Shy dog/Barking on walks - any suggestions?

[kalija]

Hi. I really need some help with 2 problems I am having with my 10 month old pup, Zuki. He is a mixed breed, possibly Border collie or Aussie, mixed with something else. First, there is his incredible shyness with people. He is a great one family dog. We have a 2 yr old whom he adores, and he's great with myself and my hubby. But he won't let other people get near him. I can't even say "strangers" because some of these "other" people include my mom and dad who come visit every single week. He has known them since I got him as a puppy! He doesn't act terrified, he 's not shaking or anything like that. He simply goes to the other side of the room and watches them. (My hubby says he has "shifty eyes" when doing this). He will take a treat very gingerly from my mom if she sits quietly and holds it out. We did take him to puppy class and he was very fearfull at first but by the end of the 8 weeks he was doing great. We did have the whole family over for thanksgiving, and he did surprisingly well. He didn't show any outward fear, just plain avoided everyone by staying just out of reach. He doesn't growl or bark and I guess I can live with this, if I have to.
The real problem is his barking in other circumstances. If we are out and a neighbor talks to him he barks frantically, and I think fearfully. He did get out with us as a puppy so I don't think this is lack of socialization. Which brings me to my other big problem which is walking Zuki alone in daytime. He is just fine if he's walking together with our other dog, Dutchess, and he's just fine if I walk him alone at night when its dark. BUT if I take him for a walk in daylight by himself, he barks. The entire time of our walk. Doesn't matter if its 5 minutes or thirty, he barks the whole time. Its almost a frantic barking, I am not sure if he is frightened or just excited. The trouble here, is Dutchess is not getting any younger, (she has a touch of arthritus which acts up occasionally) and there are days she really shouldn't be taking the extra walks he needs to burn off energy. So like it or not he needs to learn to be out without her company. He is a very sensitive, shy dog, so I mostly use a clicker to train him, but he barks soooooo constantly I can't get a pause to click him in for being quiet! A friend suggested that I use a squirt gun to startle him for an instant into stopping - I don't know if that would work and I don't know if its a good idea. But I myself have no idea what to do with him. I am just about to give up on him ever being the kind of dog I can take everywhere with me. Its gotton so I avoid taking him places, and that makes me very sad. I would like to be able to take him to the park with my son, and I can't have him barking the whole time! If his temperament just happens to be a shy, one family dog, that is OK, but I want to have some control so he isn't a complete wreck in the vets office, for example.
Sorry for the really long post, but I really need some suggestions. Can anyone help?

 

[adojrts]

Hi
Well this first thing I would ask people to do i.e your mother is to not make eye contact with him, also give her some very yummy treats to have handy, while not looking at him (turned away is best), toss him a cookie for good behaviour, the closer he gets the better the rewards. She could also toss him a cookie, then turn and walk away, if he follows reward!! Don't ask him to approach or take food from someone new, or from someone he is uncomfortable with, work within his comfort zones.
In the home, play 'watch me' games, and get his focus on you, when he is totally focused on you, add distractions, once he will focus on you with distractions, take him outside (with your other dog near also will work at first, as she is probably his safety net and he takes his cues off her), and work on the focus games and 'watch me'. Progress to taking him a short distance while playing the focus games. He sounds like he is very fearful and is barking to keep all others away. Also on your walks, at first try not to approach anyone or anything that he is concerned about, straight on, move at an angle. With patience and understanding, you can teach him to control his fears.
I am very new to this forum, but from what I have read so far, there are some excellent dog trainers here and I am sure they will also try to help you.
Good luck and take care
Lynn

 

[kalija]

