Shyness, fear, and other behavior problems

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DemosthenesUSC

Forums Novice
Hello everyone! I'm new to this forum, but I have some really pressing questions concerning my sheltie. The background story for my little guy is that my girlfriend and I bought him from a breeder in our area at about 12 weeks of age. The breeder provided us with the AKC registration forms and medical records upon purchase. I discovered his avaliablitity through an ad in the state newspaper. Apparently, my little guy, Solon, and his brother were purchased when most of the litter was, but the lady was unable to keep them because of her husband being relocated for his job. So, I have no idea what he may have been exposed to during the fear period. Solon has now been with us since August 31, and he is about to be six months old.

So here are my concerns:

1.) He is deathly afraid of motor vehicles. He does fine riding in my car, but if I try to take him for a walk or get him anywhere near idle cars or moving vehicles he freaks out. This entails pulling against the leash, wrapping himself around my legs, and shaking. I have no idea what to do about this. The other day I was attempting to walk him in my neighborhood, and upon seeing a car he became very frightened. Usually we don't have a great deal of vehicular activity along my road, so I decided to push on. Then, two guys came walking down one of the roads, with no cars around, and Solon really started to act out. He actually slipped out of his collar, which I thought was on tight enough, but apprantly not. Luckily he didn't get very far and we were only a few houses down from my own home, but this behavior has still proven to be very upseting to him and me.

2.) I personally feel as if Solon is overly shy. I know that this is a negative characteristic within the breed, but I'm unsure what to do about it. Anytime new guests come over he usually stands back and then retreats under my bed for some time. After a while he sometimes grows accustom to the individual to the point he will at least come and walk around a little with some goading. Another aspect of his shyness, or possibly fear, concerning many simple activities within my home. For example, my girlfriend and I just recently put up our Christmas treee, but all of the boxs scattered in the living room and the noise accompanying all of these redecorations resulted in Solon barricading himself within our room. I eventually closed all of the doors in the house in order to force him into the living room. Once he had no where else to go he moved around a good bit, but still remained wary. If he was presented the option of staying or leaving I know he would have chosen to leave. This type of behavior is occuring with all other sorts of activities as well. Usually most loud, and unexpected voices lead him to exhibit this behavior. I also know the breed is sensitive to noises, but Shelties are also suppose to have a friendly disposition with a focus upon being an active and participating member within family activites. I realize each individual dog is uniquie and will not conform to breed standards, but this behavior pattern seems a little over the top, and I have no idea on what to do.

Other than these problems he is a great dog. He loves to play with other dogs, and he gets along great with our cat. I had hoped that I would at least be able to take him on walks or jogs around the neighborhood, and help him to develop a calm but inquisitive disposition while traveling as much as we do. Any and all adivce would be greatly helpful since I can't find anyone else to turn too.
 
Sounds like your little one needs some boosting of his self confidence and also alot of positive socialisation. This will definitely take time and effort on your part but a confident dog is a dream to be around. They get adapt quickly and new situations/things don't faze them.

For the car/motorcycle thing, I would try to desensitize Solon or make positive associations with the vehicle for him by walking him some distance away from a car (or motorbike, whichever you want to start with first - you prob have to do both on its own), sit or stand there and whenever (the very second!) he looks at the vehicle (without reacting fearfully), give him a treat and praise him! Do this for a while, say 5 mins, then take 2 small steps forward, and repeat. Keep at it until you're right next to the car, but WATCH Solon's expression. Don't give him the opportunity to react fearfully so don't push him too far too fast. When he's ok with parked cars and motorbikes, move on to moving ones. Stand a distance away from the side of road that sees some but not heavy traffic. Don't pick one with a horrid jam with lotsa honking! When a car zooms by catching Solon's attention, quickly praise and treat for not reacting. Keep doing this and decreasing the distance between you and the road.

Pick a GOOD YUMMY HIGH VALUE TREAT for this. Something he will ONLY get when he sees cars/bikes (for now). Also, consider a martingale collar which will give you more control if he reacts.

