Hello there I am new to this forum so firstly hello to everyone :) My name is annie and i have a 12 month old chocolate roan cocker spaniel named coco.I would love some information on nervy dogs as coco is very very nervous! I have 3 other dogs who have terrific natures towards other dogs and people but for some reason un-known coco is extremely anxious in new situations. She cowers when strangers pet her on the street or in the house and barks at new dogs on walks making the owners pull there dog away as it sounds vicious. Recently i took her to my friends house and when guests were visiting she spent the whole time cowered behind a pillow and didnt even attempt to move. What i would like to know is if there is anything i can do to help her. I would love to take her to friends houses without her feeling anxious and scared it makes me feel horrible that she feels like this. If anybody has any suggestions it would be much appreciated :) Annie x

There's plenty you can do, but it is a very long and very slow process whoch may take you years, and it would probably be best if you could get the help of a good behaviourist. The trick is to take everything slowly and never ever push the dog. (I do live with one like this myself.) Don't ever let strangers touch her, don't even get them to offer her treats, she needs to learn first that she can be close to people without needing to be scared. Same thing with dogs -stay at a distance she is comfortable with for now. When she sees a person/ a dog/whatever she is scared of, BEFORE she reacts, you reward her with a super tasty treat (not boring dog treats, think liver or ham or sausages) and do nothing else but walk away. Once she's comfortable being close to strangers, people you trust can start dropping treats on the ground for her without looking at her, and hopefully she will be brave enough to take this. Gradually over a period of time that will then continue until she feels able to take a treat from a stranger's hand, and it won't be after she's perfectly happy with this that people can try to attempt to touch her. I can't stress enough that it must be a very, very slow process. If you can tell us what area you live in somebody here might be able to recommend a good behaviourist.

Some dogs are simply born nervous, it's not at all always a case of the owner having done something wrong and when you have other dogs that are fine I'd be inclined to think it's something along those lines.  Unless you can think of a particular incident in the past when she was scared as a young pup, perhaps by a vet being too rough or another dog or similar, which has made her distrust people and dogs?

I second everything that Goldmali has said.

I would see a behaviourist and I would look at doing something called BAT (behavioural adjustment training). See this link http://functionalrewards.com/ This helps dogs to cope with fear-making or frustrating situations. Done correctly it should work a lot quicker than classical counter-conditioning. You could email Grisha Stewart on the link and ask about a UK practitioner in your area.

It is true that some dogs are just born more nervy and prone to fearful behaviours, such as those you describe. However, I also wonder if you know much about your pup's life before she came to you? For instance, was she a country or a town-reared pup. Was she carefully and gradually exposed to all kinds of people and stimuli in the first 14 weeks of her life? Was she brought up in a house with children etc.. present. Continued socialization in the early years of a dog's life cannot be overplayed and I wonder if this is a component with your girl?

More importantly what were her parents and other relatives characters like. 

In my own experience behavioural and character traits are strongly inherited. 

If the dog is innately inherited it will need a lot more work (as advised above) than the average upbringing that your other dogs have done well with, so it is unlikley to be anything you have done or failed to do..

Here's a little link that rounds up the most likely reasons your dog is nervous.http://www.alldogsacademy.com/content/view/157/5/

I forgot to add that depending on how long this has been going on for and how severe the problem is your dog may be helped in the short term by some anti anxiety medication combined with a behavioural program. Anxious animals obviously cannot learn very well.

That link says re inheritance exactly what I meant, and why it is so important to see the pups mother at least (sire if possible) and other relatives.

Quote:
"Temperament. Some dogs are genetically predisposed to nervous behavior. In other words, they're born that way. Temperament characteristics are inherited from the parents, and most importantly, nervous temperament is dominant. This means if either parent has a nervous temperament, so will the puppies. This is why it is critically important, if at all possible, to meet the parents of a puppy you plan to adopt. Completely overriding genetic temperament is virtually impossible, but the owner may be able to gain some control of the dog's nervous behavior through training and behavior modification. Again, talk to a qualified trainer that uses positive methods. "

I felt it was a good roundup of all the points made and I hope is of use to the other person...it also mentioned diet right at the top which should never be completely discounted either, but as you say Brainless, inherited nervousness is a likely reason in this case.

It is so important for any puppy buyer to see the parents and where and how those pups will be raised.

That quote describes Soli to a T!  Nervous/aggressive mother at least, and in the nearly-5 years I had her I could never quite get her 100% over her trust issues with being handled and around strange dogs, it was just that genetic component.  But I did get her very far with it all so she was happy, which is the important part.

> I forgot to add that depending on how long this has been going on for and how severe the problem is your dog may be helped in the short term by some anti anxiety medication combined with a behavioural program. Anxious animals obviously cannot learn very well.

Indeed.  Some dogs are simply too anxious to make any progress, and I have one of those - four months in she continues to be a steep learning curve for me as she's the worst dog I've seen, never mind owned - at present her fears mean I can only walk her on a Sunday, and then only if it isn't raining or windy!

I only started to see significant improvements in her anxiety indoors after I put her on medication.  It's not something I've had to do before despite generally going for stressy dogs.

Any progress with a dog like this is going to be acheived by taking things at the dog's pace and at present, that means no contact with people at all while she learns they aren't going to hurt her, then controlled exposure over time.

BAT is excellent and my preferred method for scaredy dogs now.