[yorkietalkjilly]

Be sure he's been thoroughly checked out by the vet. I've noticed when Tibbe was getting ill or having a problem, he was more fearful, had panic attacks, more fearful of thunder, couldn't be distracted. When leading up to his Dx. of MVD, he was very fearful and after his Dx. and treatment with total change of diet, he lost that fear once he was medically stable.

Good old basic obedience training that is made great fun for the dog, always ending in a 'win' for him gives them an incredible amount of self-confidence and truly aids a fearful, craven dog. They learn that they can feel good about themselves by getting it right and once they've learned that they are capable, they surmount many fearful situations. Always speak in an upbeat, happy voice, keep a smile on your face & make training a very positive experience for them, something so fun they are continually baiting you to do. It gives your dog a job, the work of learning to team & bond with you. Your dog gets a great dose of oxytocin every time you interact positively with him and he'll grow confident from that boost to his system.

My Tibbe was 9 mos. old when I got him, by history said to have spent those 9 mos. alone in a crate under a shed in the backyard of a hobby breeder. He came to me manic, fearful of everything, screaming, shrieking, panicking and untrusting. Everything he did was painfully scary to him, from walking through a doorway to hearing the fridge, TV come on. He was scared of GRASS for goodness sake!

But I started him on a trust-me campaign and rewarded him with food or a toy, and real, heartfelt, loving, smiling praise every time he interacted positively with me, said 'uh oh' and kind of frowned every time he got something wrong. Just a gentle feedback 'uh oh' to let him know he hadn't got it quite right, but quickly followed by requesting him to do something I knew he could get right so we'd always end on a win for him. I never forced myself on him but waited for him to make all the overtures wherein he was richly rewarded.

Eventually after he'd learned trust, we started basic obedience, which I determined I would keep fun and happy for him. I never barked or growled out commands, always requested a skill to be learned in a happy tone of voice, a smile on my face and a big, happy praise when he got it right, an 'uh oh', frown when he missed. He soon learned he adored the getting it right so he WORKED hard to get it right, loved his job of learning and growing.

In the process of learning confidence, working as a team, after he was less scared, we did some confidence building exercises, where I'd accumulate several disparate objects - a limb, a clock, a flower, a hairbrush, a sock, a spoon and a cell phone and a lot of his special treats and we'd sit in the floor and happily I'd show him one of the objects and if he'd come up and bump it with his nose, he'd get a treat, happy, heartfelt praise, a gentle 'uh oh' and frown if he shied away, whereupon I'd quickly introduce a chew stick so he could follow-up with a win. Before long, he'd learned not to fear unknown objects rather wanted to approach them for the good things he was about to receive & his own self-administered boost of confidence and oxytocin he got from bumping the new thing. He grew into a friendly, confident, feisty, black-hearted(i.e., terrier(!)), loving, obedient buddy, a pet anyone would love to have.

Work with your baby to TEACH him how to grow confidence and you'll be surprised at how he blossoms!