The timid and shy dog sits in the back corner of a shelter pen, head down and fearfully refusing to meet the eyes of prospective new owners coming down the aisles, yet with shivers going through the little body in hopes it may soon find a new home. But few will choose it as most desire a healthy and outgoing dog with very few behavior problems, even though almost all shelter dogs go through some form of traumatic transition when entering a new home. The road is long for the timid dog-shelter or not-and many slow steps will be involved in helping them achieve a quality home-life. Those prospecive owners who are courageous and loving enough to bring such a dog into their home recognize that a lot of love, understanding, and kindness are the desperately needed answers-combined with a gentle repetitious training schedule for possibly long periods of time.
A timid dog from a shelter has varied backgrounds that have played a strong role in the developing personality of this particular type of dog. These backgrounds could be genetic issues at birth, painful life experiences, abusive breeders, neglectful and abusive owners, and downright cruelty by society as a whole. Either way, life has handed these dogs a bad hand that many new owners feel has left a permanent mark on this dog considered "unfixable." Yet with the right type of care and training, the timid rescue dog has been known to make excellent life-long companions.
A shy timid dog will erratically hide or run away from anything new, bark or lunge at a new person, but occasionally exhibit normal behavior. They have issues that cause them fear which are based on their background experiences, or they simply were born timid and afraid. Shyness in dogs have been recognized as an inherited problem from a mother or father, so taking a timid dog to socialization dog classes provides a way for the timid dog to be around friendly dogs with normal behavior but will still maintain a timid personality to a point.
The basic step in helping the timid rescue dog is to recognize the type of home the dog will be entering when leaving the shelter. Part of the training foundation is to accept that timid dogs will take awhile to get over their problems, the same as with an abused child or adult who is seeking recovery. A dog with bad experiences makes it almost impossible to overcome their timid behavior and fearfulness, but reconditioning programs have been known to help if used properly and with enough gentle caring. Socialize them carefully with walks in safe and quiet areas, rewarding them when they display good behavior.This type of dog cannot get enough of kindness or gentle rewards, due to a life of not having enough because of their timid behavior. Owners with timid dogs become seriously frustrated, and that leads to problems for the dog.
The timid rescue dog can become excellent companions if their home life is appropriate to their personality, and if the owner is proactive with the new dog's care. Recognize what the dog is afraid of and finds intimidating due to something in their past, then begin a gradual approach in order to gain the dog's confidence. Remain positive and gentle, and allow enough distance from the dog and what they are afraid of. Otherwise, the "fight or flight" will kick in and the dog may become aggressive simply out of fear. Going the other way, the overly timid dog may bond so well with their new owner they will become overly protective of them, requiring a carefully thought-out balanced training schedule.