# Puppy shyness or not well-socialized puppy?



## daleskim (Jul 16, 2013)

Hello Vizsla Community,

I have a 9 week old Vizsla, and I'm worried that I got a puppy who is not well-socialized. I'm having a terribly difficult time socializing the puppy because she is literally afraid of everything. Here's what I've observed:



[li]Chooses to hide underneath chairs or anything that provides a "roof"[/li]
[li]Tail is always tucked; I've never seen it upright & wiggle. See attached picture.[/li]
[li]Little motivation to explore surroundings -- again, tail is always tucked[/li]
[li]Sees a stranger -- tries to find closest structure that provides a "roof"
[/li][li]First vet visit was traumatic -- she peed out of nervousness; doc commented on how shy she was.[/li]
[li]Friendly neighbor dog sniffed my pup and she peed all over.[/li]
[li]To get her used to car noises, I walked her to the front of my townhouse entrance. 100 Yards away is an intersection. She froze at the sight and would not budge. I had to pick her up.[/li]
[li]Dog treats have very minimal value to her; More than half the time she spits it out. I've tried several varieties; Happy voices, belly rubs, encouraging words have no visible impact.[/li]

At this rate, I feel like I'm in a very long haul. I feel the general opinion is that my pup is still learning and understanding her new home. However, I'm having a difficult time believing this because I've seen other pups, while initially nervous of a stranger, will warm up with time, encouraging words and/or treats -- the pups have some drive/curiosity to move forward. I have not seen a hint of this from her, and instead, she freezes, dodges, or urinates.

Please help me understand if this is puppy nervousness or the puppy's real temperament, and advice on how to help is greatly appreciated


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## harrigab (Aug 21, 2011)

Hi daleskim, and welcome to the forum. I think although pup may be a little nervy, gentle cosseting and praise will soon bring pup round, not too much to soon, but don't give up on socialising her I'm sure she'll start responding more positively when she's more comfortable in her new surroundings.


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## Rudy (Oct 12, 2012)

Keep your hands all over that pup 

each even smaller gain you tell them so with hands on love and cares

urge this one with core spirit loves

Tell him of her she is great and loved right is coming 

its inside the heart 

words and repeated actions will matter more with this one


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Welcome! At nine weeks, your puppy is still just a tiny, little baby. Give her lots and lots of love and reassurance, time and patience. Don't expect too much from her too soon. Be gentle and loving. I'm sure she will come around in time. She's still very, very young, and is probably wondering what happened to her real mom and her littermates. Her world has been turned upside down. Rudy is right. Let her know she is loved and she is safe. Soon enough she will blossom. ;D ;D ;D

Keep working on her socialization process. It takes time and happens gradually. They do not come pre-socialized.

_p.s. You can use the search box in the upper right, just above the ads, to search "socialization" and find lots of tips and great suggestions on how to socialize your puppy. I think Cesar Milan did an episode with a Vizsla on ways to build your dog's confidence, and that's what your puppy needs... more confidence. Celebrate every success._


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## MilesMom (Jun 21, 2012)

Be sure to continue to expose her to new situations in a safe controlled manner, but don't baby her too much or she will think she has a reason to be afraid. 

Hopefully it's just a new puppy thing, but if not, we have a fearful 20 month old that has been through a good amount of training to overcome his fears. You can PM me if you have any questions. Our Miles was afraid of all strangers, power lines, cars, dump truck, umbrellas.... the list goes on and on. Despite proper socialization and exposure to new environments, he was the 2nd most submissive of 10 pups and it's just ingrained in him a bit. We are lucky he is not reactive when fearful, he just lays down.

He's doing great now though. Best of luck!


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

You might want to consider trying a DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser or collar. It mimics what the mother gives off to the pups to let them know they are safe. Humans cannot smell it. 

We purchased one for our 14 month old that is going through some fear based issues and I believe it has helped a lot. They are not expensive and can be purchased on Amazon and at some pet stores. It is not a substitute for training or behavior modification, but might help your pup feel a little safer so she can start adjusting to her new environment. Hope your baby starts getting better soon.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I would keep the baby dog in familiar surroundings... They all love walking and running on grass. I would limit the roadway to almost nil, for the moment.... Smart puppy!


