Shy & Timid

[nadinesky]

Hi there, sorry for posting this in two spots, just wasn't sure where to post in general...

Schmoo is a wonderful 5 month old little girl but very shy and timid, she will certainly lay with you on the bed, on the couch, only when you are at her level...although with other dogs she is a pitbull in a little body for sure...not aggressive, just friendly and not frightened of anything...except us.

Just wondering if time will solve this problem, or should we be doing something? She comes from a great breeder with champion bloodlines etc.
There is no history of this shyness with her, she's the first...at first we thought it was just cause she is so small, her finished weight will be about 3.2lbs, if all goes well...

would love to hear some stories or help with this...thanks all.
Nadine

[hha]

My little girl just turned 5 mos on the 31st of December..She's about 3 1/2 lbs. but, I've never had any problem with her..I have 3 other dogs and she does great with them, and has always come to my hubby and I when either of us have called her..I used to have a small yorkie, she was around 4 1/2 lbs. she was more timid, not towards us, but other people..

[patty58]

Welcome to yt. Hope your little girl warms up and isn't scared any more.

[fourdez]

Your dog sounds like exactly like my Ricky. When we first got him, he was
( and still is) very dog friendly, but extremely fearful of people. If we tried to pick him up he would hide in the corner, keeping his head down and shake all over. It was so bad that I hired a Dog Behavorist to come to my home and show me how to deal with this puppy.

One of the exercises she show us was that we had to lay on the floor, so that we were eye level with him, but never looking him directly in the eye. We had to outstretch our hands and call him over, when he came, we would give him a treat until he started to associate a good experience when he came to us.

It took a while, but it worked. He is never going to like other people interacting with him but, he does come to us and plays with us, and snuggles with us and gives us the best kisses in the world. Actually, I prefer that he doesn't go to other people, he is over a year old and weighs only 2lbs 7 oz. I like that he doesn't allow anyone else to pick him up. Good luck !!

[nadinesky]

Thanks for the story...Schmoo will come to us for sure if we are laying down on the bed, even if we are sitting on the couch, she even will go to other people (like today at the vets), she shakes like crazy but she goes over tail wagging, but just very nervous. I too I suppose will be glad if she does not go to other people, that can be a good thing. She does go to my husbands daughters (who are 17 & 18) so she is not completely lost. Your pup is very small too, I wonder if this is a trait with the smaller yorkies, thanks for the help from the behaviouralist, sounds like a good plan...
thanks again, will keep you posted.
Cheers
Nadine

[stedmansmommy]

How long have you had her for? Our Tatum was EXTREMELY (and I do mean EXTREMELY!) shy when we first brought her home. She would run when we walked up to her, and she would go hide. I knew she was this way even before I bought her, as she did this at her breeders house - but I didn't care - her cuteness totally won me over and I wanted her regardless And I knew it had to just be HER - because her mommy and daddy are not like this, not at all - and her brother and sister DEFINITELY weren't! They were HYPER little things, not shy AT-ALL! This was just (and sort of still is) HER personality. When we were at her breeders house looking at her, any time her breeder would get up, Tate was RIGHT behind her. She'd look back over at us like, "PLEASE - get away from me! " lol. She'd stay right beside her breeder AT ALL TIMES. Actually, she didn't want much to do with us at all LOL. That would probably turn alot of people away when buying a pup, but I could see in those sweet little eyes of hers (or should I say BIG - she has big eyes, lol) that all that shyness would go away once she warmed up to us and got to know us Sure enough, I was right.

Let me tell you....this little girl today is THE biggest mommies girl you will ever meet in your life. She crawls all over me (even when I'm asleep in bed LOL), crawls up in my lap on her own when I am on the couch, and literally CRIES to be picked up and held. Just like a little baby. AND - her shyness is certainly not a problem with us anymore - she can be a total BRAT!! Let me tell you! Oh my goodness...she is a little handful sometimes I swear lol.

Mind you, she still is very, very timid and shy around strangers/people she's never met and I don't really know if that will ever change with her - and honestly, I could care less if it does or doesn't. We took her to the Petsmart Halloween costume contest and that was just a DISASTER with her - she was trying to crawl up on my shoulder and perch herself up there like a little bird. She wouldn't look at ANYONE. lol. When the judge called us up to the front as one of the people that were picked, I put her down in the middle of the floor to show everyone her costume as that is what you were supposed to do - well she was LITERALLY "hugging" the floor...all flat, on all fours lol. She was shaking like a little LEAF! And her heart was pounding a mile a minute - she'd look back up at me with those big eyes of hers like, "Mommy, PWEASE pick me up!" lol...my poor little one. So needless to say, because she was soooo scared of all the people and other animals, and the noise - we ditched the contest, packed up and left

I guess the point I am trying to get at is that your baby will I'M SURE eventually warm up to YOU...however, like my Tatum, her shyness may just be apart of who she is and that may or may not ever change. My Tatum has Champion Bloodlines as well, so I honestly don't think that has anything to do with it. They are just like humans, they each have their own little personalities

[ladyj]

Originally Posted by fourdez

Your dog sounds like exactly like my Ricky. When we first got him, he was
( and still is) very dog friendly, but extremely fearful of people. If we tried to pick him up he would hide in the corner, keeping his head down and shake all over. It was so bad that I hired a Dog Behavorist to come to my home and show me how to deal with this puppy.

