Suggestions for an undersocialized dog

[cgbirddogs]

I bought a 3 year old dog that obviously did not get socialized very much as a puppy. I bought her because I was interested in her pedigree, and thought it was worth the risk. When she got here, she was very shy, and in fact hunkers down everytime you go to pet her. That leads me to believe she may have been abused as well as not being socialized. The upside is she has a very strong prey drive. She absolutely loves her birds. I took the photo below this past weekend. She's pointing a pigeon. Somebody may have worked with her, because she is acclimated to the collar. I'm seeking suggestions on getting her out of this shyness so I can make her a useful addition to my string. I don't want to just keep her to breed her, I want her to reach her abilities as a hunting dog as well. I have been walking her daily, and letting her see a lot of birds. Any other suggestions that will help this process along will be appreciated.

[kninebirddog]

If you can work on her coming to you not you to her

then take her for walks
take her with you go to Micky Ds get her a plain hamburger feed her small bites at a time

take your time don't coddle the fear or shy and don't get mad or frustrated she will pick up on that faster then all get out

let her know life is good

but then watch her ,,,see if she is coming around she may just be timid and you may want to rethink...

if she is good wth birds ..hopefully she excels to make up for the timid nature..if she comes around great but if she remains the same ...you may want to rethink cause appers are only the icing to the cake

[Greg Jennings]

It might not be feasible, but the optimum would be if you could make her a permanent house dog. Rationale: the more that the dog is around you and people that interact with her and treat her well, the better she is going to be. Having her in the house would provide the most of that. If you can't do that, make her your "truck dog". Take her everywhere with you. When she's ready, take her to the kids' soccer games. Bottom line: the more time she spends with you getting treated right, the better she's going to be.

greg j

[Steve007]

Good responses, but you'd get even more by listing this under the "dog training" section rather than "dogs for sale". imo

Nice-looking dog.Probably worth some time and effort to bring her around. I agree with both the responders so far.

[cgbirddogs]

Good responses, but you'd get even more by listing this under the "dog training" section rather than "dogs for sale". imo

Nice-looking dog.Probably worth some time and effort to bring her around. I agree with both the responders so far.

Yeah that was my fault posting it here. I thought I was posting under General. Maybe Greg can move it for me, but all the suggestions so far have been helpful.

CG

[ezzy333]

I moved it for you.

Ezzy

[bobman]

Gregs advice is spot on

I do a couple of these a year if you can spend the time she will come out of it in about 40-60 days. I sit on the front porch and just rub ears when they want it , they will usaully ignore you at first and be interested in birds and squirells in your yard eventually that will change and the dog will start looking for petting. Another good tip is bring it in and let it sit with you while you watch TV in the evening, the more the better.

[Sharon]

I'm sure this isn't what you want to hear .
I've had a similiar dog.

In my opinion there's not a lot you can do. Those formative months can not be made up. Certainly try everything mentioned but don't get your hopes up. Just my experience.

The dog I had ended up turning into a fear biter ( tremendous liability) , and had to be put down . Be careful.

[bobman]

What? Of course they can be made up, maybe not perfectly but certainly to a large degree. I've worked with dogs like this many times and made great progress.

The fear biter you mention is the extreme exception not the rule

[Chasin' Mearns]

Nice pic.....

Bring her to AZ with you. I bet MEARNS and some rambling will get her pumped even more. Then we will have my daughters and Bucky work on a solid socialization program thru February for you.

Steve

[birdogg42]

CG, I am sure you have seen and dealt with many dogs.But i have seen alot of people who have a few dogs, or people who breed three or more litters a year and in my opinion where they screw up at is they dont put their hands on their dogs enough. They just grab the water hose, spray the kennels out , fill up the water bowl, and dump some feed to them. I bought a pup from a fella that did just that and this pup was scared of me from when i bought him at 8 weeks till he was about 4 months old. Every day when i got home from work or when i didnt have time to put him on birds i would just get in his kennel and just sit in there with him. I wouldnt give up on that gyp just yet. It will take some time for her to open up. But the more that girl can hear your voice and the more you can put your hands on her the better. Keep us posted on her progress. Just my two cents

[mountaindogs]

Yes, you can work with it. I have done it and helped others many times. Just love the dog, expose them, but don't baby them. Just show them that all of this big world is fun and you all are not bothered by it. They will calm down with stabilty and time. Go on lots of walks and car rides, and visit the vet office for no reason just ask for some attention and treats. The vets & techs will value what you are doing and be thrilled to help. And you will also find it much easier to take you shy dog to the vet later as they will not be afraid.

My mom has a dog now that was a kennel dog with very little to no socialization for the first 6 months. It is a shy breed anyway, but her dog has come around and now goes to dog daycare :roll: and lives in the house, and handles all kinds of life with near normal behavior. When she first arrived she wouldn't walk through doors, would definatly not go up to new people and was difficult to even pet as she ducked away.

Best of luck - with time you can do it.

