Nervous Pup?

[Casso 1,261]

Just wondering how you guys work with nervous pups, training and the like. Pup doesnt show any interest in playin or learning. Any ideas?

Firstly I woundnt worry bout training for now , you'll be just adding more pressure to a pup who sounds like its living on its instincts akin to a wild animal , fear is COMPLETELY UNTRAINABLE

In cases like this you need to create a desire , hunger in the pup is your way forward,

 

Animals are directed by two very opposing forces , One is instinct or fear which your pup is controlled by at the minute , two, is hunger or the force of attraction , it's what rouses a dog to roam because a dog wants to move from an area which causes a wanting in its gut , the dog associates it's environment with the discomfort it feels, what I'm saying is it will be drawn to you through the pressure in its gut , which is also way we see more animals and birds during really harsh weather condition , hunger over comes instinct

 

Work on feeding all it's grub by hand , out of the bowl is only feeding the fear , no fussing , even the rubbing by hand can startle , all it's grub by hand , the pup will have to give up fear to eat , it's like a scales the more it's eats in your space the more fear gets tipped out and the more weight increases on the social side ,

But i fear you may have to accept the pup may never be 100 % when exposed to new or sudden changes in its environment

 

Best of luck

Edited August 30, 2013 by Casso

[Dplurch 0]

Yes mate strange as it sounds thats excactly it. Pup does not want to play at all it just prefers to lie under the table lol. Its quite funny tbh I give it most of my time but does not come to me when I call it, any ideas?

[Giro 2,648]

Be patient mate if your over doing anything it will invoke more anxiety..

 

Is it your only dog ?? A play mate would bring some doggy instinct out of it..

 

Any mates with a laid back dog for a bit of sensible play in the garden ??

 

Like the others have mentioned, food.. I would go for Super foods that are hard to resist.. Cooked sausage , cooked chicken or hot dogs..

 

I have managed to get mine dogs to do stuff with them in my hand, that I never imagined being able to do before..

 

I took my last dog to puppy training, was really good experience of meeting lots of other dogs..

 

Good luck with it.. Keep plodding on

[mooney1 120]

5 month old pup doesn't want to engage in play?

 

Have you given the pup a good hiding at any time?

 

I'm no expert but this doesn't sound normal.

gaz my pup is exactly the same and i can assure you she has never and i mean never had a good hiding,or a raised voice towards her.Some days she will play a little so i think she may be coming round a little, then the next day she is cowering.Her recall is terrible ,but some days she will come straight back with her tail wagging then the next day she will stand about 100 yards away just ignoring me patience patience.By the way she is 3/4 salukie 1/4 grey and 11 months old.

atb mooney

[Dplurch 0]

Yea its the only dog iv got, and tbh I dont know anybody with a dog as iv only recently moved here. I originally thought that maybe not proper socialised but iv had it 3 months now and would have,thought she'd came round a bit by now, but no. I have never hit the dog, though she had a scar below her eye but that was prob just the litter mates. I just dont tbh iv never came across a pup like this before .

[gnipper 6,467]

.if it's an inherent nervousness it's maybe something that'll never be overcome...and that won't be a reflection on you or your abilities...

..

I've recently had to rehome the young Brittany cross due to being a nervy nutter, tried everything with her but she was never gonna chill out. Or stop wrecking the place.

[B.P.R 2,798]

The bullet was a nervous pup.... very timid around other dogs.... embarrasing sometimes....

 

But plenty of patience and hard work...socialising.... bonding.... and she came good....

 

Nothing is a rush...take your time....

 

[BORDERSCOT 3,816]

 

.if it's an inherent nervousness it's maybe something that'll never be overcome...and that won't be a reflection on you or your abilities...

..

I've recently had to rehome the young Brittany cross due to being a nervy nutter, tried everything with her but she was never gonna chill out. Or stop wrecking the place.

 

 

[beast 1,884]

food is indeed an important factor in this, as you can at least get her to feel comfortable coming into your space, but as soon as she is not hungry the desire to be near you isnt as strong. she needs to learn that her natural need to bond with another "pack member" can be fulfilled through you (i hate that expression, but at least you can understand what i mean!). never force yourself upon her, she must choose to come to you. put yourself in non-threatening positions like just lying on the flor and ignoring her, dont even look at her, and get a bit of fur or something else appealing and just wriggle it about in your hands, play with it yourself quietly. if she comes anywhere near then dont look at her, just let her take the fur even if you have to throw it gently towards her. i would just keep talking quietly the whole time i was with her, so your voice isnt a nasty surprise just part of the normal background .i think this does sound like a socialisation issue, the window for socialising pups is quite small and if you miss it they can be affected for their whole life (skycat can tell you more about this, she wrote some interesting stuff about it on here a while ago).

[skycat 6,173]

Yea its the only dog iv got, and tbh I dont know anybody with a dog as iv only recently moved here. I originally thought that maybe not proper socialised but iv had it 3 months now and would have,thought she'd came round a bit by now, but no. I have never hit the dog, though she had a scar below her eye but that was prob just the litter mates. I just dont tbh iv never came across a pup like this before .

Without knowing you, the pup, its background, its breeding, it is hard to give proper advice online. Unfortunately, there are some pups which just don't have the right sort of temperament: that would come from the breeding. Some pups are also terribly sensitive, and if, inadvertently, you have created a rift, a lack of understanding between the two of you, the pup may see you as someone not to be trusted. This shouldn't happen easily if the pup has a normal temperament, but it is sometimes caused by other family members behaving inappropriately with the pup when you are not around. There are 101 reasons why dogs don't behave as we want them to, and sometimes it is us who cause the problem.

There is only one way you can truly find out what is going on here and that is to get a really good behaviourist in to assess you and the pup, someone who understands lurchers especially. I'd recommend getting in touch with Jim Greenwood: he is the best, and a top lurcherman as well.

 

I've sent you a pm.

[Dplurch 0]

cheers for all the advice guys, but tbh iv tried everything i can think of as i say she will follow me about, so i will call her as she starts moving and reward her from coming, but as soon as say i stop moving she will go lie under the table, and trying to get her to come over to me is impossible. i originally thought it might have a been an issue with not being properly socialised. though now i not sure. i have took on board everything yous are saying and appreciate it guys thanks . i will go check this pm here now Skycat ...