Shy Puppy

[Cass C]

I just joined this forum a few days ago, but I have been reading this forum for roughly a year now and have loved Border Collies as far back as I can remember. In August of last year I adopted a puppy from my local Humane Society I was told was a Border Collie/ Golden Retriever mix. She is the smartest most outgoing dog I have ever had the pleasure of training. She is a very social dog and about three weeks ago we decided that she could use a friend and we felt we were ready for a second dog.

 

I have been doing research on Border Collies for a long time, and I found the tips on how to locate a responsible breeder on this site very helpful. I live in a rural area with tons of working farms and ranches around. I found a breeder a couple hours away that had a litter of 12 week old Border Collies. The parents were both local herding trial winners and working cattle dogs. Out of the litter the runt female caught our attention, but the breeder made sure that we understood the female did not have a strong herding instinct. The breeder had been starting the litter on herding chickens, but the female had no interest in the herding and watched from a distance. Her siblings were definitely more bold than the little runt I picked out.

 

Initially I did not believe that would be an issue for me, because I was planning on training the puppy for agility not herding. At first I did not notice any serious issues, she is very affectionate to all the people she meets, and absolutely adores my my original dog Lyka. The feeling between the two dogs is definitely mutual, because they cuddle whenever possible and want to do everything together.

 

The problem that I'm having is my new puppy Lily is terrified of all other dogs. I have been trying to socialize her, because I enjoy taking my dogs with me everywhere I go whenever possible. I also have multiple play dates a week with other dogs, which Lyka has always loved and it makes me sad that Lily just cowers away from the other dogs. However if Lyka is playing the puppy will gladly join her, but if Lyka goes to get a drink or walks away from Lily she will bolt over to me or any object she can hide under.

 

I also have problems getting her show her training during the puppy class if she can see the other dogs. She would rather cower under a chair. The trainer understands that there is an issue, but the only advice she gave me was to wait it out and she will probably grow out of it. For me to compete in agility with Lily like I had planned she cannot have dog shyness so bad that it causes her to shut down. If need be I can give up the dream of making her a champion agility dog, but I'm holding out hope that someone will be able to help me.

 

Sorry for the long post, but I just wanted to make sure that you had all the possibly relevant information I could think of. Also I attached a couple pictures of my two dogs Lyka (The Golden dog) and Lily (The black and white puppy)

 

My question: Is being dog shy something that her non interest in herding should have tipped me off about? Also will she grow out of it or is there some way I can help her gain confidence around other dogs?

 

 

[gcv-border]

A couple of short notes since I need to go do errands: (I know others will chime in with excellent advice and more complete answers.)

 

Lack of interest in herding does NOT correlate with shyness - and yes, there are many techniques you can use to instill confidence in your dog.

 

There have been multiple posts on these boards about shy/fearful dogs and how to help them gain confidence. The basic concept is to expose your pup to fearful objects (humans/other dogs/scary machines/etc.) at a distance. The distance is dependent on the individual dog. Some dogs may need to be only 30 feet away, whereas others may need to be 300 feet away. Work her/train her/play with her at the distance where she is under threshold (not fearful and can interact with you). Give her lots of treats for doing so. Gradually decrease the distance to the fear object. The dog will tell you when you have gone too close, too fast.

 

One trainer I worked with when I was trying to train my shy dog told me of a student that had a dog that couldn't even come into the training building because it was so fearful. The owner spent the entire 8 weeks of obedience class working with her dog to densensitize it to the building. By the end of 8 weeks, the dog was calmly walking in the door of the building, but not yet into the training room. It was a lengthy process, but that dog can now compete in competition obedience.

 

At class time, you may try to go to the farthest corner of the room away from the other dogs to see if your pup will interact with you calmly. If she is still too fearful, you will have to go further away - maybe out in the hallway.

 

Good Luck.

 

Oh, one other thought when I re-read your post. I prefer my pup to interact with me, rather than too much interaction and bonding with my other dog. Your dog should trust YOU and bond with YOU over your other dog. I limit the interaction of a new pup with the resident dog.

[Sekah]

This article may be of use to you. It basically echoes what's said above -- go at the pace set by your dog and don't expect the dog to just be okay if you expose them to enough strange places and situations.

 

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/3953

[Cass C]

Thank you for your quick response. I have been working on getting her comfortable at a distance with lots of positive reinforcement, and she has worked up to be fine until she catches sight of a new dog. It has only been 3 weeks, so perhaps I am just not being patient enough.

