Very nervous pup

pudzey101

Hi all posting this for my mam :cool:
ha shes got a German Shepard just gone 1 year old now (don't know if you'd still call it a pup, she's massive :eek: )
But the dog is wicked nervous around other people and hates any contact what so ever, always does a piddle when someone goes to approach or rub her ( but a very good guard dog when shes at home)
She did have parvo-virus at a very young age but survived it with a lot of care and help
What could be the problem?
Any help will be greatly appreciated !!

pudz

mymo

Do you have some friendly dog loving friends or neighbours that may help?

You need to build her confidence up, have them come to visit, walk around, don't notice the dog, produce some yummy treats and drop one here and there around the place. Still not noticing the dog, after a few short visits, see is the dog showing interest or approaching them (even if not that close)they can then say hello calmly "hello *insert dogs name*" in a friendly voice, then turn away and drop a treat.

She will gradually get more confidence and hopefully approach them herself, when she gets to the point of nudging their hands for the treats, they can tell her to sit or something and give the treat. Build up gradually to letting her sniff their hands and then a light touch.
Most important thing is don't push it, it will take time, she may never be really comfortable with people petting her (apart from family).

Start with two or 3 people, gradually add more one at a time is important.

Best of luck.

pudzey101

mymo wrote: »

Do you have some friendly dog loving friends or neighbours that may help?

You need to build her confidence up, have them come to visit, walk around, don't notice the dog, produce some yummy treats and drop one here and there around the place. Still not noticing the dog, after a few short visits, see is the dog showing interest or approaching them (even if not that close)they can then say hello calmly "hello *insert dogs name*" in a friendly voice, then turn away and drop a treat.

She will gradually get more confidence and hopefully approach them herself, when she gets to the point of nudging their hands for the treats, they can tell her to sit or something and give the treat. Build up gradually to letting her sniff their hands and then a light touch.
Most important thing is don't push it, it will take time, she may never be really comfortable with people petting her (apart from family).

Start with two or 3 people, gradually add more one at a time is important.

Best of luck.

Ah she does meet up with friends in the park that have other dogs yes
great help
I wont rush it by any means it could only make her worse if i do , i know that
its just weird though i have being around plenty of GSD and not one of them iv ever encountered where the slightest bit nervous lol

Whispered

I have a dog who's terrified of cars and he also had parvo, he missed a pretty important part of his socialisation, confined to the house, so while his brothers and sister were out and about getting used to cars in our town he was sleeping and recovering, then his vaccinations were delayed by a good few weeks. We also had to bring him to the vet in the car when he was practically dead, so his early car memories are not good! So in our case the parvo had a life long psychological effect. Although we're working on it!

Maybe your mams girly had a similar thing, maybe visits were kept to a minimum when she was sick so she could recover in peace, meaning she didn't get a lot of people socialisation at a young age. Maybe she was feeling particularly bad and a vet/vet nurse/ some other "stranger" touched her and she associates that with her feeling bad.

Of course there is a chance she's just a particurlary nervous dog.

Does she have people she likes outside of the home or is she nervous of everyone? Is there a particular place that she is more nervous, or particular type of people (ie men, tall people, people with beards, people wearing red etc - and don't laugh, I swear I know a dog who dislikes red-heads)? Is she usually with your mother when she gets scared, or if you walk with her is she the same? Does she behave in the same way when someone comes into the house, or is it just out walking? Is she well behaved? Is she confident at home when it's just your mother there? So many questions!!!