Socialise him with people and also noises. Use the same principle as with the car (but pick another treat). Have people who come over sit on the floor not facing him and feed him treats from their hand. After abit, get them to kneel and do it, then standing but not up straight, then standing high and tall.

For noises, start with soft ones first, when he doesn't run and hide, praise and treat. Increase the volume, and do the same. Closing off the doors and forcing him into the area he doesn't want to be because he is afraid of the noises will make him even MORE fearful since there is nothing good to associate it with! Solon is not shy he's scared, of all the big people, the loud noises, the big zooming boxes, etc. You will have to slowly introduce these things to him and show him it's not that scary and in fact, if he doesn't react to those things, he gets a yummy treat and lotsa praise. He will make the association THING = FOOD/PRAISE = GOOD FEELING eventually. Build your dog's confidence also by play-training with him. Do simple tricks etc - build that bond, make it easy for him to get it right. Show him how great he is and how happy he makes you. The more positive experiences your dog has, the more confident he'll turn out.

While each breed has its traits, lack of positive socialisation, exposure and an owner who understands what his/her dog is feeling can turn a puppy with a great temperament and social skills into a fearful dog growling and snapping at everything or running and hiding or peeing submissively. A dog is sort of like a child - keep the child in a small house without ever letting it go out to see and experience new things, he'll grow up to be afraid of the big wide world. Expose that child to new things everyday and teach him to use his brains however, and you'll find the child can adapt easily and quickly and can problem solve if called upon.

GOOD LUCK!! It's not going to be easy but I'm sure you'll do what's necessary for Solon!
 
Romeosangiovese gave some great advice. I'm just going to elaborate on it a little bit.

When Solon isn't being scared, is he generally a happy and playful dog? I ask because if he is normally very playful, then you can turn his fears into a game. There are many games you can play with "scary" things, and the value of the item to you determines which game you will choose. Let's, for the sake of easy explanation, say that he is scared of a box. You can then ...

1) If the box is something that you want to keep intact, encourage him to approach it. If you have started clicker training, then this is a great time to pull out the clicker! Click/treat for him looking at the box, approaching the box, nose-touching the box, etc. As he begins shaping a new behaviour towards the box, his confidence around it will grow and he will get bolder. Keep the whole game happy and upbeat, and if he shows a moment of true bravery, running up to the box or batting it with his paw, praise like there is no tomorrow!

2) If you want to take the risk that the box might get destroyed, this game is a lot more fun. You pretend that the box is the most amazing toy in the world. This requires you to act like a fool, but works quite well most of the time. Act as if you think the box is the most fun thing ever, toss it in the air, bat it around on the floor with your hands, pick it up and start running around the house. Encourage Solon to chase after you, and even if he doesn't chase you, keep playing and acting as if you are having a great time. Chances are, if there is a bond between you and Solon already, he will take your lead and start to think of the box as something kinda fun. If he chases after you while you are running with the box, YAY! If he starts paying attention to the box as you are playing with it, encourage him to play along. (This is how I got Romeo over his fear of flapping garbage bags ... only took one play session and he was over it.)

As for general fear behavior, a very strong motivator for a scared dog is knowing that they have a confident leader. So your body language plays a HUGE role in how your scared dog approaches new situations. You can convey a lot of information to Solon just in the way you move and hold your body. If you let him know that you are not scared of a situation, then he will begin to trust your judgement. So if you know that he will react to a certain stimuli, then set it up right from the start so that he thinks that you are not scared of it. Put your shoulders back, square yourself to the item, and purposely walk forward "assuming" that Solon is going to follow after you. I find that the power of assumption is a very good one for making us act a certain way. If we assume that the dog is going to behave a certain way, then we instinctively act in such a way so as to bring about that behavior. So have it in your mind that you want Solon to confidently approach a "scary" item, then purposefully lead him to that end. Just making that assumption in our mind, makes our bodies portray that outcome and passes along the message to our dogs.