Thanks for the reply! The trouble is, most of the time there is no one outside on our walks - I have no idea what he is barking at. For example, last night I took him along when my son wanted to ride his bike. He barked for 90% of the walk - and there was no one outside. No people, no dogs, nothing.(Although I am sure they were looking out their windows grumbling about my loud dog!) But seriously, I can not see anything he might have been disturbed about. The fear of people, I am sure is caused by Dutchess. She is the type that always barks when people come over, and I believe that this makes him afraid there is something to fear. He takes his cue off her. Unfortunately I don't think there is much I can do about that - she's done it for 11 years, and was sadly egged on by my husband in the early years because we lived in a bad section of town.....
I know I should probably take him out to places like petsmart etc to see more people, but I am afraid he will go nuts barking. Its gotton so I hesitate to take him anywhere, although he really enjoys riding as long as I leave him in the car. Maybe thats what I should be doing more often, hmmm, I think I could try that at least.
Anyway, thanks for your response.

 

[Brandyb]

Hi there (and Hi Ado!)
I think Ados advice is great. You're going to have to try and get your dog to focus on your while walking, and not on everything else around him. He may have an unusual fear of open spaces (agrophobia in people) and he needs to work past this. It sounds like your other dog is definately his security blanket, so I would work him with your other one to start. Do the "watch me" exercises as Ado has suggested. Start in the house, under no distraction (ie. in a bedroom with the door closed). Gradually build up until you feel you can move to a more distracting setting (in the living room where people move in and out frequently). You eventually want to build him up so that you can do these exercises outside. Once you feel confident that he has the "look at me" down pat, try it on a walk (with your other dog along). It doesn't have to be a long walk, just a short one to get him used to doing the exercise while walking. Once he is reliable in this situation, gradually fade out your other dog from the walks, all the while still continuing the "attention" exercise. Start with short walks, you and another person, and near the end, have the other person take your other dog one way and you go the other. Start off doing this very close to home, and only allowing him a short period of separation time (work up from a few seconds onwards). Don't make a big deal about the other dog leaving. Keep the attention exercises going while the other dog is departing. Don't point it out, or show it to him, or act in anyway that would indicate that you are nervous about the other dog leaving. The goal of this is to eventually work up to the other dog leaving at the begining of the walk in stead of near the end, and eventually (hopefully) you can fase out your other dog altogether. This, of course, will take some time and patience.
If in doubt, try to contact a behaviourist in your area - it is always good for someone to see the behaviour in person before giving advice.
As for the shyness in house, Ado is correct again, allow him to approach people at his pace. Have those who come in the house ignor him. Eventually he will become curious, and when he does, make sure people have treats with them to reward him for approaching. No eye contact, physical contact or anything like that, just offer the treat, on the floor at first - tossed so that he doesn't feel uncomfortable taking it, then eventually work up to him taking treats out of hands. Move very slowly on the physical contact with others, and if he seems to nervous, go back a step.
Hopefully this helps a bit. As I said, it would be wise to contact a behaviourist or trainer in your area who can properly evaluate the situation.
Good luck - let us know how things turn out!!!

 

[kalija]

It just occured to me what his barking reminds me of. I saw a show on tv about sled dogs a while back, and I remember the dogs howling/yipping as they were pulling the sled. (Hope someone knows what I mean). I don't know if this is somthing common to working sled dogs or not - I'm sure someone on here knows. Anyway, they sounded quite frantic and excited. This is what he does, except he barks, instead of howls. Its quite piercing, lol!
Anyhow, I had today off work so I summoned up every ounce of courage I had and took him out to Countrymax - its a farm and garden type store where they allow dogs; I chose it because I seldom see many people or dogs there, unlike Petsmart. I was shocked that he was actually very well behaved. He kept his tail (well, stump!) tucked, but wasn't cringing or anything like that, looked around and sniffed everything and picked out a toy.He only barked once, at a deer statue. AND, drumroll, please, he took a cookie from the cashier. I almost fell over. He didn't eat it, dropped it on the floor, but he reached out and took it like it was completely normal. He's killing me, I really don't know what to think of him. All of your suggestions are good, I have told visitors not to try to touch him, but I don't think I asked them not to talk to him or to avoid eye contact. I will work on that. Thanks.