Commonly when owners of shy dogs seek help they are thinking in terms of receiving advice on what they can do to change their dog's basic nature to be shy. You can't change the dog's basic nature. Only the dog can do that himself if it can be done at all.
Think of a shy child who made it thought first grade without much nurturing from his teacher. Now he is in second grade, still shy, a year's experience being shy with groups of children under his belt. His second grade teacher has quite a task ahead of her. Does she draw him out of his shell by putting him on the spot in front of the other children? This will not necessarily be a successful technique to employ. It might work but then he might learn to resent his teacher, rebel etc. It's kind of risky. How about giving him things to do he is good at....special projects which make him feel good about himself and then bragging to the others FOR him about his work. This way he is out of the spotlight and his WORK is in the spotlight. It's a little easier for a shy child to handle and an added benefit is that it helps him find pride in his work. A shy person or dog lacks confidence. To build confidence in either, I primarily do it in private. I do lots of it every day. While building confidence I also work on self discipline. Self discipline will serve the shy person or dog well when they really want to run but instead hold their ground because of the self control they have developed. How do you build confidence privately in a dog? Every opportunity we give our dogs to do something for us which they complete and for which they receive praise builds their confidence. Rather than asking for 4 sits a day, ask for 16 sits a day in eight sets of two sits using a tiny food reward and "aren't you a smart dog" kinds of praise. No big deal. No big training session. Just two sits in a row. The dog learns to anticipate them and if it's a Berner I'll have trouble walking because he will be voluntarily trying to sit on my feet routinely so I can't go anywhere! I have to give him the treat in order to move! Those Berners....they are just SO manipulative. :-) I like to teach tricks to dogs who lack confidence. Tricks are fun and amusing to me. Many of the comedic traits of shy dogs shine through when they become proficient in executing their tricks. Some will, for instance, make up routines of sequential tricks to amuse their people or to get the morsel of food offered as a reward....hey, it works for Jerry Seinfeld! Use the word "Proud" when praising a shy dog. I have used this word often in grammatically inappropriate ways, ie "You're a proud dog," rather than "you're a brave dog." Why? What do the words "pride" and "proud" evoke in you when you think of them? Those are the additional messages you send to a shy dog when you use them to praise him. So use them often. An ELEVATED stable surface such as a short table or step or even a low deck can be used as a prop for a very useful trick with dogs lacking confidence. Any word can be used to indicate the dog should get up on the object. I use the command "circus" because it makes me think of circus dogs and elephants and brings a joviality to my demeanor when I'm working with a dog lacking confidence which is often exasperating otherwise. :-) I touch the object and tell the dog to "circus." Sometimes I might have to place the dog on the surface. If he was hesitant, I'd probably go to a elevated surface familiar to him like a step going to the front porch. I'd teach him to stand sideways with all fours on the step on command rather than racing up the steps. The elevated surface is always a place the dog receives praise in many forms which can include a brief grooming session which inevitably makes him feel great about himself if many "aren't you gorgeous" comments thrown in. Why elevate the dog? There's something about being UP on an elevated surface that elevates our spirits. Lower the tailgate of a pick up truck and stand in the bed of the truck. It's a whole different feeling you get than standing on the ground. It offers a new sensation perspective on everything. If the dog learns to associate being on an elevated surface with your lavish praise, he'll seek those opportunities to please you in this way. Seeking to please you is the basis of developing a working relationship from which will come success over and over and over. Success builds confidence. I've used this with my own family of dogs so much that when I come out the door, several of the dogs will scatter to the elevated surfaces I use for training.....ME ME ME...NOTICE me! They are actually BRINGing attention to themselves. A shy dog will respond similarly and it is very rewarding to see a shy dog make this conversion. :-) I don't "work at" getting shy dogs to face their fears anymore. I did that for years and never liked the inconsistencies in the results. Instead I've moved to building confidence in fearful dogs by developing their desire to work with me. I like the consistency of the results I get working with them this way much better. I accept I will not change the dog until he WANTS to be different and I give him the opportunities to WANT it. I put "work at" in quotations above because I DO address a shy dog's fears in their first demonstrations of that fear which I witness. If possible I embrace, touch or otherwise in their presence, accept the object of their fear for MYSELF. I do not insist that they accept it. I might offer it to them but if they reject it, I'll just continue MY obvious acceptance of it and ignore the dog. IGNORING the behaviors we don't like is VERY hard to do and VERY important in working with the dog lacking confidence. I hope sharing these ways of thinking about addressing lack of confidence in dogs might help others. Ruth Reynolds [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.jersey.net/~mountaindog/rar