[Camden's Mom]

You've gotten great advice here. I can't offer a whole lot more then what others have already said, but just wanted to add that you need to be very aware of "fear periods" that your puppy will most likely go through. It's a natural part of puppyhood, but if she's in a fear period you will want to be extra careful that she doesn't have a bad or overwhelming experience with something she's already afraid of... it could set you even further back. Not trying to startle or worry you, it's just a very good thing to be aware of. If you keep her under threshold as you work on building her confidence you should be fine. Just don't get frustrated if she's making progress and then relapses a bit. Let her set the pace (she'll let you know if she's scared or uncomfortable) and remain calm and patient with your shy pup.

 

I'm wondering if others will have advice on how to use your outgoing Lyka to help Lily break out of her shell. I agree that you want Lily to be more bonded to YOU then Lyka (lots of one on one time with the puppy) but it sounds like they have a strong, trusting relationship and I'm wondering if there's a way to use that to your advantage.

 

Oh, and by the way, you have one adorable puppy there!! Love her face and markings... she's too cute for words!!

[Cass C]

Thank's for the advice Camden's Mom. I've read a lot about fear periods recently, and it is scary to think about, so I do try and make sure I don't force her to move too quickly.

 

I don't think that she is more bonded to Lyka than to me, because if I try to get her attention while she is with Lyka she will immediately come over to me and interact. Lyka has a lot of energy and sometimes won't let the puppy nap, and when that happens Lily comes over to me and I will have Lyka go relax somewhere else. I spend a lot of alone time with her training, playing and whenever possible I walk her alone, because I've heard that going for walks with your dog can help strengthen a bond.

 

That said how will I know if she is too closely bonded to Lyka?

[Camden's Mom]

I don't think that she is more bonded to Lyka than to me, because if I try to get her attention while she is with Lyka she will immediately come over to me and interact. Lyka has a lot of energy and sometimes won't let the puppy nap, and when that happens Lily comes over to me and I will have Lyka go relax somewhere else. I spend a lot of alone time with her training, playing and whenever possible I walk her alone, because I've heard that going for walks with your dog can help strengthen a bond.

 

That said how will I know if she is too closely bonded to Lyka?

 

Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to imply that Lily is more bonded to Lyka then she is to you. I was just commenting that it seems like Lyka gives her confidence around new dogs. Lily clearly trusts Lyka on some level and I was hoping other people could give some ideas on ways to use that to your advantage.

 

If you are giving the puppy plenty of one on one time (which it sounds like you are) you should be just fine! It also sounds like she responds quickly to you even if she's engaged with Lyka. I don't have first hand multi-dog experience, but this all sounds good to me.

[Cass C]

Ok, I wasn't upset I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong in the bonding process. I know how important the dog human bond is for a well rounded dog.

 

I was curious about the same thing with Lyka being so confident if she can help Lily.

[TEC]

My border collie puppy peeked-out from under the chair at puppy class, and liked to wedge herself between my legs. She often got the smiling comments of the instructor as the shy one. I just did not let it bother me. She was going to be what she could be. In fact, I did not try to discourage her from being wary of new dogs and people, as neither of us knew them or how they would behave. I've seen some incredible things.

 

We continued to attend various obedience, flyball and agility classes, chiefly because our household did not have good socialization opportunities after the children began college. She was often one of the stars of the class. She became an excellent agility dog, showing no insecurity around fellow classmates. Along with agility, we did stockwork training for a good while, and then agreed that working the hill would become our forte'. I do not know whether very early interest in chickens says anything with certainty about a pup's future. I tend to doubt it.

 

Stockwork has been a good decision for both of us. We still have fun with a wide variety of activities, for our own amusement and exercise. At middle age, I do not believe anyone that did not know her as a puppy would see timidity. It took some effort. As mentioned above in this thread, be cautious not to flood a dog with stimuli, as that usually makes them unable to learn.

 

Josie demonstrates confidence, and when needed, assertiveness. That's our story, and I am guessing the story of many shy little pups. -- Best wishes, TEC

 

ETA: Good looking little girl, Lily. My avatar does not show it well (cropped pic below gives a hint), but Josie is split-faced like yours. I am partial to Lily's face and irregular markings. You will have fun raising her, and seeing her mature.

[Cass C]

Thank you TEC, you have a very beautiful dog. I'm partial to the non-traditional markings on border collies also.

[Cass C]

I just wanted to add that Lily had a major breakthrough while at the pet store yesterday. A dog friendly border collie slipped away from it's owner during training, and ran over to Lily. Lily greeted the dog and began trying to play. I'm wondering if this is a sign of things to come or if she feels more comfortable around border collies, because that is all she grew up around.

[GentleLake]

For some reason, border collies often react differently -- more positively -- to other border collies than they do to other kinds of dogs. I noticed this with my very first one, and have seen it over and over since then.

 

In general, you may find that Lily does better with other herding breed dogs, too. You can take advantage of these positive reactions and gradually introduce her to more and more varied dogs that should bolster her confidence around other dogs.

 

Best wishes.