh, he is a purebred Greyhound and we saw him the first time at a picnic for Arizona Adopt A Greyhound.
At that time we were not looking for another dog and did not even consider him or any other dog.
The day after the picnic, a friend of ours that was there asked my husband if we saw Manny.
He did not recall seeing him and our friend told Carl about him.
She said you should see if he was adopted and if not, you guys should take him.
You could give him a good home and help him with his shyness.
Carl called to ask if I knew if he had been adopted, which I did not.
Long story short, we ended up with Manny.
We went and picked him up and brought him home from the race track.
It was in November and rather chilly out.
We got him loaded into the SUV and off we went.
All the way home I tried to talk to him and encourage him to come up close to the front seat to see me and get love.
Not a Chance! He cowered in the very back corner and shook all the way home.
Finally we arrived home and coaxed him to come with us out of the SUV and into the house.
We have a doggie door and that is always the first thing we show any new dog we bring home.
As soon as we showed it to him, and he realized he could make his escape, he zoomed through it and - just as fast - we heard a large splash in the pool, loud yelps and Greyhound feet trampling about the yard.
I swear, if I did not know better, I would swear he walked on the water.
He jumped in one side and came out straight across on the other side.
The very odd part is, most Greyhounds can't or won't swim.
He flew straight across and out the other side before we could even get through the door and out back.
I am only telling you all of this to let you see how severe his shyness and fear of strangers was.
Yes, I said was.
He has now traveled all over the Southwest with us and has attended, not competed, many AKC Trials, with us and Kiki.
We will now get to her story.
As this unfolds, you will learn the secrets of helping these less fortunate dogs.
Arizona Adopt A Greyhound actually called us to see if we would foster Kiki for them and socialize her so they could adopt her out.
Well, Carl fell in love with her before we even arrived home, and that was that as far as foster home.
We called and told them she was adopted.
Kiki was even worse than Manny.
The very first day, she crawled under our computer desk, which she was much too large to fit under, and ripped her side open.
I mean open.
It cost us over $1,000 to take care of her wound.
As time went on she just was not responding the way we thought she should.
This was the first time I was at a loss.
Then I found a trainer that specialized in problem dogs.
This was all I needed.
I took off and ran with it.
Just to let you know how bad Kiki was, at the first dog training lesson, she would have been inside my skin if she could have gotten any closer to me.
If someone else approached us, I thought she was going to shake herself off her own legs.
Now, through what I am going to share with you, you too will be able to bring your dog into a normal life.
To start with, let them know that you love them, but that you are in control.
This will actually be the great secret you were looking for.
They don't want to be in control, they want you to love them and they want to know exactly what you expect and want from them.
Let's start by giving them a place that is only theirs and this will become their safe place.
Choose an object like a pillow, rug, or purchase a bed or raised cot for them.
We will call this "place" and teach them to stay on it when told place.
You do this by taking them to it and telling them place, if they try to get off, just place them back on it with the same command "place".
Don't make them stay for extended periods of time at first.
Start small and add time as you go.
In a very short time, your dog will like it there and feel safe and secure.
There is your first secret, you made them feel safe and secure.
As you continue with this structure, they will start feeling that way more often and soon they will start gaining self confidence.
As you are continuing with this positive training, make them feel they are the smartest dog that ever lived.
Never yell at them or make them feel less important.
You also do not want to make them feel in control or that they have to take control.
This is not what these dogs want.
They want a pack leader and not have to be pack leader.
Now you can continue on with general obedience training.
The thing to remember, is that you must remain in control with love and confidence building.
At this point, I do not use any treats other than love and building up their spirits and confidence.
It will take longer with some of these shy dogs than others, but it will work every time.
Just give it time.
Work with them every day and move to a new command every week.
You will soon see a huge difference.
Using this method of love and building up, becoming the pack leader by your dog training, and leading in your training will get your dog right where you want him.
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