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

[coco-bean]

even before we got a new puppy cainan has acted scared of everything! i know some dogs grow out of it and some dont but i just dont know what to do with him anymore, it's getting a little much, and i dont know what to do! a little about cainan...well... he's scared of people most of all! i could be on the complete opposite side of the room...more then 4 feet away and i go to get up from the couch or to even switch positions on the couch and he automatically thinks im coming after him, he gets up his ears back and his tale between his legs and he takes off for his kennel! majority of the time his kennel door is open so he hides in there almost most of the day, even when nobody is moving, he just likes to sit in there and hide! we could be telling another dog no...name included and he still gets very anxious! any sudden noises freak him out! When his kennel door is shut and he realizes he cant go in there he is automatically fine...his ears go back to normal, tail back up in the air wagging and following me or my boyfriend around! we eventually got use to it because this is an EVERYDAY thing, there isnt a day that he doesnt seem anxious, if he were a person(no joke at all) they would find that he has ADHD mixed with some sort of terets(sp) is unlike anything i've ever seen in a dog before! we pretty much got use to it and some days he seems better then others so it doesnt really cause much of a problem, but lately we've been going on more walks since the house is much more cramped then usual with the new puppy, were still teaching corona the ropes of leashes so Andy(my boyfriend) walks behind me, coco, and cainan while teaching her the ropes and we just walk along just normal! well coco is normal while cainan walks relatively normal for about 2 seconds....whatever side cainan is on, when my foot moves forward(of course to walk) on that same side he automatically drops to his feet and ears back, tail as far between his legs as it can go! almost like he thinks im going to kick him or something! and when my feet arent scaring him when the leash sways back and forth from walking, when it swings back towards him and it touches him, he thinks someone is coming after him and he does the exact same thing! im at a loss for words with him anymore...i love him to death but i almost think he needs a behavorist or something to help him get over his fears...but andy and i have been trying to help him...he's just constantly scared! he RARELY gets in trouble because he's basically potty trained now, he plays regularly, gets bathed, petted and personal attention as equal as the rest but he just still is almost unmanagable! please help! Sorry so long, thanks in advance!
p.s. i know bringing a puppy into the situation prolly didnt help a whole lot but i honestly didnt think he would ever change since he's been like this since we've gotten him! and nothing's helped!

[critter crazy]

Did you get him as a puppy?? or was he previously owned?? Duke acts the same way in certain situations. If I raise my voice at all he hides, if I Pick up something, as simple as a piece of paper, and walk in his general direction he runs and hides. We got Duke when he was 4 months old, and i think he was abused. I have never struck him, or made him think i would, yet he still behaves this way. he is 1 1/2 yrs old now. I just accept it and try my best to comfort him when he feels scared. I realy dont know how to fix the problem.

[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..