Skya the chicken

[Giselle]

How do you react when Skya gets nervous? I noticed that you or somebody else will hold her a lot. I'm wondering if the constant holding is reinforcing her fear.

Do you do any "leadership" stuff? Not like scruff shakes or anything (DoG knows I'm extremely against compulsion training), but NILIF? If Skya is to get over her fear, she has to build confidence and I think having a lot of confidence in you is going to help her build confidence in other people, too.

In terms of puppy socialization windows, it's closing at around 4 months and it's normal for her to start getting more weary. However, to counteract that, I would just take her out to a higher-stress environment where you know she's a little out of her comfort zone and just sit there. She has to learn how to acclimate and learn coping skills. To encourage relaxation, you can start massaging her when she starts to acclimate to the environment and slowly feed her *scrumptious* treats. Once she's giving in to your touch and is clearly relaxed, have a stooge person walk slowly and drop a treat by her. Do not have the person approach or look Skya in the eyes. It's just classic DS and CC. She's young, so I don't think she needs any serious behavioral modification. Just DS and CC will do her a lot of good

[wolf_Q]

She's not held all the time...its just when she's at work and one of my co-workers wants to see her she's in a kennel and they have to pick her up to get her out of the kennel (if she's in upper kennel...its in a grooming salon...if she's in a lower kennel she'll walk out of it). When anyone (including me) tries to get her out of a top kennel she wags her tail like she wants to see you but scrunches herself all the way to the back so you have to reach in and pull her out...she's been like that since day one. I don't try to pick her up when she gets scared, but I have a couple of times because she was pulling to get away so much I thought she was going to get out of her collar. Also I have picked her so people could pet her since they can't get near her since she's running away...probably shouldn't have done that...but its just been with people that are my friends that came to my work to see her, hard to see her when she's acting like that.

I mentioned her being held by my friends/brother because they all asked to hold her...cute puppy they can't resist picking up (until they try that is and she pushes them away ). Generally I just stand there if people are wanting to see her...she'll run from them so I'll tell them she's scared and they usually understand and just talk to her/me about her, or if we're walking through the store and she gets scared I keep walking. Really trying not to coddle her I know that doesn't help it just reinforces it. I do talk to her sometimes though...tell her she's fine (not in a "baby talk" voice...normal voice).

If my understanding of NILIF is correct I think I have done some of that. We always make her sit (or shake, or down) for treats. When we play fetch I make her sit before I throw the toy. I've been working on "wait" so I can have her sit and wait before going out the door but she hasn't quite figured out that concept yet.

She has obvious "comfort zones." When she goes to work with me she is comfortable in the car, jumps right in. Once we get out of the car she drags me into the store (parking lot scares her)...then she heads straight for the grooming area (the rest of the store scares her). Once she's in the grooming area she relaxes and isn't nearly as skittish. Once we leave the store she heads straight for my car, she knows which one it is too...wants right back in. I think the class will help, she'll be in the regular area of the store, definitely out of her comfort zone. I'll do what you said and work in getting her to relax out of comfort zone...maybe cheese will do the trick, she loves that. Though I tried to give her a piece today, in my house, while we had visitors and she wouldn't touch it, she ate treats after they left but not while they were here.

[Cinder & Smoke]

SmokeMutt arrived on our front porch as a BADLY Abused (by a GUY) pup who had
NO use for MALE Hoomins - myself included for the first few days.

Within a few months his circle of friends expanded to a total of FIVE males:
* ME (finally)
* Unka Pat
* Doc Mike
* Firefighter Donny
* Findlay's Mr. Ralph (Amy's Hubby)

* And if he could ID a GIRL as not being a guy - ALL Girls were A-OK!
(He had a tuff tyme with girls in pants or jeans, and with short hair.)

He was two years old before he'd accept attention from "strange" men.
He was never mean nor aggressive - just Very Fearful - he'd do his best to pull as
far away from a stranger as he could get - even though usually Y-d to Cinder -
making a real escape impossible.

HOPEfully it won't take Skya THAT long to soften up to strangers - just
keep working on her fear withou being 'pushy' and trying to force her to accept
attention from a person she seems to fear.

Good Luck to both of you!

[Ginger's Mom]

Good luck, Amy. I don't have any ideas for you. I have a genetically timid dog. She did fine in her first series of puppy classes, however, after that was too stressful she would drool all over herself and only let myself and the trainer (same trainer from first set of classes) touch her. She hates going to PetsMart, but she is fine at the park where she can run free and play with the other dogs. We stayed with my Dad for five weeks after he had open heart surgery. Five weeks and she still will not let him touch her. However, we have found things she likes and can do. We took agility classes together, which Ginger loved, and as I said letting her go to the park and run free and play with the other pups makes her very happy.

One of the reasons I got Taz, was to give Ginger more confidence while walking around the neighborhood. She doesn't like walking in a lot of areas because dogs bark at her and scare her. But if we are with another dog she is happy to follow them. So one of the reasons I decided to adopt another dog was to help Ginger build confidence in walking around the neighborhood. It is now easier to walk her. We will see what happens when it is dark when I get home from work, but I have a feeling that it will still be somewhat easier now that she has Taz to show her that it is not that scary. If Skya is more attached to one of the other dogs, try taking her and that dog (Keva?) out together and letting that dog show her how to accept attention. You are right, treats don't work when a dog is stressed, but maybe another dog will.

