Shyness?
 

Hey guys! I have a question for you. Katie Scarlett is 4 months old. We brought her into our home when she was 12 weeks. She is doing great! She LOVES people! Everywhere we go she loves to see and be seen. It's so funny! She thinks everyone has to stop and say hi to her. I am very proud of how she is with people. She hasn't met one person yet that she has been shy around. She just soaks in all the attention she can get and you can tell she really enjoys it. However, she seems really shy around ALL dogs, big or small. We take her to PetSmart, PetCo, the park, the vet, puppy class, etc. anywhere we can see other dogs and she is very shy and timid around all dogs we meet. At puppy class last week she wanted to stay in one corner of the room almost the whole class and only observed the other dogs. We were walking in PetSmart yesterday and she seemed to be taking interest in this dog that was coming out as we were going in, but after getting close for a second, she backed off again. So my question is, will she grow out of this phase? Or is there anything I can do to make her socialization with other dogs more positive? All the dogs we've met while out and about seem very friendly and would love to get to know her, but she always runs behind my feet and hunkers down. Is this normal for yorkies to be so shy around other dogs at her age? Any tips/advice? Ok, that is more than one question. LOL

Thanks for any help you can give!:D

So, the good news is that I don't think this is uncommon. The better news is that I think you're doing the right things to help her learn to be more comfortable. She may be shy for a while at puppy class but keep taking her. One of the things they tell us at Cody's puppy class is that you can sit on the ground and be a safe place for her, but don't cuddle her or hold her when she comes to you. Just kind of let her come and go as she pleases so she knws she has a safe spot. At first, you might have to encourage her to leave once in a while, but as time goes on she will probably get more brave on her own.

For what it's worth, I know this because we're having the same problem. We're going to keep taking him to class and encouraging him to make friends for as long as it takes.

Like little kids at nursery school really! ;) Sally + Harry x

Take her to a training class like petsmarts where there will be other dogs. Take her to dog parks. Just expose her to other dogs but only if shes had all her shots

Mine is the opposite. Loves, loves. loves all dogs. Scared to death of most people. I appears to be her personality as I have had her since she was 12 weeks and she was 2YO in Sept.

Taycie is this way around other dogs. She is great around them, once she gets to know them but the intial first time meeting, usually makes her nervous.

I decided to take her to a doggy day care for more practice with other dogs. There is one in my area that caters to small dogs.. I mostly see a slew of yorkies and maltese there when I drop her off so its perfect for her. I do this every couple of weeks and it has helped her so much!

I agree with a previous poster...just keep exposing her to other dogs and, hopefully, she will become more comfortable.

Tink has only shown shyness with one dog in PetSmart. Tink has shown zero fear with any other dog, regardless of size. The ironic thing to me is that the dog she ran from was another Yorkie...LOL

I've had the same trouble with Belle. She loves her fur-brothers, but she's very timid around new dogs. She "graduates" from her first class tonight and she has improved a lot since the first night. We're going to continue to bring her to training classes and try to get her to meet more dogs. She met my fiance's mother's 25 lb shih tzu a few weeks ago and it went pretty well. Next up she needs to meet his dogs (but they are in Tampa)

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing all of the right things in socializing little Katie Scarlett. She may never be a social butterfly, but at least she will know how to behave around other dogs:)

Thanks everyone! We will keep working at it! :)