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