How do I get this terrible shyness out of my 8 month old female German Shepherd?

Question

My 8 month old female German Shepherd is very very shy. Whenever she sees a stranger she hides until the person leaves. I walk her very often so she can get proper socialisation etc but she still acts like a 2 month old. In fact she don't even bark, instead she makes that squeeky puppy sound all the time. I plan to continue taking her on walks and constant socialisation around different persons, places etc but is this normal for an 8 month old German Shepherd to react so shy and immature?

Answer 1

My 6th month shiba inu was exactly the same. I started giving my puppy treats everytime we encountered someone new on the street or at my house. it is good when on a walk as soon as you see a person start giving you treats right away, even if your 50 yards away then you can cross the street so you don't scare your puppy. Once you've done this awhile maybe decrease the distance to about 30 yards while treating your puppy before you cross the street. Keep decreasing the distance until you can walk up to the person and have them throw her treats. Then eventually shell even take treats from strangers. Same t hing in the house, soon as someone enters have them totally ignore her and just stand right inside the door and give her treats if she doesnt run right away and so on. I've taken puppy classes, but i didn't find them as effective as doing the experiment itself! Good luck!

Answer 2

I have a GSD as well, first of all I advise that you not take your dog to the dog park no matter what; one negetive experiene there could completly ruin such a shy dog, and I might add that you have no way of controlling the other peoples dogs. Your dog will need alot of socialization but be sure that it is very controlled so that you are absolutly sure that your pup cant be startled by a sudden movement, an unfriendly dog etc. Have guests pet her and give her a treat in an quiet calm way. This is a genetic issue so it will never be completly "erased" just always have the dog in your imediat control and dont let her get in a situation where something might scare her to where she feels she must defend herself; different dogs perceive danger at different levels but you can tell when she feels threatened :)

Answer 3

training really works well. I spend basically anywhere from 18-24 hours a day with my dog, that got us really close. I play with him for about 5 hours a day (mostly outside), I praise him when he does a good job, and also I talk to him. Of course he doesn't understand, but i think it comforts him. Bonding is easy, just time consuming. Good luck, german shepherds are the best breed ever!

Answer 4

Most of the times shyness is genetic. It is impossible to cure, but yes it is possible to hide it apparently so that others, espcially intruders cant make it out. Socialising the pup is the proper thing you are already doing. Always be gentle though firm. Please do not bother about the barking part. Alsatians as it is are not supposed to make unecessar noise. They are supposed to be chary of strangers, evaluate them and use descretion in barking.

Answer 5

I recommend that you log on to www.germanshepherds.com. This site is very helpful to new shepherd owners....Just visit the 'forum' section. Post a question on it, you should have a few good answers in a matter of a hour. Many Trainers, police officers and rescue workers use this site to relate info.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

to get the shyness limited in her, you have to play with her. If their is a dog park near by you, or if your friends have dogs, let her play. Take her out on walks in the town so that she xcan get used to people. German shepards are shy at first, depending on the parents. When they become like 1 year old, they have more nergy and are more active.

Answer 7

she will be fine just keep working with her and keep her around people most puppies are like this i have one that is 10 months old and she does the same because she was not treated very well at all and she is doing better now everytime she goes around a person praise her give her treats and stuff she will eventuallly get out of it she is still learning

Answer 8

It is not uncommon behavior in a guard breed to be nervous as youngsters. They WANT to protect but are unsure of themselves, so they hide behind their human, somewhat in confusion. They certainly have no desire to approach strangers in a friendly manner!

Your attitude is very important. You need to be calm, relaxed and act cheerful when encountering friendly strangers. Do NOT try to soothe your dog. Don't by voice, body language or words tell her, "It's ok, baby, don't be scared". Don't show sympathy, as the dog will not hear 'don't be scared', she will only hear 'it's ok'...ok to be scared and afraid, that is. Either ignore her if she is simply behind you or talk encouragingly if she shows interest in the strangers.

Your girl is confused by her instinctive distrust of all strangers, period the end, and your asking her to be nice to these potentially dangerous souls. She hasn't learned the skills yet to determine the difference between an axe-wielding murderer and your second cousin who you haven't seen in 5 years.

Keep up what you are doing, exposing her to different people, encouraging her to be a well-behaved member of society. She will start to click on who means danger and who can be greeted in a friendly fashion.

If she is food motivated, you can start to give treats to people you meet and ask them to give them to the dog. However, if she isn't particularly food motivated, strangers offering food might be construed by your dog as a threat.

Good luck and keep up the good work in socializing your dog!

Answer 9

Keep up the socialization. Also I find it helps to enrol them in obedience class (learning new things helps to build confidence, and it helps to improve communication between you and your dog). My shy dog also benefited from agility classes.

Answer 10

You may get better results for this question if you post it in the pet section...