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

What an adorable puppy! All dogs are different so this could just be a phase (all puppies have fear stages!), but our puppy Gus was exactly the same way when we brought him home at 10 weeks, and he is now 2 and we are still dealing with this problem. The thing that you wrote that is the most similar to our 2-year old Vizsla, Gus, is that you said that she doesn't warm up to strangers. That is EXACTLY the same with our boy - while most dogs EVENTUALLY warm up to people, Gus will rarely get used to a stranger. Even after 5-10 encounters. Even with people he does know well, if they don't come around for a few months, he will forget them. STILL. At 2 years old.

While some fear is typical in a young puppy, I believe that showing this much fearful behavior at such a young age is NOT normal and points to a genetic issue since the fearful behavior couldn't possibly have been "learned" yet. Have you met both your puppies' parents? Do you know if either of them is a shy or timid dog? Our Gus' mom is very shy and timid and we had no idea because we never met her (dumb move). If both your pup's parents are outgoing friendly dogs, you probably have less to worry about. 

My advice (from OUR experience and what I have read-I am no expert) is that genetic or not, this needs to be handled really carefully! Socialize very slowly - NEVER push the puppy to do something he doesn't want to do. If she is not taking treats, she is WAYYYYY too scared and you need to stop immediately. Forcing things to this point will only make her more fearful, or she may resort to the "fight" response. I think we made a HUGE mistake there by forcing socialization too fast (because we were concerned as you are). Does she ever growl at things when she is trying to hide? Gus started growling and hiding under chairs at around 10-11 weeks in his puppy socialization class.

It has been a rough go with our boy, but actually, although he was a pretty bad case, he is improving just with age and maturity. We consulted a behaviorist at around 7 months and we have worked a little with "counter conditioning", but not as well as we should. The behaviorist told us that displaying this amount of fearful/aggressive behavior at a young age is NOT normal, but he was optimistic that with a lot of work the problem could be largely overcome. If you have time and dedication to work on this and slow socialization, I think you're probably okay, but repeat: it requires a lot of effort!

PS- you can get a little vest that says "puppy in training" or something like that for her to wear while out and about so that strangers don't flock towards the cute puppy and overwhelm her. You can also try a "thundershirt" that is a tight shirt thing that is worn around the chest that helps scared dogs feel more secure. 

Here's some reading:
http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/fear-people. 
http://fearfuldogs.wordpress.com/

Good luck!


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## daleskim (Jul 16, 2013)

Hello Everyone!

I really appreciate the reassurance and tips from your responses. This forum is amazingly supportive! By the way, I forgot to introduce my little pup - her name is Priya  I'll give periodic updates as she makes progress with shyness.

*Here's what happened yesterday:*
I was rereading How To Housebreak Your Dog by Shirlee Kalstone; in this book, she has a short chapter on the Power of Praise. The information there combined with your responses here made me realize that I should be extremely exuberant with praises. I mean to the point of, "OK, Dad - Thanks for the praises and kisses but this is really embarrassing me." 


[li]So I used to be, "That's a good girl! *Scratch chin* *Pat the head*"[/li]
[li]Now I am at, "GOOD GIRL! GOOOD GIRL!! GOOODDDDD GIRLLL. I'm SO proud of you! *Scratch chin* *rub ears* *Scratch chin* *Rub body* *Pat the head* GOOOOOOD GIRL!!"[/li]
*And then a switch flipped in her confidence (see picture below).*


[li]She started to sniff around more.[/li]
[li]Her tail went UPRIGHT![/li]
[li]I caught a glimpse of a wiggling tail (I was so freaking happy - I mean SO happy).[/li]
[li]I had a guest come over. She entered the home with low energy, and sat on the couch immediately. Again, in my super exuberant voice, I asked Priya, "Who is that?!" Priya followed me to my friend, and she jumped on the couch and wanted to investigate this new person. She licked and snuggled, but she did have an accident with excitement peeing.[/li]
[li]While her tail was upright and she was sniffing around, a neighbor did walk by at a distance and she did tuck her tail and used me as a "roof." I just ignored it, walked away, and exuberantly told her to explore. She did.[/li]

With that said, I think maybe yesterday she finally felt some comfort with her new environment, and that combined with my change in praises and encouraging her has helped release some of her tension. I am meeting with a professional trainer tomorrow to get some advice on what I can do now in terms of socialization that's comfortable for her. When her vaccination schedule is complete, she will definitely be going through some training programs. Updates to come!


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## flxstr (Nov 19, 2012)

Ah, the Vizsla roof! And tucked tail. Know those two well, mine would have spent her first 6 months virtually living under my legs (if I'd allowed it).

She *hated* going for walks because everything scared her (people, birds, dogs, cats, cars, trees, and especially fire hydrants). 

