Shy Mia...

Mia is very shy around new people and it takes her quite a while to warm up to someone. She's not shy at all around other dogs and actually prefers dogs that are five times her size...she knows no fear when it comes to other dogs. When I brought her home, I noticed she was a little hand shy of me, but warmed up pretty quickly--I think because I was the "nice food lady".

I think I've socialized her pretty well. She's around all sorts of people and dogs very regularly, but she's still pretty shy of new people and especially children, which I understand.

Any suggestions?

Is that true both inside and outside the house? My Holly was (and is) very handshy, and she doesn't seem to want to meet new people out of the house. She'll often try to jump up on my knee if people are talking to her! Inside the house though it's a very different story and she's all over new people.

Come to think of it, she may not be quite as shy of people who come to my home, though she definitely doesn't run up to greet them. She eventually comes around to people that she meets several times, but it takes a while.

It's funny, too--when we're out walking she'll try to run up to people we pass, but if they stop to greet/pet her, she shys away.

She's definitely turned out to be much more affectionate to me than she was when I brought her home. She greets me by jumping up and putting her paws on my shoulders and licking/nibbling my chin. She's such a love!

I would just love to see her come out of her shell with that sweet Cavalier disposition that "knows no strangers".

We had a dog who was shy. We walked him with a bag of treats. Then when we met people on walks, we told them we were training our dog and would they mind giving him a treat. Didn't take long for him to get over being shy. Some dogs we have had, just stayed alittle hesitant and that's OK too.

Thanks, that's a good idea. Up to now, she'll take a treat from someone, but will grab it an run away. I guess I could have her sit before they give the treat. I'll give it a try.

Cavvies shy??? Not mine....nope...nah nah not mine.

Any visitor gets mugged and/or molested.

Christmas Day we got to my parent's house early before my brother's kids woke up. My brother took both pups up and allowed them be the "wake-up alarms" for the kids. He made the comment that they were "extremely happy dogs" and that meant the world to us.

Mine either Colby is very social ! but one of my chi's ( Paris ) is very shy. She's a sweetheart but trembles and barks when strangers are in our home.

I would work with Mia with treats .......have strangers treat her , and hopefully that will help improve things

I think Molly's suggestion is great! My suggestion is TAKE MORE PICTURES I love your avatar! Wasn't that helpful?

Kodee said:

I think Molly's suggestion is great! My suggestion is TAKE MORE PICTURES I love your avatar! Wasn't that helpful?

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:lol: Thanks, Debbie--I am behind in taking pictures. Mia is growing so fast and her coat and feathering are getting so pretty. I promise to post some pics very soon--thanks for the compliment! By the way, I think Kodee is pretty much a doll, too!

I'll have my friends start working with Mia with treats a little more. She's such a sweetie, I hate for others not to see that--ya know?!?

Thanks for the suggestions--

Denise G. said:

Thanks, that's a good idea. Up to now, she'll take a treat from someone, but will grab it an run away. I guess I could have her sit before they give the treat. I'll give it a try.

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We have a shy Cav as well. When we got her, she was two and very shy. In two years she's made leaps and bounds, but it's been a very slow process. We took her to a class just for shy dogs and learned desensitization with counter-conditioning---the scary thing can't be that scary if it has something good (treats). Everyone she met had to give her treats--lots of them. Our trainer had us keep a container in the mailbox, so when people came over, they were armed. We had them on walks, in the car, etc. Low-cal training treats are the best option, we've found, because you'll go through a lot. Whatever you do, do not force her on people, this will only set her back. Let her approach people, rather than holding her for people to pet--this is very frightening, she's got to do it on her own terms. Another great tool is obedience training--building her confidence will help her a ton.
Abbey may never be the dog who jumps up on people's laps (other than ours), but at least she's feeling more confident and comfortable to approach and meet people.

Thanks, Jen. I'm glad to know we're not alone and there's hope that Mia will come out of her shell somewhat with proper training--and I appreciate your suggestions. I definitely won't force her to let people pet her--I've done it once or twice and I can see it's very scary for her.

She's such a happy go lucky girl around the house and around other dogs. Last night we had a little breakthrough. We were out walking and a man stopped and stooped down and offered his hand and she went up to him for a few seconds and let him pet her a couple of times. He didn't have a treat, but she may have thought he did.

Small victories--we'll take when they come!