Good luck and please let me know how you make out. I have had Ginger read by two pet communicators about her anxiety issues, and both have told me the same thing. She was born that way, it is not something I can train out of her, it isn't a learned behavior to a certain stimulus. So whether you do or do not have any luck getting Skya to be more accepting of strangers just let me say, you will still find many things you can do together that will bring joy to both her and you.

[Aspen and Misty]

I may be able to help you...

Sitka as I've sorta talked about before is terrified of people. To the point that when I first got her she shut down completely when we were around. After about a month of being with her she began to trust me but if she thought someone else was in the house she would hide under the coffee table and not come out for the rest of the evening. I will do want you to know one thing before I tell you what I did with Sikta…she is an extreme case. She will never be a "normal" dog, she will never trust strangers and she will never be the kind of dog that enjoys attention from people, not even from me. She is probably the worst situation of fearful you could get and I’m not saying that because she is my dog, I’m saying that because she is literally terrified of people.

It took about a month till I was 100% sure she trusted me because you can't start off with a dog that doesn't trust at least you. I started by walking her outside late at night when I knew no one else was out. This helped to build her confidence in herself and in me. I walked her in a heel position, she was not allowed enough leash to act crazy, run away or to hide behind me. Eventually we went out around mid-day when I knew we might meet 1 or 2 people tops. When we walked past these people I stood tall, looked straight and just kept walking no matter what she did. She was again in the heel position and not given much lead and on a slip lead (like the kind I'm sure you use at your grooming salon). If she tried to run away, hide behind me or just act crazy I gave a gentle "pop" of the leash and just kept walking. It took a few times of doing this but she eventually got used to walking by people and eventually it got to the point where we could walk past people 6 feet away with no reaction from her except for her to stare at them. In my house I no longer allowed her to hide when people came over. I put her on a slip leash and made her come near the person she was scared of. I would start off across the room from the person, when she gave me the sign that she was comfortable, we moved closer until eventually we were sitting next to the person. Eventually I would ask the person to reach out and pet her. I told them not to hesitate but to just act as if she was any other dog and just be confident in petting her. By doing this she overcame her fear of my 2 brothers and my brothers girl friend. When Sitka and I are out I will not let just anyone pet her. I have learned to read her body language and listen to what she is telling me. Sometimes she is just to upset by a person that if the person reaches out to pet her she will have diarrhea on the spot and then for the next few hours afterwards. Obviously those are not the kind of situations I want her to associate with new people so we avoid them. I have simply said to people the same thing you do “that she is terrified of people” and they always understand, back away and then just talk to me about her. Sometimes she seems to be ok with a person and I will ask them to confidently pet her. If the person acts scared or upset by her behavior I will NOT allow them to pet her. I know that in order for her to feel safe with someone they have to act the right way otherwise the experience becomes negative instead of positive. I find the whole key to her progressing is by not allowing her to be crazy, hide behind me or act like a wild thing. She is always kept on a short leash and under my complete control. When she starts to get out of control I start walking, give her a pop and just ignore her. Trust me, it works! Now don't get me wrong just today she went insane because someone walked past us shouting at their kid to "get back here" and Sitka had her leash wrapped around my legs so fast I didn't know what happened! LOL. However, in most cases I just stay calm, collected and in charge and it works.

I won't lie to you, even 4 months later Sitka is still a big chicken and does not like strangers, but she is so much better then she was 4 months ago! I think you know that Sitka, Nova, Konnor and I are on a 10 day voyage to Alaska. Proof to this method of "training" is the fact that Sitka, who stays in the car while on the ferry, will come out of hiding and sit in the passengers side seat and look out at people as they walk by...as long as they stay about 8 feet away from her . However, the point is I never thought I would see the day when Sitka would do the things she does now, I really think eventually she may accept people that come around a lot. All I can say is that while Skya is little you will want to fix the issue. It’s a lot easier to deal with a 30 pound upset dog then a 65 pound upset dog!

Ashley

[Cinder & Smoke]

HEY Ashley ~~

I think you know that Sitka, Nova, Konnor and I are on a 10 day voyage to Alaska.

Not sure which threads you've been reading ... so here goes again >>>

Are you planning to *stop* in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Canada,
for a *howdie* with Glacier at the Husky Ranch?

Or ar you "voyaging" up the coast on a Ferry/Cruise Ship rather than the highway?

[Aspen and Misty]

Not sure which threads you've been reading ... so here goes again >>>

Are you planning to *stop* in Whitehorse, Yukon Territories, Canada,
for a *howdie* with Glacier at the Husky Ranch?

Or ar you "voyaging" up the coast on a Ferry/Cruise Ship rather than the highway?

I'm on the ferry right now Phred! lol. This ferry trip has been 4 days long . My poor pups are downstairs on the car deck but they seem to be doing ok with all of this. I'm still hoping to one day make a trip up to see Glacier or her make a trip down. From what I understand she comes to Haines sometimes for vacation

Thanks for asking!

Ashley