Timid, Fearful, Shy Dogs Part 1

IG's are well-known for being a timid breed. While many IG's are outgoing, well-socialized, friendly little dogs, many IG's who were not socialized as puppies become shy/fearful/timid dogs. A shy IG may never become the life of the party, but they can become very functional, confident dogs -- with the right kind of support from their owners.

The number one rule, and I can't stress this enough, is that you cannot baby, comfort, or feel sorry for your shy IG. These emotions from us have the unintended consequence of rewarding the dog for their shy behavior. If your dog is scared and you pick her up and coo at her "it's okay, there's nothing to be scared of" and pet her and protect her, you have rewarded the fear and basically told your dog that being scared is the right response to this stimulus. Instead, the better response is to give your dog a "safe" place and beyond that, offer no comfort. Comforting the dog in a situation like this can even exacerbate the dog's fear and anxiety.

As an example: Piper is scared of strange people. He doesn't enjoy going places with a lot of people, he would prefer it if no one ever came to the house to visit. Piper doesn't want people to notice him and shakes and cowers when people approach him. However, Piper has never snapped at a person for approaching him. His reaction is flight, where another dog's reaction might be to fight. When Piper was first adopted, he was so scared that he would hide under the bed, and shake violently when a person even looked at him.

Solution: When friends come over to the house, the bedroom door is left open, and Piper is allowed to go into this room - his "safe" place - when he feels overwhelmed. Conversely, the friends are encouraged not to enter this room. Piper's owners never pick him up in these situations, never comfort him or pet him. They also never force him to stay in the room with the strangers. If Piper gets trapped in a corner and cannot get to the bedroom without crossing the path of a stranger, Piper's owners open a path for him by asking their friends to move. The owners also instruct their friends not to approach this dog, that he does not enjoy being petted. In fact, they are asked to completely ignore him.

Success! Piper is still not outgoing, and he still prefers not to be petted by strangers. BUT, Piper now comes out of the bedroom when strangers are present, and will often sit on the couch and observe the situation. He will approach strangers to sniff them, as long as they aren't looking at him (if they turn to look at him, he will run away). He does not hide behind his owners, and no longer shakes violently when strangers are present. He will even take treats offered by strangers!