And while you are doing all of this (haha sounds like a lot, eh?) start allowing Solon to build some confidence. Clicker training is amazing for this, there are lots of freeshaping games that really encourage a dog to use their mind and be confident in their abilities (check out 101 Things to Do With a Box). Enrolling in some dog classes will also help immensely. Start with something easy like a puppy obedience class or "manners" class for a good introduction to training and clicker. Even if you don't get very far with the class plan, you can use the opportunity to expose Solon to different situations. Agility is also a great confidence builder, and Shelties tend to take to that sport like a duck to water!

Hope that all helps a bit. Having a skittish and nervous Sheltie is no fun for anyone. It certainly isn't healthy for the dog. Cudos to you for taking the steps needed to help Solon through this! Best of luck, stick with it and you will have success :biggrin2:
 
Romeo gave great advice!

I have a couple of suggestions for you too, firstly as Romeo suggested, you should consider buying a martingale collar so that he cannot slip out of his collar when frightened. This collar is a flat collar in the front that can be adjusted and it has a chain in the back. With the collar adjusted properly, when your pup tries to slip his collar the chain in the back will tighten like a choke chain but only enough so that your pup can't pull his head out.

Also, don't try and anticipate when your pup will be afraid or worry ahead of time that he's going to freak out, he can sense your hesitation and that you're unsure and it will make him more nervous. Always stay calm and don't react.

You really want to expose your pup to the things he's afraid of so that he realizes its not something to be afraid of.

I found a place like Petsmart to be a great place to take my pups, it tends to be noisy, there are a lot of new smells, dogs, people and animals to see. Its important to make it a positive experience though. It can be very overwhelming so your pup will need lots of praise and high value treats when he's in an environment like this. Keep your first few visits short and gradually increase the length of time you're there. Encourage strange people to touch him and reward him after being touched with a treat.

My parent's sheltie was extremely frightened of other dogs so at 9 months old I enrolled him in a puppy class. It did wonders for his confidence, perhaps you should consider doing the same thing to boost your pups convidence? My parent's sheltie and my sheltie both loved the puppy class and not just because of the other pups. Shelties love to be worked/trained and this also gives them the chance not only gain confidence but to also to bond with you and trust gain more trust in you. He might enjoy the class so much that he forgets that he's afraid of many loud noises and strange people and it could carry somewhat into other atmospheres.

If your pup gains confidence and trust in you then it should help with all of your problems with him.

I really do feel your pain, but my girl isn't nearly as afraid as your pup. Sadie some times doesn't like parked cars and often will spook when there is one idling or has the window open and the radio playing. She's funny, a dump truck went by the other day and I was so proud because it didn't phase her. Then we walked by a plastic chair on the curb and she threw a fit. :rolleyes2:
 
Thanks so much everyone for the advice given. I just wanted to say a few more things to elaborate on my situtation.

I really like the idea of clicker training, but I am very unfamiliar with it. So far I have been able to teach Solon the sit and down command using Wellness treats and a lot of practice. Sometimes I think clicker training might be a more efficient way to re-enforce the things I am trying to teach him, so could anyone point me to a proper place to learn this?

Also, I actually enrolled Solon in a Puppy K class about nine weeks ago with my city's local Kennel Club. However, I grew very displeased with it after only three sessions of six. I began to feel very bored when I was there and I had a feeling Solon did too. The class basically consisted of us walking around in a circle throughout almost the entire hour, and stopping occasionly to give the sit, doww, or come commands. Afterwards, they wanted us to let our dogs off leash to play and interact together. This made me very hesitant, not because Solon is a bad player, but they wanted all of the big dogs in with the little dogs. I work at a Camp Bow Wow and we have been trained on how to separate dogs by size and temperment, along with understanidng stress factors and how to address situtations. So what occured at that class went against everything I had been trained. I also was not concerned about the socialization factor that this class provided, since I am able to take Solon with me to work free of charge. We therefore discontinued going after the third class. There are some in home trainers within my area, but I'm not really sure I can afford one. I am still a part-time college student working on getting accepted to veterinary school, so money is rather tight.

I am also interested in learning more about the box idea GeeRome mentioned. My only concern is keeping Solon around when I am playing with the box. I have attempted to spend as much time with him since we first got him, but he still won't always follow my lead. I am concerned that upon seeing the box and me acting fool that he will turn and run to my room and hide under the bed. At best he might stand at the end of the hallway. So how can I keep him around in order for him to associate the box, or any other object with fun and games?

