CAN ANYONE GIVE ME ANY SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE LAB LESS NERVOUS.
BEEN PUPPY CLASSES 8 WEEK COURSE TRAINER SAID HE IS HAND SHY, PUP GETS STRESSED OUT NEAR OTHER DOGS ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY BARK, VERY VERY WARY OF PEOPLE OTHER THAN FAMILY MEMBERS
HAD HIM FROM 6 WEEKS OLD - (MAYBE TOO SOON FROM MOTHER & OTHER PUPS). HE SITS & GIVES PAW WHEN ASKED. WALKING VERY WELL ON LEAD, WILL COME BACK WHEN RE-CALLED OFF LEAD, WONT LIE FLAT EVEN WITH TITBIT, VERY GOOD IN HOUSE. DOES NOT LIKE PEOPLE APPROACHING HIM WHEN OUT FOR A WALK BACKS AWAY AT PEOPLE, CHILDREN, PRAMS ETC ALSO OTHER DOGS. IS THIS SOMETHING HE WILL GROW OUT OF? OR IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH HIM MENTALLY??

One thing you have to remember is not to "mummy" him when he reacts in this way .
We have the opposite thing with our 5 month Staffy pup . He thinks everybody and every dog has come to see him . He just gets too excited when another dog or person is around .
At what age did you start to socialise your pup and in what way ? Do you have children in the home with him ?
I'm sorry i cant offer specific advice for a Lab as I havent had a lab myself but I'm sure there will be lots of advice for you from members of Champdogs .
I'm sure he will gradually grow out of this - dont worry
Did your trainer not offer any advice at all ?
Good luck :)
Lel

Thanks Lel

Took him to puppy classes at 17 weeks old. I have two children aged 14 and 18 years who play with him alot. he has been out for walks around the street since 14 weeks old. does not seem to be getting any better with strangers or strange objects. have to hope he grows out of it. trainer at puppy classes said just to be patient with him and keep teaching him things.

regards
russ

Hi Russ,
What do you do when he backs away from somebody? It's usually best if you completely ignore him, otherwise he's likely to think you're rewarding him for the behaviour which makes it more likely to carry on. It is important that any "negative" behaviour is ignored completely - even saying "no" can be interpreted by the dog as backing-up what he's doing.

Being handshy can be a real problem, as you want to be able to do anything with him - look at his teeth, look in his ears etc without him pulling away. Is he a foodie? because if so you can practice giving him titbits every time you touch his head (as long as he doesn't flinch). Start by offering the treat in your open hand, like you do with a horse, so he can see it and take it easily. Then you can close your hand a bit so he has to nuzzle to get the treat. Once he is confident with this you can put your other hand beside the first and start to stroke his muzzle while he tries to get the treat, and gradually build up from there. You want him to learn that hands are fun, and never do anything scary!

He's unlikely to grow out of these problems without careful training from you to help him overcome his fears (which may be hereditary is his mother was nervous too). If you continue to have problems your vet might be able to recommend a "behaviourist" who will be able to give you one-to-one advice having seen the problems 'in the flesh' rather than over the net!

Your instructor says he is hand shy but I'll ask you the question, is he hand shy? I'm asking you this because there is a world of difference between backing away from other people but accepting you and backing away from you!

My own Anna has no fear of a 12 gauge being discharged over her head, loves everyone she knows but is a little "Stand-offish" with strangers. My old Bethany loved everyone, known or unknown, but hated being "Organised". You could position her by voice or lead but never by hand. She would always push against a hand.

Nervous Labradors are unfortunately a fact of life. Jeangenie's advice is good whether the puppy is hand shy or just plain nervy. You need to work on it. A nervous dog is always at risk of biting out of fear. Never allow people to try to impose themselves on him. Tell them to ignore him. Just plain nosiness will bring him forward eventually. Once he is coming forward to someone, give them a titbit which he likes to give him. No fuss, give it then ignore again. Gradually it should be possible for a person to win him round and every person he gets to trust will make him just a little easier around strangers.

Regards, John

Hi John

Pup is not hand shy with the family only with strangers. We can clean ears look at teeth can get him to come and sit and say collar to him he lets me get hold of collar. when went to puppy training he would not take titbits off the trainers no matter what they had in hands hotdogs, chicken, cheese etc. have stopped classes because it seems to stress him out all the other dogs is this wise?? can you suggest anything I can do to help him become less nervous with dogs, people. When out for walks on lead and sees something which frightens him he puts his paw over lead and tries to go the other way I say its ok it won't harm you come on and when he passes things I praise him for walking on. Any suggestions on ways to handle him will be much appreciated. Someone even suggested getting another pup for company for him because they thought he had been taken away from mother to early at 6 weeks. Mum was fine when we went to look at pups and came straight to us not shy or nervous apparently she is a good working dog and his father is ftch stud dog.

any suggestions greatfully recevied.

thanks again
Russ

apprecaite anything you can add as you seem to be in the know with labs

From that Russ, he’s nervous, not hand shy. It is essential that you take charge, make all decisions and generally protect him from problems. I guess you think you do but it may not appear that way to your dog!

