Rehabilitate an Overly Shy Dog

Sometimes dogs can be shy. This shyness can occur as a result of poor socialization, bad experiences, or incorrectly handled interactions. Changing your dog's behavior will increase his self-confidence and create a well-balanced dog accustomed to a human lifestyle. Here are some suggestions to encourage your shy dog to be more confident.

Steps

Being Conscientious About and Aware of Shy Behavior

1. Remember shyness may arise from lack of socialization. Dogs are shy when confronted with things they do not understand. If the dog wasn't exposed to something as a puppy, their natural reaction is to be cautious around it as an adult. Also, dogs that associate an object with fear or punishment (such as a dog struck with an umbrella), may be shy or fearful of the object (an umbrella).
   • Dogs may become shy because of unfamiliar people, certain situations, or objects. Often this is simply because of a lack of familiarity.
   • Shy behavior is commonly the result of poor socialization, insufficient guidance, or even past abuse.
2. Watch for other shy behaviors — the four Fs. Some behaviors in particular that are indicative of shyness include the four Fs: freeze, fight, flight, and fool around. The fight and flight behaviors are fairly straightforward, as they are the same as human response to fear. Freeze is simply when the dog freezes in place in reaction to a stressor. Fool around, however, can be more complicated, but it is similar to a person laughing nervously or fidgeting. In dogs, fooling around can be wild bursts of energy, jumping, pawing, etc.
3. Recognize shy behavior that stems from prior abuse. Most dogs are shy or lack confidence because of poor socialization as a puppy, rather than physical abuse. If, however, you suspect your dog has experienced abuse, you should meet with a certified behaviourist to assess and work with your dog.
   • If you are bringing a new dog home, some signs of abuse may be cuts, sores, etc. If the dog has been out of the abuser's care for a long time, you may not notice sores, but there may be scars.
   • The dog's shyness itself could be a sign of prior abuse, but you may also see hostility, aggressiveness, illness, distress, or other signs of inadequate socialization.

Identifying and Neutralizing Triggers to Shyness

1. Be sure not to unconsciously reinforce shyness. If you notice any signs of clingy behavior, for instance, when confronted with stressors, be careful not to accidentally praise the dog as this rewards the fearful behavior. Instead, ignore the shy behavior (so you don't reward it) and praise any "brave" actions by the dog such as taking a step closer or going to investigate.
2. Find what triggers shy behavior. Triggers, specifically, are what we call those things that cause your dog to exhibit shy behavior. Examples of triggers include men, women, people with deep voices, people with beards, vacuum cleaner, bicycle etc. Triggers may not even be humans; they could be hair dryers or slick flooring or pretty much anything. Observe the dog's behavior and, if needed, keep a journal for a few days to figure out specifically what the trigger to shy behavior is.
   • In short, anything has the potential to be a trigger if the dog didn't encounter it during their socialization period an have a good experience with it.
3. Assess the dog's tolerance level. Without deliberately stressing the dog, observe at what distance from the feared object the dog starts to become uncomfortable with its presence. This is important because you will use distance from the object to help desensitize the dog to the object.
4. Try counter conditioning. The aim of counter conditioning is for the dog to relearn how to react to an object they fear or are suspicious of. This means teaching them to associate a pleasant experience (typically a treat or praise) when they are calm in the presence of the object.
   • Teach the response you want away from the stressor. A good example would be"Sit" or "Look" for eye contact.
   • Expose the dog to the stressor well within his tolerance, and ask for the trained behavior and reinforce. For instance, if he gets upset when a bearded man is walking on his side of the street, have a friend with a beard stand across the street and ask your dog to sit, then praise him and give him treats.
   • Slowly decrease distance from the dog, advancing when your dog is fully confident in doing the trained behavior.
   • This will become an automatic response after a period of time and you will notice he will voluntarily offer the behavior when he sees the stressor, distracting him and making the stressor into an opportunity for reinforcement instead of a predictor of bad things.
   • Desensitization can go beyond simple exposure to the stressor to include motion and auditory desensitization (see below).
5. Add motion to stressors during desensitization. Slowly add increasingly more motion to stressors. This adds a new dimension to the dog's ability to tolerate stressors.
   • Next, move the stressor while it is in close proximity to the dog. Combining movement and proximity intensifies desensitization.
   • For instance, if the dog is shy around a specific object, like a newspaper, let him become comfortable with its presence, perhaps by leaving a newspaper by his food bowl. When he is comfortable, you can then begin moving it around on the floor near him with your foot while he eats.
6. Add noise to desensitization exercises. Using the newspaper example, you could hide cellophane inside the newspaper, and, as you move it around with your foot, the sound of the cellophane crinkling inside adds noise. This, along with the proximity of the newspaper and you moving it around, can help desensitize the dog to the stressor, minimizing or even eradicating his shyness around the stressor.

