Hello,
My boy is two and a half years old. He was rescued from a shelter at 5 months and I have no back story on his life before we got him. He is a very friendly dog, loves people and other dogs, completely housebroken, doesn't bark too much. He knows sit, lay down, stay, come (although not reliable and he is NOT off leash), but I am really struggling to train him anything new.
Every time I put him in a sit to try something he just lays down and gives up instead of trying to do what I'm asking (even with a treat lure). Sometimes he even gets a weird vibe and just leaves the room and goes and lays down (even if I have treats out). We have never used physical punishment, never yell at him, nothing like that but he is so timid with us.
He is pretty noise phobic about sneezes and raised voices (even if never directed at him) and the typical dog stuff like thunderstorms and fireworks.
I just want him to trust me and feel confident that I have his best interests in mind. I'd love to get him into agility or herding but without being able to train him/keep his attention I don't know how that would be possible.
Anyone out there with a shy BC? How did you build trust and confidence?