From: Jim

So I adopted Virgil 3 months ago, and a week after I got him, he broke his leg jumping a fence that is as tall as me.
He is a pit/lab mix that I adopted from the Downtown Dog Rescue here in LA. He is sweet, but terribly shy.

So after all of that, he had surgery, and the cast came off on Monday. His leg is all raw, and he is wearing one of those One Crazy Summer collars to keep him from licking his legs.

so the question is, what is the most effective way to get him over his shyness. he tends to hide in my room on his bed, and only comes out of his shell when we go for walks.

He's a good dog, and I just want him to be happy.

thanks
jim.

From: m@dropthatsock.com

here we go...

okay, so you find the one thing in life that virgil (best name for a shy pittbull, b.t.w.) goes batpoop for. maybe hot dogs or roast beast or whatever it is. so you only give him that thing when he's around something that makes him nervous. bring the goods on your walk, and wherever else you take him.

when you have people over, tell them to ignore him completely, no eye contact, verbal interaction and hell-no to petting, especially over the head. if he chooses to come around, even if it's within 10 feet of the threat, give him the hot dog chunk and tell him what a great-ass dog he is.

this whole process could take awhile, depending on how shy he is. but the rule: let him make his move. don't force it. if he wants to make the move, he'll get showers of hot dogs, but only if he stands up to the fear. you have to make him associate whatever his fear triggers are with something out-of-this-world good. and he gets no hot dogs any other time, not for sitting and staying, not for rolling over or whatever. use milkbones for that stuff.

also, the lampshade collars can make fearful dogs more freaked out because they smash into things like walls and when they do, the noise is amplified by the lampshade. so give him some breaks from that collar whenever you can, so long as he's not eating himself.

also, you can make the silent rule this: he gets none of your attention unless he's being marginally brave and/or somewhat confident. so if you see him prancing around, head high for any reason, he gets physical attention. and you can pet him on his chest, not on his head. petting under his chest encourages a more confident body posture.

don't coddle him when he';s scared, no massages to "soothe" him. sometimes a dog thinks it's praise and you don't want him to be praised for acting all shivery and snarky.

you took on a dog with issues, i'm proud of you! usually the scared dogs tend to bond with the owner pretty tight, so you'll have a good friend out of this.

and don't have any wild budweiser parties with him at home. it'll just make him go crazier. take it slow and let me know how you're doing, okay?

m

...read on for the virgil update...

Yo homie thanks for the heads up.

He actually gets a break from the radar collar when I am around, and I know what you are saying about crashing into things, although it is funny as hell, it scares the crap out of him.

his name is virgil becasue he was rescued w/his mom and brother from a homeless man at 6th St and Virgil Ave here in LA. Downtown Dog rescue spays and neuters homeless peoples' dogs, and in most cases, takes them and finds them real homes.

He had a real bond w/ the woman who ran the rescue, and the move was pretty stressful, so that's probably why he jumped the fence and ran away.

Thank god for microchips, collars and southern California beach town hippies. (we have a beach the size of Robert Moses that you are allowed to bring dogs on.)

He isn't very food motivated, but I will find something that is his crack, because he is only really introverted in the house. Outside he is a proud cat-chasing happy dog.

I cant say thanks enough already.
I will keep you posted.

Nashy

Comments

Post a comment