Encouraging and Rewarding Your Dog

1. Reward the dog with treats. If the dog is performing a desired behavior such as being relaxed, improving confidence, etc., give him a treat. This will help him make a connection between you and good things, but, in particular, it will reinforce that good things happen when he isn't exhibiting shy behavior. This is called positive reinforcement, and it is very effective and highly recommended for shy dogs.
   • Be sure to accompany treats with praise.
2. Encourage socialization with other dogs. If you notice your dog is shy around other dogs, find a very friendly and easygoing dog with whom to socialize your dog. Introduce the two dogs very briefly at first—at a distance—and monitor the interaction on leashes. Re-introduce the dogs daily, building up the time spent together.
   • Consider positive progressive agility or obedience training as another good place to meet new dogs and situations.
3. Build trust with traumatized dogs. There are several ways to build trust with dogs who have experienced past trauma, which is important to helping your dog stop exhibiting shy behavior. If you have a dog that is showing signs of trauma, do your best to build trust with the dog to minimize shyness.
   • Trauma can result from many different circumstances, including mistreatment or abuse, time spent living feral, or even life in a so-called puppy mill, where the dog may be bred repeatedly but not receive love from humans.
4. Respect a traumatized dog. Speak calmly, but do not pet the dog. Allow the dog time to adjust to his surroundings. He may mark territory — even inside — but be patient and careful with discipline.
   • Traumatized dogs may benefit from having a quiet place all to themselves indoors. If you have other pets, you should expose the traumatized animal to them carefully, but make sure the quiet space is off-limits to other pets.
   • Desensitize traumatized dogs to individuals they are shy around by having those people feed and play with him or her while you ignore the dog.

Tips

• Another well-balanced dog will likely help your shy dog get over his fears by showing him the right way to behave.
• Remember to work at your dog's pace and not to force him, as this will create negative emotions, plus could be dangerous in extreme cases.
• Forcing your dog to act the way you anticipate through shock collars, prong collars, or other pessimistic tools will increase his fear of the root cause, because it is associated with the pain or confusion of you correcting him, even if it seems to be the quick fix.
• Watch for any aggressive behavior, such as growling, biting, or aggressive body language. If this occurs, create a disruptive noise—such as a whistle, click, etc.—to pull him away from the situation, then redirect him to a different activity. Remember, aggression is a much more serious issue than shyness, so begin working on anti-aggression exercises before continuing.

Warnings

• If your dog attacks or attempts to bite you, contact a professional immediately. Do not attempt to rehabilitate such a dog yourself! Also, realize this is a separate problem from shyness, though if forced in a situation, one reaction can lead to the other.

Sources and Citations

• http://dogbreedinfo.com/ – research source
• http://www.dogmantics.com – research source
• http://dogmantics.com/the-problem-with-just-ignoring-unwanted-behaviors/ – research source

See also

• Bathe a Dog and Keep It Calm
• Help a Dog Overcome Its Fear of Stairs
• Train a Scared Dog to Go Down the Stairs
• Calm a Nervous Dog in the Car
• Help a Dog with Separation Anxiety
• Calm a Dog During Thunderstorms
• Reduce Anxiety in Dogs
• Recognize Signs of Anxiety in Dogs
• Stop Your Dog from Being Frightened During a Storm
• Make Your Dog Relax Completely

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