Im starting to get more and more concerned!! please help!

[coco-bean]

we got cainan when he was almost 3 months old! he was born and raised for that 3 months on a farm and there really werent any kids for the puppies to play with! All the males were stuck in a hen house and the only female left was seperated about 6 feet away in a pig cage(thing) the family was farmers you could tell, the wife worked in town all day at the hospital and the husband was out in the fields all day! they reassured us that they wouldnt have any of these issues because they have grand kids who come over sometimes to play with them! BUT i really dont know how "often" these kids came over! while we were picking out a puppy, none of them had personalities of their own, we let them out of their coop and they all took off running for the field and didnt give any of the "humans" a second look!! we never strike him or abuse him, of course when he was a little younger we'd flick his noise for chewing on feet, clothes and such and when he went potty in the house he'd get a swat on the butt but nothing ruthless! im affraid when we are out walking and he acts this way people are going to think we honestly hurt him and he isnt safe in our care! it's kind of embarrising because we have two normal puppies who walk and play and get excited when we play rough and go for walks but then we have cainan who is just a lab of another color(so to speak) i wish he'd join in when we wrestle and play and crawl on the floor/run around and things of that nature, but he simply runs and hides!

[borzoimom]

Have you tried the " dog ignore " method. With a dog a glance then slowly look away, means I accept you, alias kid " whatever" look. When you go to move etc., do not even look at the dog- nothing- as far as you are concerned- WHAT DOG.. if you make eye contact, slowly look away and exhale.. Exhale in dog language means like a release time to relax.. Try it..

[coco-bean]

BAD NEWS....i do it every time i go to get up hoping he would think i want nothing to do with him! he still freaks out!

[borzoimom]

just try it... Also remember exhale means " you are are relaxed" and it spreads to the dog. Even if you have to make the exhale ( its gentle long and slow and relaxed) before you move, it works.. There might be a mental problem here if the dog was abused.. but lets try this..

[coco-bean]

okay ill give it a try tomorrow morning when i get ready for work! he's pretty relaxed right now, there all 3 a little tired from their walk and then they came home and wrestled with each other for about 2 hours! The morning time is the worst! as if he is in mad sprint as soon as he leaves the kennel! It's kinda like someone hits the fast forward button as im opening the door because he tail goes 50000 miles a minute and his head swings around, feet pattering with every step and then jets out the back door, jumping all 4 steps to get outside before anyone else, finding the perfect spot to relieve himself then racing around like nascar until we tell him to come inside....then sprints around inside...as long as we let him! he use to be a really good eater but he gets too excited now when he eats! He'll sniff it nibble some pieces and take off around the kitchen not knowing if he should eat it....like this morning he thought he was going to get in trouble for eating so he didnt even start eating his food until about 25 minutes past and coco and corona were already done!(might i remind that the food bowls around about 2 feet apart(coco wont eat her food unless it's about 2 to 3 feet away from everyone elses) and they eat at the same time everyday so im not changing anything on them!) I know cainan might be full, he gets like that sometimes, so does coco-but-when he is full he doesnt nibble, or sniff...or even jet around the kitchen...he simply goes and lays back in his kennel or drinks the water from the bowl...COMPLETELY CALM too!

[agilityk9trainer]

You're describing my American Eskimo. I got her at the age of two, and she had been both abused and neglected. Neglect at a young age can cause dogs to act like they've been abused. I suspect this poor pup was not socialized at all in the first important three months of his life. It has left this emotional scar.

First, you must be patient. Working through issues like this takes years. Please note that. In fact, I'll repeat it. This takes YEARS to recover from, and your dog will never fully recover. However, in the home environment, Cainan will recover quite nicely. I don't think it said in the post how old Cainan is.

First, I'd keep the kennel door closed. My dog, Laika, used to run to her kennel, too. If I made any movement, swoosh, she was off. I also began using baby gates to block her into whatever room I was in. This kept her from running off whenever I made a movement.

You're reaction to hear fears will either help increase them or decrease them. Are you comforting her, saying something like, "IIt's OK. Don't be afraid. I'm here." If so, you are making the situation MUCH worse. Dogs interpret that as, "It's OK to be afraid. You're good to be afraid." They think if you think it's OK to be afraid, then, man, this must be a terrible thing!

Your reaction should instead be one of joy when she gets scared. When Laika gest scared, my immediate reaction is a happy, joyful tone. "Did that noise scare you? You silly girl! Look, it's just me setting down a soda can! See, that's not scary at all!" All done in a happy tone. Now, she'll still sometimes get scard, but as soon as I start my happy talk, her tail comes into a slow wag and she gets a sheepish look as if to say, "Boy, I was silly to get scared over that!"

My strong advice to you is to get the book, "Help for Your Shy Dog" by Deborah Wood. She'll have TONS of good information in there on things you can do. You can get it through amazon.com, I believe. It's a very easy read. You will find it incredibly helpful.

Also, enroll Cainan into an all-positive obedience class. Doing obedience work with shy dogs makes a huge difference. However, the class MUST be all positive. Adding any negative punishments into the mix with a dog this soft will have disasterous effects. If you don't know what all-positive is, ask me, and I'll tell you. Swatting him on the butt for peeing or flicking his nose are both too much punishment for this boy, and indeed, they did play into his problems. Some dogs can't handle any physical punishments. You need to learn how to train using NO punishment at all. It can be done, and it can be powerful.

As shy dogs learn obedience, they gain confidence. They begin to believe in themselves, and they begin to unfurl like a flower opening. I loved watching Laika grow in confidence as she learned obedience. With each task she completed, you could see the fear and shyness slowly begin to drip off of her. It was so cool. Training is extremely important for such dogs.

So, get the book I mentioned, develop patience, get baby gates, change your tone of voice and join an all-positive obedience class. There is much hope for your baby!

[freckledimple]

I had a Great Dane that was just like that. I got Gypsie at three months old, and everyting scared her. The slightest loud noise, too harsh of a tone, too fast of a movement, and she would cower like she was going to be beat. I never struck her or anything. We were always kind with her. When I got her some obedience training, that helped some. It also got better as she got older. She was always a bit jumpy all of her life, but not as bad as when she was a puppy. Hopefully, yours will get better, too. Just remember to have patience.

PS. I talk about Gypsie in the past tense because she died 3 yrs ago at the ripe old age of 12.