1. Socialize your shy dog at his level of comfort. Don’t overdo it. Start low-key and increase stimulations as he improves.
2. Don’t hover over shy dogs or allow other humans to do so. The direct eye contact and body language is very scary to shy dog. Bend down at the knees. Avert eye contact initially until the dog feels more secure.
3. Allow the dog to come up to humans rather than force the interaction. Praise softly whenever your shy dog makes initiation but don’t overdo the eye contact.
4. Act casual when your dog is worried. Your upright body language and calm facial expression and mannerism will let your dog know that you are not worried so he can work on calming down.
5. If your shy dog panics, calmly walk her away from the situation.
6. Teach your dog the “Say Hi” command (see next week’s blog).
7. If you have a calm dog or can work with a friend’s calm dog, shy dogs will most often learn by watching other dogs being friendly to humans or scary objects and thus feel braver. Group classes can be very effective for this as well.
