Quote Originally Posted by Karen View Post
It really depends on the dog. Shy can be fine with an understanding owner. But you need to find out as much as you can about her, her history, and her current circumstances before committing to her. There will be an adjustment period with any dog, shy or not, ask to meet her, walk her, etc., and your heart will know whether or not you can work with her.
With having social anxiety i have a understanding of how difficult it can be to adjust to new people an situations. from a dogs point of view though it is different. ive been reading on line about shy dogs an watching some training videos involving shy dogs. like this one Beagle mix of some sort would pee upon anyone coming up to greet the dog at home. for them it was easy. all they had to do was praise the dog whenever she did a behavior they wanted. even if it was just sitting an being quiet. than when someone came over they told them how to pet the dog so it didnt appear as a threat to the dog.

but like you said it does depend on the dog. id love to call or email the owner an find out about her as well as meet her an take her for a walky or two. but im hesitant as i havent mentioned anything to my parents yet.

looking back on things i realized how lucky i was with Kirby. i didnt ask for his history. all i asked was basic stuff about him like his age. weight. if he was good around other animals an if she'd be willing to part with whatever left over dog food. a small towel or blanket of theirs an his favorite toy. that ways it... LOL but i did spend quite a while at the owners place feeling out his personality as i watched him play with toys an one of her children. he even insisted on trying to get me in the action by dropping a toy right in my lap as if saying "play with us!" i dont know... we just.. clicked. i felt he wouldnt be a challenge to handle an fortunately i was right