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Originally Posted by docmartin  Thank you very much for your post and time, I certainly heed your analysis and will persevere with the chicken strips and the nibble treats. She always comes when I shake the jar, so early on, seemingly I've achieved something positive? Tonight the usual sea front walk was thronged with day trippers even at 8pm. She is always nervous on the lead, no matter which of us is in accompaniment, indeed if anything it's easier with me. But within this evening's noisy environment she was apparently terrified, ears down, tail curled right into her legs and quivering badly, pulling on the lead to get back as fast as she could. We don't of course know her background and she's only been with us 18 days. Late this evening at bed time, we put her little box in my room and surprisingly she seemed quite happy to stay with me at first. After half an hour she began getting a bit anxious, so I returned her to the normal place with my wife! Perhaps this little person just needs many, many more weeks of time and love. To be honest, I never stop talking to and loving her, treats etc and was worried in case i'd been spoiling her. For sure we would never give up on her... |
It sounds as if you are committed to having an excellent relationship with her and feared maybe cheapening it somehow with the treats. But your dog doesn't see them as "treats", only as you providing vital food and it is the loving, selfless act of a leader to her. In the pack setting, the killers/providers of food are highly esteemed by all members and given pride of place. "Talking" to your dog with food treats will gain you any number of trust and honor points in her eyes and help her to see you as a brave hunter who is sharing your find with her. "Treating" a dog to humans sometimes is trivialized in our minds but to a dog, it is a noble gesture of food sharing.
If walking her during times when she is nervous is easier with you, it says to me that she is beginning to see you as the stronger of the family outside in the dangerous "wild" and might be thinking of you in terms of the protector. Keep up the good work and you will become a trusted and beloved pack leader in her eyes.