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Originally Posted by bradyem I also had the same problem with my puppy and looked to a Petsmart trainer who told me that when strangers come around, they shouldn't give him eye contact when reaching down to pet him (apparently according to Rockie my 7 month old--if you give him eye contact he'll have to fight you for status I guess). |
This is a very good tip, but I'd like to expand on the reasoning behind it.
Staring (ie prolonged eye contact) is seen as a threat in doggie language; it is an act of aggression. A shy puppy will be even more intimidated by such rude behavior. Blinking, turning your head, anything to break the eye contact will tell the puppy that you mean him no harm. You can take it a step further and yawn. These are all behaviors - called Calming Signals - that dogs use to say to each other "I mean you no harm".
Turid Rugrass is a researcher who has written several books on using Calming Signals with dogs, if you're interested.