Brodysmom

I have been trying to socialize Kole , he is fine with people, but when it comes to other dogs he is very shy/ timid and will hide behind me or shreek ,cry and run ,if off leash , like today, I took his min-pin brother and him for a walk, a dog training park/walk, A very friendly male pit and tiny pit puppy came running towards us, My min pin went hell bound after them and poor Kole, ran away yelping like someone was about to murder him.. I felt so bad for him, and the owner kept apologizing to me, for his dogs approaching us,,
I just said"it was fine. And I kept walking so Kole would follow me away from the scene.. Dont know if thats what I should do or what...
Now my question...
What would be the best way to handle this so Kole will get used to other dogs without me forcing him into a situation that may traumatize him forever..
Should I keep trying or just keep him away from other dogs?
Thanks for any advice and OP. I have never dealt with this before .

greenkouki

How old is he? I would try and get him to stay focused on you while around other dogs. Giving treats and practicing a sit or down when there is another dog around might make it a more positive experience for him. I would not force him to do anything against his will; puppies are easily traumatized and it still might take a lot of effort/treats to get him to be friendly with other dogs. I do know if you don't get him well socialized he is likely to become dog aggressive.

howsefrau32

Our dog Greta is 18 weeks old, she was very shy, we have had her since almost 12 weeks. We enrolled her in puppy kindergarten at Pet Smart and it has done WONDERS for her socialization. We also make several trips a week, besides our Saturday class to Pet Smart, Petco or Pet Supermarket, just to get out of the house. I don't always buy something, or just a couple of cans of cat food, occasionally I buy her a toy or some treats, but it is great for her to get out and see other dogs and people. It has helped so much. She is not doing so great on our walks, her hair goes up and she barks when we see a dog on our walks, so we are working on this. I don't know why she is Ok at Pet Smart and not outside, but I don't have the answer to that one, but we will keep trying. Good luck with your pup, I really think it will do wonders for her to visit Pet Smart, or even better, get your dog in a puppy class.

Brodysmom

Thanks , I have taken hm to petsart a few times, he is very timid when he see's another dog , tangles around my legs to hide.. But I will go tomorrow and see if I can sign him to a class, I did see the papers about the claases, I just figured since he was shy hey wouldnt accept him..

greenkouki

That's what puppy obedience is about... building confidence. I'm sure there will be a lot of other insecure/timid puppies there.

newtodobes

I think puppy classes do WONDERS! Definitely enroll him in class. My first puppy, my IG, was soooo shy, the first 3-4 weeks of class all she would do was hide under my chair and not play with the other pups when it was 'playtime'. I felt so bad for her and frustrated at the same time--why do other people's puppies play and not mine :-( She soon started to come out of her shell and by the time we graduated puppy class she was out there playing with all of them! She completely changed.

I had a similar situation recently with my dobe pup, Mona, she's 5 months old. Our friend has a 2 year old boxer, very outgoing, very playful. The first time they met he started charging toward Mona in our backyard and she started yelping and running away behind our shed! And he didn't even touch her! His owners were apologizing but we're like, don't apologize she's fine. She hid behind the shed for about an hour, we just ignored her, she eventually came out but kept her distance from him. That was about a month ago....guess what, they are now BEST Friends!! She LOVES playing with him now, they play tug, chase each other around. She just had to get used to him. She's still kind of afraid of another friend's 1 yr male dobe, but it's probably because she's only seen him twice...he's very outgoing too BUT his owner said he was a shy and timid puppy too, that he was scared of other dogs, he isn't now! so there's hope for our shy pups!

Good luck with puppy class!

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Brodysmom

Thank you, Thank you ! that sure givse me encouragment ,
I am def going to sign him to a class tomorrow ..