But, only a short 10 minute walk away was a gas station. And we would go there every day, and sit outside that gas station front door for an hour. Many people ignore you and walk in/out without stopping, but many people also interact, especially for a puppy.

After a month straight of this, she became very desensitized to it, and it became a "fine, let's get this over with" exercise for her. She didn't love the exercise, but no longer feared it. And started to become more confident in other areas such as walking down the sidewalk with cars, and eventually even lost her fear of fire hydrants.

Now, she is the official "greeter" of anything new and interesting. New dog? Hi! New person? Hi! (cautiously) New <whatever>? Hi!

It's just time, patience, love, and encouragement. And it's totally worth it.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

daleskim, I am SO happy to hear about Priya's progress (already)!! ;D ;D ;D That exuberant praise can really work magic. It works very well with getting the idea across about potty training, and just about anything else. She just has to know for sure what pleases you and what she's doing right.

Love the "upright tail" photo, and love her name, too!!


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## mlg1900 (Jun 12, 2013)

Hi, 
I also have a timid puppy at times and wanted to share my experience and how I have dealt with it so far. 

I had seen an episode on the dog whisperer with a Vizsla that had severe anxiety and it taught me alot about holding the puppy's tail up to give it confidence. So I would pet her and hold her tail up for a few extra seconds if I noticed her tucking it. Also, if you baby her when she is afraid it can actually make the situation worse. So, if I noticed she was afraid, I would try to let her work it out herself instead of babying her. And every time she would try to hide under my legs, I would just take one step away and forcing her to be out in the open. I also think that we avoided separation anxiety by never making a big deal about leaving. We just put her in the crate with her towel and toys and leave. And she has never cried or barked when we leave or put her in her room for bedtime. 

She is 6 months old now and still seems shy when meeting some strangers and then other stranges she will go straight up to. So, I can not really figure that part out. I hope that with exposure she will eventually just grow out of it. We have recently started with a new obedience trainer and he says that there is bad shyness and normal shyness and hers is pretty normal. He says he would use the term cautious to describe her and he says that is not a bad thing at all.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

I noticed that my dog is generally very friendly and inquisitive. However, that depends on the environment. In some environments my boy is quite unsure as well... generally, he is more comfortable in nature. 
Honestly, I have no desire to "improve" his instincts, may change his view of the world.


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## Watson (Sep 17, 2012)

datacan said:


> I noticed that my dog is generally very friendly and inquisitive. However, that depends on the environment. In some environments my boy is quite unsure as well... generally, he is more comfortable in nature.
> Honestly, I have no desire to "improve" his instincts, may change his view of the world.


I agree. We had a potential dog walker come over a few months ago and Watson went crazy barking at this guy. He DID NOT like him and wanted him gone. We chatted for a bit and went for a walk together. I watched how he handled him and realized the dog knew way before I did that this was not going to be a match. Smart dogs.


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

There's some truth to that. I don't really like my neighbor across the street. She has made snide comments about Gus barking "all the time" before, even though she is hearing a different dog barking in the neighborhood. She is just a rude lady all around. The other day Gus was outside on his rope while I did yard work and she came out of her house and was walking in the street and Gus charged her, full speed, barking aggressively until he reached the end of the rope, which was weird because several other people had walked by with dogs, and he was fine. I apologized to her for his scaring her, but inside I was thinking "Good job Gus! You are a great judge of character!"

Gus also hates my brother's fiancé though, so I don't know how to handle that one ???


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## FLgatorgirl (Mar 11, 2013)

Daleskim--

Glad to hear of the progress with your pup and hope things are still going well. Our girl had/still has some fear issues, mostly of new things and of noises from dump or garbage trucks. Something we have done that has worked well if she shows concern over a new item: as soon as she barks at it or acts scared in any way, I act super excited (big eyes, happy voice) and say "let's go see!!". I walk up to it first and stand next to whatever it is and touch it so she sees it is safe. I then excitedly say "come see" and as she inches forward I give constant praise and never let up on it (that's my girl!! yes ma'am!! look at you!! super puppy!!). When she eventually sniffs whatever it is, I make a big deal of what a good girl she is with (as many phrases as you can come up with) and that tail starts wagging like crazy because she investigated and confronted whatever the scary thing is!!

I think my touching whatever it is first to show it is okay and then encouraging her to confront at her own pace, but with my support really helps. It has made a big difference in her confidence. The other day she ran straight up to some donkeys (never been there before) on the other side of our fence. She came running back after checking them out like, "look what I did mommy!!".


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