tanteNdut Posted April 4, 2011 Share Posted April 4, 2011 Hi, We've got Bobbi around 2 months ago and she's 1+ year old. Since then, we've had a couple of dinner parties and the occasional friends coming over to hang out. My problem is that Bobbi can't seem to adjust to new people (even to one of my flatmate) and she refuses to eat for the rest of the day if someone come over - not even treats. I can get her to eat only if there's some sardines in her plate. Just wondering if we're doing the right thing by adding the sardines to help her eat when there's people in the house or should we let her be until she decides to eat. I was planning to get all of my friends to give her a little treat after she sniff them but can't do that because she won't eat. We're also trying to take her to public places so she'll get used to being around strangers, but she's extremely jumpy and just refuses to walk towards strangers. It doesn't really matter if it's just 1 or 2 people, but if we're walking towards a group of people then she'll try to run away or cross the street. Any advice on how to get her used to this? I'd like to be able to take her to an outdoor cafe for breakfast on the weekend and I don't want to do it if she's going to be jumpy and shaking all the time. I realise that this is going to be a long process of getting her used to living in the city and having strangers around her all the time, but I want to make sure that I'm on the right path. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hi tanteNdut- There could be a number of issues with your dog - without knowing her breed, history (where did she come from) and what kind of early socialisation she had, my advice is to seek some professional help from a qualified animal behaviourist. Where are you located? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanteNdut Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hi lappiemum, a bit of her background: - we got her from a registered breeder, for some reasons she kept her until she was 1 year and then get her spayed before selling her to me - we went to the breeder's house to check her out before committing to buy and she was very timid and shy compared to the other 20 something schnauzers that jumps and barks with excitement The breeder said that she was always very quiet and she's smaller than the other dogs. So she basically spend 1 year in a huge yard with 20 very active dogs that probably bullied her a lot and she doesn't have much human contact except with the breeder. Since we brought her home, she has changed a lot. She is now running around the house chasing us and started playing, jumping around and being a little mischievous devil. It wasn't easy though, we had to give her lots of cuddles and just give her time to adjust to us and living in an apartment. Her progress is amazing, even when we take her to the dog park on the weekend...the other dog owners can see the difference in her. Last Saturday she even come up to some of the dog owners and let them pet her - usually she won't let anyone pet her except for us. I think she's doing good with people in the dog park because they never try to pet her and she's got plenty of room to roam around if she doesn't want to go near people. But if we have company at home, it might be a different case because it's strangers coming into her house that was suppose to be a safe place for her. I asked my friends to ignore her but every now and again someone will always try to go and pet her Oh and until now...she jumps every time one of us sneeze! We're in Brisbane but as much as I would like to get a professional help, my OH don't think that we're at that point yet. He said that if it takes her a couple of months before she can be totally relaxed around us then it will take at least twice as long to get her used to strangers and our friends that probably come over once a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMAK Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Best thing your friends could do is completely ignore, from when they enter to until they leave until allowing her to go at her own pace to sniff them out and until she got comfortable with people coming and going. i find these type of dogs will bond to one person. Also a lot of timid/shy dogs won't eat in situations where they are in that state. If she is eating the fish when is it (eg, when people are around her, or away from her) as you could be encourging that shy behaviour with the reinforcement of food? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 you need a proper assessment as to wether this dog will be good with people at all. If it naturally has a nervous temperament and has had no critical period socialisation you can be plugging away for years with no result. Dont wait and see, if you want changes you do them now before the dog learns that even with you strangers are something to remain fearful of. I'm curious as to why you chose the dog with the least pet quality temperament. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lappiemum Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 you need a proper assessment as to wether this dog will be good with people at all. If it naturally has a nervous temperament and has had no critical period socialisation you can be plugging away for years with no result.Dont wait and see, if you want changes you do them now before the dog learns that even with you strangers are something to remain fearful of. I'm curious as to why you chose the dog with the least pet quality temperament. Second this. There can be a multitude of reasons for her timidness, but the best way of addressing it is to have someone who is qualified as a canine behaviourist to come out and do an assessment. They will look at the dog and her environment as well as you and your family - quite often we humans will reinforce negative behaviour in our dogs without even realising it :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanteNdut Posted April 5, 2011 Author Share Posted April 5, 2011 Thanks for the replies I didn't exactly choose her, I was looking for an adult dog and this breeder just happen to have one that she wanted to sell. So we went there and we thought that she was just a bit shy. The first time I saw her I picked her up and she lean on my shoulder....I can't say no to that! The food (with sardines) is her dinner, I put it in her balcony like usual. I did wonder if she's going to associate sardines with being nervous when there are strangers in the house, but we give her sardines once or twice a week anyway. We just got home from the cardiologist and she's been diagnosed with a severe case of SAS. I'll have another talk with my OH after we calm down and have time to digest all the information we get today. If she doesn't have a long time with us, the least I can do is to make sure that we're on the right track and can help her to adjust properly. I can't stop him from inviting people over, so the best way is to get someone to come over and help point us in the right direction. Any suggestion for an animal behaviourist around Spring Hill/Brisbane? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 oh dear I'm so sorry to hear that hugs to the two of you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted April 6, 2011 Share Posted April 6, 2011 I'm so sorry to hear your sad news. In the meantime, try to avoid lots of people at once. Try inviting just one friend around at a time, and instead of trying to force her to be friends, tell them to just totally ignore her - even if she comes up for a sniff. My dog is like this also, and it took a while. She is better with people who sit on the ground and don't look at her - and if she does come close they hold their hand out for her to smell, but don't try to pat or force the issue. She comes around in her own time, and usually ends up sitting on them or leaning on them. It does take time and patience though, but well worth it. I find Sasha still gets a bit intimidated when there are too many people at once, especially if they are all trying to show her attention. But she is much better and will deal with it all pretty well. I find that slowly is the way to go though first until you start to see her confidence build. She also had issue walking past strangers or groups of people in the park - but I would just keep going (keeping a little distance but not too far) and show no signs of noticing or reacting to her in anyway. Just keep looking ahead and walking. It took a while, but she's now fine in that respect too. It just takes a little bit of love and time I hope that your girl has a happy life with you, and vice versa, regardless how long she is with you for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanteNdut Posted April 7, 2011 Author Share Posted April 7, 2011 Thanks everyone :D Kelly_Louise, I'll try your suggestion and stick with one friend to see if she can adjust because my OH is still refusing to get a professional help. But I'm still trying to talk some sense into him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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