Sooooo scared

[Miss Daisy Duke]

My bully is an Olde English Bulldogge who will be 7months old this month and she is terrified of people. She doesn't seem to mind younger kids but older kids or adults she gets so scared. She shakes, tries to run away, has even peed/pooped from being so scared..it's just awful. She especially doesn't like men in caps. Any suggestions on how to break her from being so timid/shy/scared? She's been to puppy kindergarden for some obedience and socialization. She comes from a respectable breeder so I know she wasn't abused (everyone asks me that.) It just breaks my heart seeing her get all worked up and scared..im so fearful shes going to hurt herself

 

[2BullyMama]

This is a tough one to fix.... you should work with a trainer and have them give you clues on how to help her. I know a few dogs like this and they just never were able to correct it or help them lose the fear. Hats, glasses, scarfs are very common fears for dogs as it hides/blocks direct sight of the eye, which is important in dog language.

Going to tag Pati - she might have some ideas to help you .

 

[Pati Robins]

How much people socialisation did she have? Did you ever leave her with an adult that perhaps might have done something to her where you weren't there ?
This kind of behaviour is unusual to a confident young puppy especially that you state that she wasnt abused -Milo and that's the problem - fears are likely to be present as a result of something not happening as in not enough positive exposure to strangers.
But lets think how you could possibly help her to "not to see humans as a threat"
I would very careful if choosing a training class for this sort of issue. Exposing a dog to something it fears is very very distressing and as a result it might do more harm than good -one on 1 with qualified behaviourist might be best way at the beginning ,and is definitely a way to go
There are two approaches to modifying fears: behavioural and emotional. I find that tackling the emotional one first is best and then working on the two together when you tackled the emotional stage
What i mean by emotional is changing the way your pup feels about adults,and behavioural is teaching that people are not a threat to her ,giving her a control to "increase a distance " from "scary" stranger -which in a long run can reduce her fear and gives her confidence that she wont be "pushed on to them"
I would start from a caerful exposure at her own peace and confidence -to minimalise her stress levels which will not help her to overcome her fear.No more meeting strangers up close- for now x
Next you need to learn to read his body language like head turns, whale eye, lip licks, yawns, sniffing the way shes standing etc
This will help you to determinate the "safe" distance your girl feels comfortable with and slowly work from there-for instance lets say its 20feet.
Start working at about 22 feet then.if you have a friend that your pup is afraid off and he/she could help you with her training would be ideal as this training excersize is fairly simple , but in some cases it will require time and patience -but it be worth it
As soon as "threat" appears on your dog comfortable distance feed a few of the most wonderful treats to your pup -talk calmly i usually say "good girl Lilly its ok " Have your friend "threat" disappear again and stop the treat flow.
This teaches your dog that the person that she sees as a threat makes good things happen. Soon you will notice that your pup looks at your expectently for his treat upon arrival of the stranger - that's a perfect response and means that you can move a foot or so closer. Repeat each time -if the dog appears distressed take a one step back and start again
When you have worked on this in a systematic way for a few days start looking at the behavioural side.
In separate but concurrent sessions approach from beyond your dog's safe distance. And your dog responds In a correct and calm manner give her few more treats ;-)
Slowly the distance will reduce , make a "threat" walk past your dog giving her treats and reassuring her its all ok until the final physical contact with the "threat"
From my own expirience i must add few more things
1) the more different "threats" be it your friends or strangers passing on the other side of the road you can find and get involved the better
2) you will use a lot of treats-at the begging use high value ones but reduce amout of food intake not to make your dog fat as a result of training -i did it and it took months to shoft the weight off the dog
3) patience , stay calm , sometimes you will feel like things are not working out and you want to give up -but dont xxx
Hope this helps in any way please keep us updated xx

 

[Snoopy3]

I agree with everything Pati has suggested. You may also want to check out these websites for additional background & behavioral info:

fearfuldogs.com
dogsinneedofspace.com
creativecanine.com

Stay positive -- you are her strength & support. <333



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