There was also one other quesiton I should have addressed in my first post. Solon is also slightly food aggressive towards other animals. When I feed him his meals if the cat is anywhere near his food he will turn and bite the cat and push him away. However, this behavior has yet to extend itself to any other human or myself. It's actually very rare for another animal to be around during his feeding, but this is still a behavior that cannot continue to exist. I believe he must have been the runt of his litter, so he must be making up for lost time.

Once again thanks so much for all of the advice. With finals coming up I will hopefully have a lot of time to work on all the things being mentioned over Christmas break.
 
Here is a great site that details the basics about clicker training:
http://www.clickertraining.com/basics
Also check out this link for the 101 Things to Do With a Box game:
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/167

For the games, you will have to play that one by ear. Practice your acting skills! :lol: You want to give the impression that you are having a really good time with the item that he is scared of, but not to the extent that your actions scare him even more. So if you think that you sprinting up and down the hallway will freak him out, do a pretend run for a few steps, stop and make play growl noises at the box, take a few more pretend running steps, etc. You can also start introducing a "get it" command with a toy that he is not afraid of. I play "kitty" with my guys a lot, basically taking a toy and moving it around on the floor, towards the dog, away from the dog, etc. and encourage him to "get it". "Get it" meaning play attack the toy, grab it, shake it, tug with it, etc. Once he understands the "get it" command, then you can start using that with the scary items. So treat the scary thing as if it were a toy, move it around on the floor and encourage him to "get it".

As for the food aggression, a little bit of NILIF (Nothing in life is free) might help. That method of training can be taken to extremes in some cases, but the basics underlying the method are reasonable. In essense, you want the dog to know that everything belongs to you and you are the bringer of all things wonderful. So whatever it is they want, it has to come from you. You own it and are willing to share it with them, but as such, you make the rules about how it is used. For instance, if the dog wants breakfast, he has to work for it. It could be something as simple as a "sit" for a young pup, or a series of tricks or a down-stay for an older dog. But before they get what they want, in this case food, they have to work for it. Then the food becomes the reward. At the same time, you can take the food away and require that they do something else to earn it back. So when he is half way through eating, pick the bowl up and ask for another trick before giving it back. Put your hand in the bowl and move the food around as he eats, take pieces out etc. Same thing for playing with toys. If he wants you to throw a toy, then he has to do something to earn that, maybe a "sit" or a "down". The toy being thrown then becomes the reward. Or if he wants outside, ask for a sit as you open the door. Just little things like that can be incorporated into daily activities and give the impression that 1) you control everything and 2) all good things come from you. Possessiveness around food comes from the idea that the dog has to claim the food or risk it being taken. But if the idea is solidly in place that the food is YOURS and you are just sharing it with them, then they no longer feel the need to claim it as their own.
 
I'm sorry that the puppy class you were in was such a flop! The puppy classes that I took with my two were nothing like that, we did some walking around and practices sitting, lying down, staying, etc. but it was for short periods and never boring. I don't blame you for being uncomfortable with the puppy play time, I would have been too. Again, the trainers for my two (two different trainers 6 years a part) were selective in who got to play together and when. Larger, more rambunctious dogs where NEVER put with small dogs, they were always paired.

If you can't afford another puppy class I still suggest going to a place like Petsmart for socialization, keeping in mind socialization isn't just with dogs. This would socialize him with otherwise strange sites, smells and new people. Its a great place to invite people to touch him and teach him that strange people aren't bad.

GeeRome is right, clicker training is great! I've done some clicker training with Sadie and she loved it and caught on very quickly. Many places also offer clicker training classes too, although you can easily clicker train on your own. I learned about clicker training in Petsmart's puppy class also.

I don't really have any experience with food aggression, I personally would scold when that kind of behavior takes place. Don't free feed (don't let him eat all day, feed only twice a day, leave food out for 10-15 minutes then take it away) and make him sit and wait before digging in. I actually put the food down and tell Sadie to 'Leave It' for a few seconds before letting her eat. This establishes me as the leader therefore it is my food and she can eat only when I say it is ok. I'd almost try and have the cat presant at every meal so that he can get used to the cat being there and realize that such behaviour is always unacceptable. Perhaps understanding that the food is yours and being mean to the cat is bad will make him calm down.

