Approx. 3 wks ago, I acquired a GS puppy. I took her to the vet for a gen checkup and he thought she was about 5-6 mos. old. I have a couple of things that I am hoping somebody can give me some tips on...

1. She is very shy around people. She tries to hide or get away from people other than myself and my fiancee. It appears that she may have been abused by somebody - or at least that is an assumption.

2. She will urinate if she gets scared or excited. I am wondering if she will just grow out of this or if this is a problem associated with her shy and timid personality.

I do not want her to be shy as I believe this could possibly lead to her biting people which I do not want. If anybody could give me some tips I'd sure appreciate it. It's been many, many years since I've had a dog and must admit to being a little rusty. Thanks.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> null

Don't automatically assume she was abused. To me she sounds just very submissive and poorly socialized. The best thing to do is get her out into public as much as possible such as grocery store parking lot or a training club. Have as many different friends as possible feed her hotdog treats when they come over. Do not pet her when she cowers as this only reinforces that things are "not ok". The more you get her out to meet people the better it is. The submissive urination may go away as her confidence builds and trust is established between you and her.

I agree with Lanegirl,the peeing is submissive urination and you can not over socialize your dog take her with you where ever you go and expose her to as many things as you can.It will build her confidence.

Ditto LaneGirl. Make the puppy think strangers are hotdog heaven.

Thank you all for the suggestions. We do walk her and as soon as it cools down a little here in Phoenix, had planned on taking her to the parks and socializing her more. Also wanted to wait until she had all her Distemper/Parvo/Rabies/etc. shots. Thanks again. null <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Gina,
I agree, you can't assume the behavior you're seeing is the result of abuse. Virtually every pet owner I've ever met w/a shy dog was convinced the dog was abused when, in reality, the dog's genetics were at fault. Unfortunately, this type of problem is rampant in the GSD, due to reckless breeding.
You are getting good advice, here, ie to socialize her extensively. Stand behind her and reward her lavishly for *not* skittering away from a new human. It can do wonders.
The best way to handle the submissive wetting is to ignore it, it's easy to accidentally reinforce it. Some pups outgrow this as they mature, some don't. Good luck w/your pup, just pls don't even consider breeding her.

Joy

1. She is very shy around people. She tries to hide or get away from people other than myself and my fiancee. It appears that she may have been abused by somebody - or at least that is an assumption.

When people take dogs like this from shelters, the shelter people always tell them the dog was abused. The fact is that more often than not the dog is in the shelter because it has a poor temperament (as a result of bad breeding and genetics. The previous owners saw what this dog acted like and thats why they got rid of it.

You cannot change bad genes. You can train a dog to the point where it knows that IT MUST MIND - that not minding is not an option. When these weak temperamented dogs get to that point then find comfort in doing what their pack leader tells them to do. In fact many of these dogs can do well in AKC obedience because it is such a structuired program. They would never do well in the sport of Schutzhund. They do make good alarm dogs because they are so weak in nerves that they bark at the slightest noise. But if someone would ever pressure the dog it would never protect the owners.

Another problem that causes this type of behavior is neglect. A puppy thrown in the back yard with no attention will often exhibit the same behavior. I rehabed a Giant puppy that we took at 7 months, she was the exact same way. It took quite a bit of time and patience, but is is fine now and is getting better. If the dog has not had positive experiences with people they will fear almost everybody. It is that fear of the unknown. Part of what we did is to get a little obedience on her and then got her out with people we knew. For the most part we had them just ignore her for a short period of time untill she calmed down. We kept her on a sit until she relaxed. After she relaxed a bit she would go and invetigate the stranger and be petted for it. Hot dogs would work the same way, after she lets herself be petted give her a little hot dog. After a while they get the point that strangers are not to be feared. I would get a little obedience in first to teach er some self control prior to trying this.

I would not wait for it to cool off though. We live in Phoenix also, and train in the morning prior to 7 am or after 8-9 at night. Work on grass or put your hand on the surface you rae going to work on. If you can hold your hand on the surface for 1 min or more it is OK to work the dog on. I also abuse Petsmart regularly and work my dogs in there. They don't mind and it will also get her some exposure to other people.

Thank Richard for your advise. We spend lots of time with her before and after work and on weekends. Unfortunately, she does have to stay out during the day. However, she has lots of stuff to play with and does not get into any mischief when we are gone. She does chew up trees or lawn furniture, nor does she dig. We walk her in the eves after the sun has gone down. We will continue to socialize her more but every little bit of helpful information is appreciated. I await the information that you have on the trainers in the Phoenix area. Thanks again.

Gina,

I had the same type of problem when I acquired my GSD at 4 months of age. He was great with my husband and I, but somewhat shy and reserved around other people. The breeder claimed that he had been "well socialized" and had spent time with many people & children, but that doesn't appear to be the case. We attempted to socialize him and get him used to being around other people, but we didn't take this quite as seriously as we should have. At the time, I didn't realize just how important this was. We're now left with a sharp 9 month old monster (almost 90 lbs.) who gets his hair up and growls & nips at pretty much everyone but the two of us. He'll lunge at the neighborhood kids just because he doesn't want them near him. Keep in mind, this dog is fabulous with my husband and I. In fact he's one of the best dogs I've ever owned, but his fear aggression is a HUGE problem. We ended up having to purchase a muzzle to ensure the safety of those who live near us. We are retraining him using Ed's "Basic Dog Obedience" video, and although he still hates people, we at least seem to be gaining some control over him when he's in public. He's starting to understand that he isn't the one who decides how he acts, we do. Unfortunately, in our case, it's probably too late to change him through socialization.

If I were you, I would get your puppy out and socialized as soon as you can. Don't wait. If you do everything you can to help build her confidence around people now, you may be able to avoid ending up in the type of situation I'm in. If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn't be in this situation either. Take her everywhere with you & do what you can to help her realize that meeting new people is wonderful. You'll be glad you did. Good luck to both of you.

Melissa