How do I get my timid puppy to trust?

Question

We recently adopted a 13 week old French Mastiff and she is painfully skittish around my husband and I. I dont think she has had a great deal of human interaction in her first 3 months. The only one she seems to feel comfortable with is my 15 month old son. (Im sure because when my son crawls they are the same size) Her shyness is making it quite difficult to housebreak or train her because she runs away when I go to either praise her or take her outside after an accident. We already love her and wish we knew what method is best for gaining her trust. HELP!

Answer 1

We bought a rat terrier that had NO human contact for the first 6 weeks of his life. He was SUPER scared of people, so I understand where you're coming from. You're in for a LONG haul with this pup. It's good he's comfy with your son. Perhaps you can sit by your son and the pup will come over and you can just talk to your son AND to the dog without touching her unless she comes to you. Talk sweet to her, and NEVER raise your voice to her!!!!! To her, that'd be the same as hitting her. She needs to have the trust issue addressed first and foremost.

Ours wouldn't look you in the eyes, even if you held his head and talked sweet to him. He'd keep his head down and tail not moving. It was very sad actually. And the long haul I was speaking of.....it was a little over a YEAR before he'd sit by me on the couch!!! I'd be on one end and he'd go to the other end.

So....maybe try getting some healthy treats for her and just sit on the floor and show her the snacks and encourage her to come to you. If she doesn't come after a few minutes, just wait til later and try again. I promise eventually she WILL come to you, but she'll probably just quickly take the snack and take it somewhere to eat it. Praise her over and over again and tell her how good she was.

Then when she will come to you, put out your other hand in a position to try to pet her. When you feel comfy with that, go for petting her and praise her big time!!!!!! And, she may 'choose' you or your hubby to 'cling' to once she's doing better. She'll end up choosing who she feels most comfy with. So, if you and your hubby both do this, it'll show her that guys and women are both ok!!!

Just please have the world of patience with her!!!!!!! You will be so loved in the long run and so proud that you didn't give up on her. We still have ours and he'll be 2 in Sept, so....there is a happy ending!!!! He still has issues, but he's 85% a 'normal' dog.

Feel free to email me if you'd like!

Answer 2

It's very unusual for a dog so young to be afraid of humans unless she'd been previously abused. Puppies are usually very friendly and trusting. Do you know her history?

If you got her from a shelter, it's possible that she was traumatized by that experience, and just needs time to relax and adjust to living in your home.

Without knowing the circumstances, it's difficult to say what approach might work best with her. Give her as much attention as you can, lots of praise, lots of socializing (once she's had all her puppy shots!), and get her used to being touched and handled all over, every day.

If she doesn't seem to be improving, you should ask your vet to recommend a trainer or behaviorist. It's too soon yet to start regular puppy classes (usually at 4 months), but even just a one-time session with someone familiar with the problem might be very helpful. Good luck.

Answer 3

Poor temperament is hereditary and can never be totally trained out. The best way is to socialize her and obed train her, take her to as many classes, puppy kindergarten now and puppy agility classes then the 'real " ones when she is older. But in a situation she was not proofed on she will revert to shy panic behavior and could bolt or bite. She def should never be bred. We put a basic obed title on a fear biter GSD after a year of training. He had to be muzzled for a few months to do the stand for exam but finally passed his CD test. He was never a sound dog and always had to be carefully watched. A dog like that suffers stress all it's life and he died younger than his litter brother and other litter mates partly due to the stress on his system. In severe cases the most humane solution is euthanasia.

Answer 4

Hi. I run a mastiff group here in my city. We have 60 plus dogs and during the last get together one of the youngest pups was acting the way you describe. The owner just sat with him off to the side in her lap and watched the other dogs basically lounge around. I too wondered whether this puppy had had a negative experience prior to being adopted but the fact is the best thing you can do now is face the fear gently but head on. Socialize even when you feel you are at your wits end with the submissive peeing and scampering. She needs to get used to people and dogs and tolerate this kind of stimulation around her. She may never be a "people dog" but with your help she will build trust with people she has experience with and accept new people as you introduce them to her. I would do more socializing than formal training right now. You will get farther with the training once she has found her place in the household and stops running away. You need her to be alert, and respectful to get basics done and fear and anxiety will eclipse the part of her that listens and wants to please IMO. Take her on slow walks. When people are coming your way, take her to the side and let her sit next to you and watch the people pass. Let her get used to the stimulation of having other people around. If someone looks like thy want to say hello tell them maybe later for now. Just spend a week or so walking and watching with little interaction. Once she gets used to that and starts relaxing then have her greet people slowly if she seems waggy about it. Dont force this too soon though. Keep in mind that just being out and in the public could be challenging enough for right now with the sounds and action people the outside world produce. Even my dog who is super waggy with anything that moves was spooked by the sounds in my city when he first arrived because he came from the big country. I took him on slow walks on sidewalks adjacent to our main street to expose him to the sounds to correct this. Eventually find a dog park near you and maybe seek out a group like mine where she will see dogs of her breed. Go to meetup.com and type mastiff and you will find a group near you probably that is free and already up and running. Keep in mind that mastiffs are very sensitive as far as breeds go. Mine still spooks at the sight of a bug sometimes or a strong wind. The first time I corrected him with a loud voice as a puppy, he cried out and peed in front of me. They are not labs or other breeds that can tolerate military type training. They need slow patient training with plenty of consistency and praise. She will be big soon so make a commitment to her and your family to go on these slow walks to help her three times a day regardless of results for now and do it religiously the way you brush your teeth. You will see results even if there are ups and downs in between. You just have to be willing to put in the time and love her!

Answer 5

How old is the puppy? My neighbors have 2 husky's and they are awesome dogs, very friendly loving and very smart. The puppy just needs to get used to the new surroundings and he will fine. Great chioce for a puppy they are gorgeous

Answer 6

Socialize that dog til she drops, but, and this is a HUGE but, also realize that she may have been born that way, her problem may be genetic. It does happen and it happens more often then you would think it does. Do let her wear a leash around the house so she cannot get away from you. Becareful with the baby too...PLEASE.

Answer 7

You need to start socializing this dog. This exposes the dog to many new situations and teaches the dog that there is nothing to be afraid of and the the world is theirs to explore. Do a google search on "the rule of sevens", this is an excellent guide to socializing.

Answer 8

this is weird but this may seem weird but one way is to lay down with her so you are shorter then she is and give her treats and play with her. Then she will realize you are not going to harm her.

But then again dont be to nice because she might think she owns the place...

Answer 9

maybe cause the puppy didn't get used to you guys but when it does-its gonna go crazy!!!!