One of the exercises she show us was that we had to lay on the floor, so that we were eye level with him, but never looking him directly in the eye. We had to outstretch our hands and call him over, when he came, we would give him a treat until he started to associate a good experience when he came to us.

It took a while, but it worked. He is never going to like other people interacting with him but, he does come to us and plays with us, and snuggles with us and gives us the best kisses in the world. Actually, I prefer that he doesn't go to other people, he is over a year old and weighs only 2lbs 7 oz. I like that he doesn't allow anyone else to pick him up. Good luck !!

This approach is working with my little rescue Chihuahua, Kozanna. I never reach for her from a standing position, I always sit down on the floor or kneel down or even lay on the floor. When I let her out of her crate, I sit in the floor outside the door and she will come out and climb up on my lap to be cuddled. I do this every time I let her out and she then goes in the kitchen to play. I sit on the kitchen floor with my hands outstretched on the floor and she will come and lick my hands. She doesn't come when called yet, but I hope she will one of these days.

[JessicaRenee]

Tucker was so shy and timid when we first brought him home. He didn't play at all for a solid two weeks. I was so scared (you can see in my first posts to YT) that he would never warm up to us. In the 3 months we've had him, he has warmed up so much to my fiance' and I and his home. He feels very safe in his house and loves new people as long as they come to see him in his territory.

He still hates to be held or picked up and doesn't like new places or rides in the car. He's still terrified of the upstairs floor of my apartment! I take him up there occasionally in an effort to make him more comfortable with the area, but he will tinkle a little in the floor everytime I try to pick him up to take him back downstairs, so I don't try often because I feel so sorry for him.

Even still, in his "area" he is a little monster - running around, tail wagging. He loves to be chased around the ottoman in the living room. I don't know if he'll ever be the dog that likes to be held or go for walks, but he's very happy at home and I'm ok with that.

[yorkieusa]

Mine was moreso that way when we brought her home and she is still a bit that way. I believe it is just their personality. It helps to build their confidence up over time. When they show fear or timidity and come to you "to save them" from the world, just pat them on the head and tell them it is alright. They learn that they have nothing to fear that way. But if you begin to pick them up and baby them, then you will be reinforcing their fear and they will believe that they actually do have something to be afraid of. My other yorkie, Muffin, wasn't scared or timid in any way. She would have charged a pit bull!

[nadinesky]

Hi everyone thanks for the responses...Schmoo is shy, but I wouldn't trade her for the world...she jumps all over me, and walks all over me without a problem, it is just when you are standing that she shys away.
She is awesome though, very funny, and actually had her at petsmart yesterday and she didn't crawl under the shelving, lol...to hide of course.
Sounds like quite a few of you have the same shyness inyour Yorkies which puts my mind at ease, I thought that she just wasn't normal at first...it also kind of scarred me.
She has really really bonded with us, but is shy and timid with others, which as many of you said is okay, as you would rather her not run to strangers anyways.
Thanks for your tips, keep them coming...I am so glad to have found a place that I am not alone.

Nadine

[yorkieusa]

You just want to socialilze her very well...take her lots of places and have her experience many different situations. I think all of this helps to build their confidence. It sounds like she did great yesterday.

[nadinesky]

It is amazing how much can change in a week, little Schmoo is still really shy, but she has started to come to the door to greet us and jump around but not on us. She is much much much better with people now and will even approach people to say hello, where as a week ago she would have run for cover. She still shakes at going to the elevator and getting downstairs but once you get her there she is a happy girl.
She is going for her first grooming next week, which I am terribly scarred about, leaving her for any amount of time without her mommy is a scarry thing! She is so frightened of everything, I have not even bathed her since bringing her home so I don't cause her more stress, so the groomer should be an interesting thing.
Thanks for all the advice, we are making some head way.
Schmoo & Nadine

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by nadinesky

It is amazing how much can change in a week, little Schmoo is still really shy, but she has started to come to the door to greet us and jump around but not on us. She is much much much better with people now and will even approach people to say hello, where as a week ago she would have run for cover. She still shakes at going to the elevator and getting downstairs but once you get her there she is a happy girl.
She is going for her first grooming next week, which I am terribly scarred about, leaving her for any amount of time without her mommy is a scarry thing! She is so frightened of everything, I have not even bathed her since bringing her home so I don't cause her more stress, so the groomer should be an interesting thing.
Thanks for all the advice, we are making some head way.
Schmoo & Nadine

Sounds like everything is working out very well for her! Kacee has learned over time that when I say, "It's all right," that she has nothing to fear. The groomer won't be fun for her, but they all have to start sometime! You do start seeing changes as time goes on. Just keep building her confidence and not reinforcing her fears and she'll be a big, brave yorkie one of these days!