Dog Obedience Training.
by Dennis Fisher.
NERVOUS DOGS - AND HOW TO HANDLE THEM
This article is one of a great many articles written by Dennis Fisher about a very wide variety of subjects concerning different dogs, such as obedience training, breeding, showing, health matters, training problems and other subjects. All these articles appear on Dennis Fisher's websites. Visit http://www.allaboutgermanshepherddogs.com the site that has been set up specifically for German Shepherd Dog enthusiasts, or http://www.freedogadvice.com if you interested in a breed other than German Shepherd Dogs
If you have a shy nervous dog you can take heart in the knowledge that it can
definitely be trained, but it is going to take a lot of patience and effort on
your part.
It can be a challenge, but it is very
rewarding indeed to find that you have managed
to transform a shy,
uncertain animal into one that has a greater sense of self-confidence.
One plus factor about training a dog that is inherently shy, is that very often
it turn out to be a first-class worker, devoted to its owner and
anxious to please.
There are a number of reasons why some dogs are timid and shy.
Probably the most common reason is because the
dog was not socialized as a puppy.
The age from 8 – 10 weeks is a critical time in a pup’s life.
It is very important to take every
opportunity to get the pups used to different -
and to him – unusual situation and a variety of
different people. At this
age the pup is usually a very sociable animal.
It is only afterwards, then the pup become
a little older and aware of strange circumstances that shyness develops.
Of course, there are instances where even a very young pup of less than 8 weeks
already shows signs of shyness and timidity.
This is due to genetic factors.
If you examine the pedigree of the pup you’ll find that there are animals
in his pedigree who were also shy.
Another reason why a pup may be shy is because of an unfortunate experience at a
critical stage of his development.
It is no unknown for someone employed to clean the kennels of a young litter of
pups to have been unnecessarily harsh in pushing the pups aside while cleaning.
This doesn’t necessarily affect all the
pups in the litter, perhaps only one or two that may have been naturally
especially sensitive. Often these are very intelligent pups.
As with humans, sensitivity is often associated
with high intelligence.
How
does one go about training a pup, or young dog, that exhibits timidity
and shyness?
One important rule to remember is
that on no account should you try and pacify the pup with baby talk, patting him
and assuring him that there is
nothing to worry about.
Your best course of action when you are with the pup shows signs of nervousness
and reacts badly to an unusual situation, is to speak to him in a natural,
matter-of-fact tone.
If the pup has had some training, try and distract him, not with food as this is
counter-productive and give the pup the impression that you are rewarding him
for his behavior.
Rather distract him with a toy, or a ball, or getting him to do something that
he has been trained to do, for
example sit. Do not give the
command SIT in a harsh tone, rather in a matter fact tone “Sit my boy!
That’s a good dog!”
Very often the shy young dog is scared of strangers.
This is very embarrassing when some kindly person wants to pat the dog or
even give them a tasty morsel.
Try and avoid situations like this.
If a stranger approaches, it is best for the shy dog
to be ignored completely.
Encourage friends do this in order to help you with your
training.
Ask them not to have eye contact with the dog at all. Let them approach
you and ignore the dog completely.
It is very important for the dog to initiate the contact and make the first
move. Once the friend has
approached you on a number of occasions and ignored the dog, ask the friend
to surreptitiously drop a inviting piece
of food next to the dog while
continuing to talk to you, continuing to ignore
the pup.
On another occasions, friends can hold
a small piece of food in their hands and let the pup smell it and then
take it from their hand. This can
gradually progress to the stage where the dog will willingly take the food from
the friend’s hand when it is offered.
Don’t introduce the pup immediately to a very busy environment like a shopping
centre, rather take the pup to a place where there is a fair amount of
passing traffic but not many
people.
Perhaps a park bench may be a suitable place.
Sit down on the bench and let
the dog lie next to you watching people walk by.
Go to the same park on a number of occasions so that the dog is familiar
with the process.
Gradually extend the methods you used
with friends. Approach strangers
who may be in the park at the time, but do not have a dog with them.
Engage them in a short conversation.
For example, ask the time, in a pleasant matter of fact tone.
Then walk away. If they want
to pat the dog, find a reason to ask them not to.
Tell them, in a very pleasant manner, that
you are training the dog to ignore strangers because of the
danger of being poisoned, which is rife in your area.
Eventually, with a great deal of patience on your part, and a matter of fact
attitude both in your voice and your body language, the dog will accept the fact
that the strangers do not present any threat.
It is a gradual process and it does require patience, but if you persevere you
definitely break the pattern and your dog will become far more confident.
Continue to train with basic commands, when you are out walking, like sit down,
stand. Reward the dog with food
when it obeys you instantly but definitely not when it shows sings of shyness.