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I have a 16 week old puppy who is afraid of men. We have had him only 3 weeks, and I am trying hard to take him on "field trips" were we encounter men (that doesn't sound good, LOL!), so he gets used to them. The other day we went t the tractor supply store and I asked a few men to give him a treat - he was scared at first, but eventually he went and took the treat from them.
I was wondering if anyone has any other ideas for how to socialize my pup. He is cautious of all new people - but he allows women and kids to pet him, but with men, he hides behind me.
I have a 16 week old puppy who is afraid of men. We have had him only 3 weeks, and I am trying hard to take him on "field trips" were we encounter men (that doesn't sound good, LOL!), so he gets used to them. The other day we went t the tractor supply store and I asked a few men to give him a treat - he was scared at first, but eventually he went and took the treat from them.
I was wondering if anyone has any other ideas for how to socialize my pup. He is cautious of all new people - but he allows women and kids to pet him, but with men, he hides behind me.
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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What you're doing with treats -- having men give them to him -- is perfect.
Is there a man living in your house? If so, have him give the puppy his meals, too, and take him for at least some of the puppy's walks. That should help, too.
I agree you are doing great. I have a grown dog who is still a little fearful of men after being abused. He has gotten a lot better and the treats from men works. Also don't push him let him see they aren't going to hurt him. It takes time and he is still a little pup and may out grow this.
You are on the right track. Are you close to a college, or high school?? You may walk him and have many more encounters w/ males and females both.
Also, public events, fairs, art fairs whatever your community has. Earlier the better, so yours probably wasn't socialized as much as he should have been.
I socialized my bulldog at our pet supply store, took her couple times a week. You are doing exactly right, take him a few times a week to various locations...He will encounter all kinds of people and other dogs at a pet supply store. Best socializing that I ever did for my dog.
He may have had a male in his life that was not nice to him, a large boy, or a grumpy man...no telling unless you know his history.
What kind of breed is he? Some breeds are naturally more reserved than others. Pics??
Last edited by JanND; 03-02-2012 at 08:29 AM..
Reason: adding sentence
We got out dog at 4 months and he was very submissive around my husband (we think he was abused by his previous owner that we adopted him from). So I googled how to help a submissive pup.
Time will definitely help.
Training helps build a dog's confidence levels. Well, the positive reward part does. Your pup might be a little young, but start training him (sit, stay, down, up) as soon as you can. Building confidence is key!
If you have a steady male around, have the male get down on the ground to play with the pup (on all fours like the pup). The puppy is a lot less intimidated when the male is at their height.
Ginger was four months when I got her. She was very fearful of most people at first, and there are some people she's never warmed up to. Time, patience, treats and exposing her to a wide variety of people has helped a lot. She trusts other dog owners a lot more than she does random people, so taking her to the dog park and letting her socialize with the other dogs and their owners has been a big help.
She used to be so scared that she'd hide under my desk when my dad came over. Now she goes and sits next to his favorite place on the couch as soon as he walks in the door, just waiting for him to get there (he always brings a pocket full of treats).
There are some people she just doesn't like from the first second she meets them. My next door neighbor is one of them...he's a really nice guy and a big dog lover (the other day he was crying because he found the owner of a stray he'd taken in), but she's never even let him get close enough for her to sniff his hand.
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Good job:)
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