Obedience training, whether in a class environment or not is good. It is you giving the orders and leaving no doubt in his mind that you are the one giving those orders. You have taken that responsibility off of his shoulders! All he has to do is obey. Be calm when out with him. Do not pander to him if he starts to get worried, use the bold approach. Don’t drag him but try to keep him moving possibly by making a slight detour if needed. Remember, if you slow down you are giving more time for him to worry! Faster is a better way, that way he is past the worrying object before he has time to get in too much of a state and if he finds nothing happened he will not be quite so worried next time. Calmness, gentleness and firmness. You don't need to be hard to be firm.

With people, don’t be afraid to tell them to leave him alone. Stand and talk to them. If you have been doing obedience training this is the time to tell him to sit stay. Again the action of you talking in a friendly way to the other person gradually rubs off on him and he will start to relax.

Possibly nothing to do with it but for anyone else reading this, Socialising is so important with a young puppy in order that he will grow up confident but just taking him everywhere is not the way to go about it. We start by taking the puppy to quiet calm places which are not likely to worry then and gradually over a period of weeks or even months go to busier and louder places to slowly build up his knowledge without ever worrying him. This is the same way I would get a puppy use to gunfire. I start with someone else firing the gun at a distance while I am playing with the dog. Gradually bringing it closer over a period of weeks so it is never more in the puppies mind than background noise.

As for being in the know with Labs, thanks, but none of us know everything, but on a board like this there is so much knowledge available which is freely given that the some total is literally unbelievable! That is the beauty of the board. If you want to know something someone out there has come up against it before!

Regards, John

Thanks for the reply John. Will do as you say. Going to take him again to obedience classes and hopefully over time he will get less stressed. Do you think he came from Mum to early (6 weeks)??????
and do you think getting another dog will help???? or shall we leave it for time being and think about getting one when he's older and more secure?????

Russ

6 weeks is young by todays standards but years ago it used to be the norm. in fact my first dog was only 5 weeks old when I brought him home. Of course the extra development afforded by the extra two weeks would make him both mentally and physically stronger which in a marginal case could have helped him. We’ll never know!

As to getting a second dog. I would definitely leave that until he is a little older. Training two at once is not something I would recommend and also he could well bond with the puppy rather than with you. For my part I like around three years difference between my dogs. That way I have a natural leader and follower.

Regards, John

Hi Russ,
Ask if your training club in its socialisation classes could include breed judging. One of our important classes was to have Irine Curtis from York put all the dogs each week through a normal judging rountine. She would also for for those that needed it slowly do more like gooming and more touching to teach the dog not to fear humans and children.

This can be further reinforced with a titbit and of course much praise. Be careful you do not appear to support your dog in these fearful moments but try to disregard them and give titbits and praise for staying by your side near strangers. Help from a good instuctor should be able to read your dog and apply just the right amount of retraining to suit it.

We have alsways been keen to show the world the kind face of German shepherds so such training was imperitive for the breed and approved of by the then Chief Constable of North Yorkshire. This applies now to all breeds and should be a normal part of any training classes.

A good judge can read a dog very well from the body language and will know just the right amount of socilaisation needed to build up the dogs confidence. All the police dogs went through the same proceedure so to reinforce to the dogs no matter what age that most people are acceptable and kind.

This is all very true Russ and could help but one thing i must add is to be careful the titbit and reward is given at the right moment. Whenever given it must never ever be given at a moment when the dog can get the idea that you are rewarding the panic attack! I see people doing this all the time and it will only make the situation worse. Reward the confidence not the panic.

Regards, John

Hi Russ,
I have seen Johns reply and definiatly agree with him. Timing is crucial to this, too early or too late loses the effective reinforcement and why a good instructor can help get this timing right.

Hi Russ,

I have a nervous dobermann, who is now seven months old. Since his was 14 weeks old he has been taken out and about and slowly over time he is becoming more and more used to what is going on around him, ie. wagons rumbling past or buses on narrow roads etc, and becoming more confident.

The obedience classes he has been going to since he was about 4 and a half months old have been very useful in getting him more used to other dogs as at one time if he saw another dog he would hide behind legs and howl or if off lead would run away from the dog howling because he was so frightened.

What the others say about not pandering to him, i think, is good advice and the advice that I have followed from when i first posted my own question a few months ago.

I think it is a problem that has to be dealt with slowly over months and months rather than there being a quick fix .

Hope you see the same results as me over time.

Karen