Three days ago, I adopted a very sweet Chinese Crested named Watson
from a reputable breeder. He's 18 months old. He took to me very
quickly, and seems very eager to please me. Based on how sweet and
friendly he was when we first met at the breeder, I'd pegged him as a
sweet-to-anybody kind of guy.

His breeder lives in the country, and I live in the city. I have been
taking Watson on city walks for three days now, and he's already a pro
at being housebroken, and is taking the city noises in stride. He's
also well behaved around other dogs. However, I'm realizing that he's
wary around strangers. He won't behave aggressively (he seems
submissive in general), but he tends to cower and shake. The breeder
warned me that he hadn't been fully socialized around people, so I'm
hopeful that by taking him out on city walks and exposing him to people
every day will help cure him of his fearfulness.

I offer any comers a treat to give him, as I've read that that is the
best way to teach dogs that strangers are friendly. But he's too
intimidated to take them or eat, even off the floor/ground. I don't
want to overwhelm him or force him to interact against his will, so I
usually just give him a few seconds, petting him while I talk to the
stranger, and then we walk away and I give him lots of praise.

So the question is, what's the best way to socialize an adult dog, who
seems to have a wariness of strangers?

In article .com,
Jennyanniedots wrote:
So the question is, what's the best way to socialize an adult dog, who
seems to have a wariness of strangers?

The key word seems to be "seems." Three days is not very
long at all - I've found that it generally takes about two
weeks for a dog to figure out that the new situation is
permanent. Until then they usually aren't very sure about
anything. I'd keep things as friendly, low-key, and
stress-free as possible for the next several weeks. A dog's
behavior can change a lot once the initial insecurity
passes.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

Prouder than ever to be a member of the reality-based community

Melinda,
I want to thank you for your encouraging words. You're right - 3 days
isn't a long time. But I didn't know about the couple of weeks for the
permanence to set in. So you've given ME confidence!
-Jen



Melinda Shore wrote:
In article .com,
Jennyanniedots wrote:
So the question is, what's the best way to socialize an adult dog, who
seems to have a wariness of strangers?

The key word seems to be "seems." Three days is not very
long at all - I've found that it generally takes about two
weeks for a dog to figure out that the new situation is
permanent. Until then they usually aren't very sure about
anything. I'd keep things as friendly, low-key, and
stress-free as possible for the next several weeks. A dog's
behavior can change a lot once the initial insecurity
passes.
--
Melinda Shore - Software longa, hardware brevis -

On 2 Oct 2006 17:19:29 -0700, "Jennyanniedots"
wrote:

I want to thank you for your encouraging words. You're right - 3 days
isn't a long time. But I didn't know about the couple of weeks for the
permanence to set in. So you've given ME confidence!

Try not to let the dog have any negative experiences with strangers in
the meantime (forced stressful interactions, out of control kids...)
and be relaxed about the stranger situation so the dog will get
calming signals instead of this is an anxiety provoking situation
signals. Even if it doesn't resolve in time, keeping it low key and
not stressful for you or the dog will be the best approach, so you'll
be laying a good foundation. Dogs pick up a lot of cues from humans,
but they can't tell the difference between being stressed because you
want the dog to like the stranger and it seems standoffish and
stressed because you are afraid of the stranger, too. They'll just
pick up on your stress and put their own spin on it.

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay

Jennyanniedots wrote:
Melinda,
I want to thank you for your encouraging words. You're right - 3 days
isn't a long time. But I didn't know about the couple of weeks for the
permanence to set in. So you've given ME confidence!

And with some dogs, it can take even longer for them to really
settle into a new home. In the meantime, I'd go for the low key
approach. When you have people over, have them ignore Watson (I
*love* that name, by the way!) unless he approaches them first.
Then, ask them to be calm and matter of fact about interacting with
him. Having visitors give him treats after he approaches them
should be fine, but again, I'd keep the whole thing low key. If he
*is* anxious, you don't want to accidentally exacerbate it, or
worse, reinforce his anxiety.

--
Shelly (Warning: see label for details)
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

I agree with the other posters--just give the "baby" some time. Most likely
you will see the comfort level increase in a couple weeks--even more after a
couple months.

My only real advice to you is to not accidentally make fearful behavior
worse by feeding into it--just ignore it. If he wants to cower, let
him--just keep talking to your guest. While you do that--make sure that when
it is quiet to spend some quality bonding time with him so he will learn to
trust you and your judgment.

Enjoy your new "Baby."

n


"Jennyanniedots" wrote in message
oups.com...
Three days ago, I adopted a very sweet Chinese Crested named Watson
from a reputable breeder. He's 18 months old. He took to me very
quickly, and seems very eager to please me. Based on how sweet and
friendly he was when we first met at the breeder, I'd pegged him as a
sweet-to-anybody kind of guy.

His breeder lives in the country, and I live in the city. I have been
taking Watson on city walks for three days now, and he's already a pro
at being housebroken, and is taking the city noises in stride. He's
also well behaved around other dogs. However, I'm realizing that he's
wary around strangers. He won't behave aggressively (he seems
submissive in general), but he tends to cower and shake. The breeder
warned me that he hadn't been fully socialized around people, so I'm
hopeful that by taking him out on city walks and exposing him to people
every day will help cure him of his fearfulness.

I offer any comers a treat to give him, as I've read that that is the
best way to teach dogs that strangers are friendly. But he's too
intimidated to take them or eat, even off the floor/ground. I don't
want to overwhelm him or force him to interact against his will, so I
usually just give him a few seconds, petting him while I talk to the
stranger, and then we walk away and I give him lots of praise.

So the question is, what's the best way to socialize an adult dog, who
seems to have a wariness of strangers?