Quote:
Originally Posted by katy-yorkie  Any advice for me??? (please, please!) Buster cowers when we are going to pick him up even though we ask him if he wants "up". We ask him if he wants up, he will stop and cower and wait for us to pick him up. He will cower at most anything. He is very skittish, if you move suddenly he will jump like he was shot out of a cannon. He has never been hit, abused, etc. He is two years old and I have had him since he was a baby. Breaks my heart.... |
Aww ...poor little guy
Yeah some little dogs do do this and its not your fault at all
Dogs that do this are just very skiddish and flinch at every little thing
What you can do is take a few things at you know he cowers from and hit those behaviors specifically
when you reach for him
don't do it from a standing position and don't reach out with your hands
This can be threatening to little guys
try squatting down and calling him
if he's afraid of a certain noise
bring him to where you are certain that noise will occur
and when it does
Don't pick him up squat down and in a nice even voice ... don't say it like you feel sorry for him
say Good Boy and give him treats
try this again and again
and he'll start to realize Hey... when this happens I get good things