[mountaindogs]

CG, I am sure you have seen and dealt with many dogs.But i have seen alot of people who have a few dogs, or people who breed three or more litters a year and in my opinion where they screw up at is they dont put their hands on their dogs enough. They just grab the water hose, spray the kennels out , fill up the water bowl, and dump some feed to them. I bought a pup from a fella that did just that and this pup was scared of me from when i bought him at 8 weeks till he was about 4 months old. Every day when i got home from work or when i didnt have time to put him on birds i would just get in his kennel and just sit in there with him. I wouldnt give up on that gyp just yet. It will take some time for her to open up. But the more that girl can hear your voice and the more you can put your hands on her the better. Keep us posted on her progress. Just my two cents

Yep, I agree

[jstead]

I saw a West-Gibbon video where the younger of the two was describing handling some dogs that everyone thought was mean. They had them on a short leash and a leather spike collar and when the dog went after them, they'd hold their arms straight out and pick the dog up by the leash so it couldn't bite them. I didn't see any video of this, but they claimed after the dog was tired out, everything was fine.

It might be worthwhile to try this with a dog that isn't out to eat your butt, before playing with the undersocialized of our canine brethren.

[natetnc]

sometimes just sending your dog to a trainer can be the best remedy. when i sent mine off it was mostly for bird training but not only did she come back a better hunter but also a better well rounded dog. i think your dogs lack of socialization can be made up for but it will require living among a lot of other dogs if you want quick results. if she is timid make sure the trainer knows that and is willing to work with a softer dog, make sure he knows the number 1 reason you have the dog there. at 3 years old i don't think the lack of socialization is irreperable, but it will require some steady dedicated attention. i am not a trainer, just trying to give advice based on an isolated experience with my one dog. others can chime in if this is not the norm.

[bobman]

Natc you sent a well socialized dog to a trainer that you probably spent a lot of time with, this dog needs people not dogs around it IMO.

[natetnc]

Natc you sent a well socialized dog to a trainer that you probably spent a lot of time with, this dog needs people not dogs around it IMO.

i didn't see what kind of socialization he was talking about, i was assuming canine. i see your point if he is talking about human socialization and he very well could be, i have been known to missread sometimes. either way, i think a dog develops tremendously in a pack environment.

[vikings269]

i think a dog develops tremendously in a pack environment.

I strongly agree with that however they need also to know the human is the pack leader and not another dog, i've seen great dogs follow other dogs and not care much about the human (not a dog i had any control over) I am going through a similar experience myself as i dont know the history of my 5 yr old chessie but i can tell ya there was at one time fights at the food bowl, he eats his food like someones gonna kill him at any second, sneaks in takes some bites looks around and if theres any sound at all while hes eating hes off like a rocket! anyone ever had to deal with that? funny is if i hold the bowl up for him and just wait he eats the whole bowl of food! he is already way better then when i first got him and im free feeding him for obvious reasons, anyone want to help me with that scenario that has more experience?

[bobman]

WHen you hold a bowl in you hand and offer food to dogs they know it yours and its ok to share, if you put it on the ground whatever dog is dominant will take possession of it. I have 11 dogs and it works everytime, if you let them lick some eggs or something off a plate as long as you hold it even the meekest dogs will come for their share, but put it down and immediately the dominant dog will take sole possession.

Just one more example of pack behavior.

I dont really know how to fix your dogs problem unless there are other dogs in the home, then thats the issue and the bowl needs to be placed somewhere they cannot get to, so it allows him to eat in peace.

[CherrystoneWeims]

I have worked with several rescue dogs who have not been socialized. One of the best things is to tie the dog's lead to you whenever you are at home. That means the dog does EVERYTHING with you. INcluding going to the bathroom. Stick the dog's crate right next to your bed also. Intermittantly give the dog small treats. The dog will be exposed to everyday sounds, you, your family, and begin to think that you are the greatest thing since sliced bread.

K9 also hit the nail on the head about taking the dog everywhere with you. Same thing. Go about your business and pretty much ignore behaviors and reward the good reactions to things.

[Bryce]

I own a dog that was similar to this. He came to me extremely under socialized and scared of everything that moves. I brought him inside his first night home and made him lay by my feet while I watched TV. Wasn't more than an hour before he decided to sniff me and I petted his head when he sniffed me. Dog has been my baby ever since. He was also scared of birds and wouldn't range out more than 10 -15 feet at first. Now, he's steady to wing and shot, has a big range and will walk up to anyone to get attention.

He was 11 months old when I got him and he came out of it within a couple of months. Though he sometimes does get spooked more easily than my other dogs, it is now rare that you find something that spooks him.

Bryce

[vikings269]

I dont really know how to fix your dogs problem unless there are other dogs in the home, then thats the issue and the bowl needs to be placed somewhere they cannot get to, so it allows him to eat in peace.

theres no other dogs in this home right now but he may get introduced to some in the future so im just trying to get all the advice i can now.

[vikings269]

I'll probably figure it out on my own but i love the advice i get here.

[Keny Glasscock]

CG, I am sure you have seen and dealt with many dogs.But i have seen alot of people who have a few dogs, or people who breed three or more litters a year and in my opinion where they screw up at is they dont put their hands on their dogs enough. They just grab the water hose, spray the kennels out , fill up the water bowl, and dump some feed to them. I bought a pup from a fella that did just that and this pup was scared of me from when i bought him at 8 weeks till he was about 4 months old. Every day when i got home from work or when i didnt have time to put him on birds i would just get in his kennel and just sit in there with him. I wouldnt give up on that gyp just yet. It will take some time for her to open up. But the more that girl can hear your voice and the more you can put your hands on her the better. Keep us posted on her progress. Just my two cents

This is more true than many people realize. I know I'm going to take crap for being all "new-age" but these techniques have worked wonders on shy, insecure dogs as well as agressive, head hunters. Time spent putting a dog at ease pays off big time.

http://www.lostarrowgundogs.com/canine_massage.html