New & saying Hello :)

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Wings

Mango
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#1
Hello all fellow dog owners,

I am new in Holland and have gotten myself a 16 weeks old white german shepherd and her name is Mango :p

Regretful am unable to post her pix since my adsl is not fixed at home and am using the office computer to do all my browsing now.

She is a very very shy/fearful girl and am hoping I can learn some tips here from fellow dog lovers to help me overcome her fearfulness. It is getting a lil out of hand now since she can almost rip my arm off if I try to walk her outside my aprt. Any help is appreciated.

Tks,
Wings
 
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Qu-Ming Dances With W

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#3
hello and welcome. mango sound beautiful, sometimes shy isn't so bad, keep taking her places and a lot of reward. i would have to say that comes from age 3-6 weeks, thats when dogs learn the most.
good luck.
 
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oc_spirit

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#6
Hello and welcome!! One thing that i very important when working with a shy dog it to never coddle them when they act fearful thinking you're comforting them - you're not. All youé doing is rewarding them for acting afraid and this will encourage the behaviour. Instead you should pretend like nothing;s wrong at all and just continue about your business, when she starts showing signs of being cuirous, quietly reward her. Also have new people give her a treat so she associates strangers with goodies and won't be so timid
 
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Wings

Mango
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#7
She won't touch her fave cookies when she is out of the aprt nor will play with her balls, she is only interested in getting back in :(
 
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fastpitchchic

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#8
I to have a fearful german shepard, I got her when my mom passed, unfortunately her ex bf was abusive so she is afraid of men. I have found that letting some one else other than me hold her leash while I walk her helps bring her out of her shell. I also use a "halti" for her, which makes it much harder for her to pull on the leash. I've been told that the halti also gives the dogs a little more confidence since it lets them know that you are the one in charge.
 
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gunnerzmama

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Welcome to the site! I love the name Mango. Did you get her from the breeder? Did she act shy when you picked her out? I agree with OC Spirit that Mango really needs to be socialized and taken into public. I would also recommend obedience training. This way you will be able to control her. The thing I have found with timid and shy dogs is that they can become fear biters if the problem is not rectified and they are not socialized. Would you agree OC Spirit?
 
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Wings

Mango
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#10
I have been trying my best to socialise her with other dogs in the neighbourhood and she is even on professional walking service which brings her out everyday for walks and play time with other mutts. The service says she is doing great and have had fun everyday.
Tried bringing her to the countryside & seaside for the past weekends where there isn't too much cars n noise and she is doing great, she runs around leash free and will follow and wait for us. But she shys away immediately if there is a large group of pple walking towards us.
Yes I brought her from a breeder and she was shy when we walked into the kennel but we picked her nevertheless cós she was the sweetest looking of the 3 and looks the strongest amongst her siblings. It could be my most fatal mistake for doing it and I have so much problem now trying to bring her out of the aprt for walks. She is also not the healtiest pups I had, she is now treated for Giardia which she caught from the breeder :(

Wings
 
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fastpitchchic

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#11
I agree that she needs to be socialized also. Dogs are experts at reading the body language of their humans. When you see large groups of people coming up how do you react to them when you have your pup around? Do you instantly call her back to you and keep her away from the crowd or do you encourage her to be around those people? If your body language shows your dog that your a little insecure she will read that and follow suit, the same goes if your calm assertive.
 
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gunnerzmama

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Gunner had Giardia too when I got him, don't fret she will recover. Don't say it was a mistake to get her. It sounds like she is making progress so just keep up the good work. I'm behind ya all the way
 
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gunnerzmama

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fastpitchchic said:
I agree that she needs to be socialized also. Dogs are experts at reading the body language of their humans. When you see large groups of people coming up how do you react to them when you have your pup around? Do you instantly call her back to you and keep her away from the crowd or do you encourage her to be around those people? If your body language shows your dog that your a little insecure she will read that and follow suit, the same goes if your calm assertive.
Click to expand...
Do you by chance watch the "Dog Whisperer"? He says a lot of what you do. I personally love that show and tape it daily. By the way good advice. :)
 
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fastpitchchic

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#14
#14
I have seen a few of his shows. I have also taken my shepard to a doggie psychologist for her insecurities, I hate seeing her being so fearful of people. Guess I got a lot of advice from the psychologist. Through her I have learned how to be the dominant one but still be loving to my pups :)
 
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