I don't know if it could be a phase or not or if its something that will go away on its own. My Sadie was never food aggressive but she used to be very possessive of her toys and her food. If she had something she thought was great she was convinced that we wanted it to and she'd run away with it. If you came near her when she was eating she would start gulping it down as fast as she could in case you wanted to steal it. It took her a couple of months to understand that we weren't going to steal her toys and run off with them :lol:
 
GeeRome said:
As for the food aggression, a little bit of NILIF (Nothing in life is free) might help. That method of training can be taken to extremes in some cases, but the basics underlying the method are reasonable. In essense, you want the dog to know that everything belongs to you and you are the bringer of all things wonderful. So whatever it is they want, it has to come from you. You own it and are willing to share it with them, but as such, you make the rules about how it is used. For instance, if the dog wants breakfast, he has to work for it. It could be something as simple as a "sit" for a young pup, or a series of tricks or a down-stay for an older dog. But before they get what they want, in this case food, they have to work for it. Then the food becomes the reward. At the same time, you can take the food away and require that they do something else to earn it back. So when he is half way through eating, pick the bowl up and ask for another trick before giving it back. Put your hand in the bowl and move the food around as he eats, take pieces out etc. Same thing for playing with toys. If he wants you to throw a toy, then he has to do something to earn that, maybe a "sit" or a "down". The toy being thrown then becomes the reward. Or if he wants outside, ask for a sit as you open the door. Just little things like that can be incorporated into daily activities and give the impression that 1) you control everything and 2) all good things come from you. Possessiveness around food comes from the idea that the dog has to claim the food or risk it being taken. But if the idea is solidly in place that the food is YOURS and you are just sharing it with them, then they no longer feel the need to claim it as their own.
Click to expand...

GeeRome, you posted your reply while I was writing mine so I did not see it.

Love the advice for food aggression, more or less what I was trying to say only better worded.

What you said really works. I didn't mention it but since we started making Sadie sit and wait for her food (my husband makes her do trick too) she's stopped gulping it. We can even pick up the bowl while she's eating and she allows us without trying to gulp it down first.

I wonder, if DemosthenesUSC is using the NILIF method and Solon shows aggression toward the cat, should he immediately take the food away and make Solon work to get it back?
 
I feed my guys raw, so just out of convenience it is sometimes helpful if they will both eat off of the same hunk of meat. For instance, pork shoulders were on sale last summer so I stocked up. Instead of hacking off individual pieces for them, I wanted them to eat together off of the big piece of RMB (about 12lb in total).

Neither of my guys have shown any food aggression or possessiveness, but I wanted to be careful when introducing this. Here is how I did it:

Since Romeo was new to the family and Gio was more established, I put a leash on Romeo and tied him to the kitchen cupboard then put Gio in a down-stay beside him. I placed the pork shoulder on a towel in the middle of the kitchen and sat down beside it with my hand on it. I then called Gio over and invited him to start eating while my hand was still on the shoulder. Once he got settled and was chowing down, I unleashed Romeo, walked him over to the shoulder, placed my hand on it again and then invited Romeo to start eating while Gio was eating. After they were both settled into eating, I removed my hand and let them have at it. A couple of times there was some jostling as one dog tried to maneuver the piece to get a better grip. If there was any growling (it only happened twice with Romeo, never with Gio), then I removed the dog that growled, allowed the other dog to settle back into eating for a couple of minutes, then reintroduced the growler to the meat.

I did that routine for the first two or three times that I fed a large RMB like that. Now they know the situation so don't have any issues.

So, I guess, long story short, when it comes to growling at the cat I would remove the food and offer it to the cat (even if the cat won't eat it, that is fine). A few minutes later, ask for another trick or two from Solon then give him the food back. If he growls again, repeat by taking the food away, offering it to the cat, then re-offering it to Solon.
 
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