Dennis, unfortunately my sister's not equipped to handle a nervebag. I'm sure the experience is more than enlightening though.

Sandy, I already cut and paste her post and yours and sent it to my sister. Unfortunately for her dog, my sister just doesn't get it. If the dog does somewhat OK on a walk, my sister thinks that license to take the dog to a more crowded area the very next day! She doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that the dog isn't ready for the walks. I want to strangle her sometimes (my sister, not the dog).

Her dog does somewhat better when I'm there w/my dog but she's still not right by any stretch of the imagination. My dog is a very calm 18 month old male GSD but even with his calming presence, she jumps, turns her head in all directions, tries to skitter away from a person, kid, bike approaching, etc. I feel very bad for the dog.

I heartily second everything Melissa has said. Every step that she outlined, I went through with my dog, who sounds quite simular to Melissa's.

My Border Collie was 3 y/o when I got her, timid and unsure of the world. The first thing she did when I got her out of the car was bolt underneath it. She spent much of the first couple weeks in her crate in the corner of the living room. She would want to go outside, get halfway there, and head back to the safety of her crate. I spent the first several weeks doing quiet things with her, in a quiet setting and she learned I could be trusted. I don't think anyone had ever praised her before. Oddly enough, my dad spent time with her as well during those first days - though not as much - and he is the only man that she has trusted from the time she met him. We also quicky found out that she had a very high prey drive, and it really, really helped her build confidence(she didn't want to come out of her crate, but she had to get that ball!). I also had sheep, and although she wasn't up to working them yet, going around with me doing chores was something she loved.

I didn't ask her to do anything for me besides go outside until I knew she trusted me. I took her for rides(she loved them), but didn't ask her to get out of the car(scary) anywhere besides the vet's for a year. Anytime I introduced a new situation I made sure it was a positive experience, and I didn't push her until I was confident she could handle it - it took about 2 years.

My dog is 7 1/2 now. She still takes time to warm up to new adults (she needs to approach them at her own pace), but is fine if she is on leash by me. She is fine with most kids, and seniors. And one of the most amazing things to me is that she will go anywhere with me. I've taken her to stores, the library, a school for a dog demo, even an elevator didn't faze her. But she does still have some limitaions and I know and work within them. It's amazing to see where she is from where she has come. It's also amazing to see the trust that she places in me.

Tell your sister to slow down and give this dog a chance to form a bond with and trust her before she pushes her. If she is not willing to do this, she should rehome the dog to someone who will, and get a easy going lab or something. She will have nothing but problems if she continues to work with the dog in that manner, and could create a dangerous situation.

Thank you so much Mara. Another good wake up call for my sister. I've already sent it to her. If I can't get thru to her, you guys should with your posts.

It's not that she's uncaring...it's just that she ignorant, uninformed regarding dog behavior (as a lot of us are). Problem is she ended up w/a dog who has special needs so her ignorance is now the problem, not the dog so much. That's the dangerous part. Funny you said she should get a lab if she's not willing to do the stuff you mentioned. She did have a lab (maintenance free practically) and I think that's what she expected in this GSD. So I know we all take time in making changes in our expectations but I feel she's taking too long and am hoping your posts will speed things up.

Thank you again all of you. If there's anyone else out there with a similar experience, please take a moment and PM me or post. I'm hoping the more posts I send her, the faster she'll sit and up and take notice.

Judy, just a thought. Does your sister have children? If so (even if she doesn't), maybe she can relate to putting a fearful puppy in situations that cause more fear, to putting a toddler intentionally in fearful situations that it's not equipped to handle yet, like say a roller coaster, or one of the rides at Disney where you go through a tunnel on a car and scary things and skeletons jump out at you. Not scary for adults, but definitely not for toddlers.

There is also a shy k-9 yahoo group that is a wealth of information. I have an extremely fearful GSD also. He has never been fear aggressive though. The one thing that I think has helped him most is vigorous exercise daily for a good 1/2 hour. It really cuts down on his stress level. Also, any way your sister could bring a more confident dog on her walks? My boy is very comforted by my outgoing dogs. Just a few thoughts.