My Shy Boy
 

Hi everyone!

This is my first post ever and I need some advice.

My baby, Kimchee, is 2 and he gets along well with humans. He doesn't seem like other dogs and doesn't play with them. He is still 'learning' to say hi (sniffing noses and butts) to other dogs.

He doesn't like people approaching him but he likes saying hi to almost everyone walks by. He will stand up and get the attention from everyone, then when the person tries to pet him, he will run away. That makes me so embarrassed all the time, and I have to apologize to the person.

He never plays with other dogs. I took him to the Yorkie meetup group once a month to help the socialization. He would tuck his tail all the way in, sniff and wander away from the group.

He is totally fine and normal at home, playing indefinitely with me and my husband 24/7.

Does anyone has any suggestions to change this behavior?

-Cindy

PS. Attached a few pictures of my baby.

First of all, WELCOME to YT!

My yorkie is still a puppy (sort of) and he just finished all his training classes and the instructor said that it was really important to socialize your dog at an early age. When my Tobi first started meeting other dogs, it was akward and a little scary (for me). But, I found that taking Tobi to places like parks, beaches, and other public places helped ease him into socializing with other dogs and people in general. It also helped that we enrolled him in training classes so that he could get training and learn how to socialize all at the same time.

Best of luck to you and your fur baby! :D

It's obvious! Tobi is so cute, he doesn't want to get cooties from those other inferior dogs and people.

It does sound like he's struggling with social skills. I was told (after my dog was a year old!) that he should have been introduced to lots of other dogs and lots of people very young in life. If you missed that opportunity, you'll have to work a little harder now. I did, and I now have a social butterfly.

Just start slow. Introduce him to other dogs as often as you can. Start out with small dogs like Yorkie meetups. Watch how you treat him during those meetings too. Don't baby him or pick him up prematurely. Let him "tough it out" and get to know the other dogs. As long as he's not getting hurt, it's normal to be sniffed and pushed around a little bit.

Do the same thing with people. Let others hold him. Let others give him treats. Let others play fun games with him.

I "solved" Eddie's social issues by putting him in multiple obedience classes. He did about 5 8-week classes in a row and was around a lot of other dogs every week. By the time we were through, he loved seeing other dogs.

It'll be work, but it's possible.

Try taking him to puppy classes. Their really good for socialization, and welcome to YT.

[QUOTE=alaskayorkie;1355688]It's obvious! Tobi is so cute, he doesn't want to get cooties from those other inferior dogs and people.

:lol tears

I agree with the others, the more you get him around other people and dogs, the more social he'll become. My Ziggy acts the total snob sometimes and other times he is friendly to the extreme.:D

Welcome to YT! And your Yorkie is adorable.:2hearts2:

:welcome4: :yorkiesar

Frimousse was so shy when I rescued her . She peed and pooped if someone approached her . I patiently started to present her people one by one when she was in my arm , needless to say how many times I had to come back home to change my clothes . The secret with this behaviour is patience , patience and patience . After few months , I am very happy to say Frimousse made enormous progress , she allows peoples to pet her and began to let others little ones approach her but she have a problem with big dogs .

Hi welcome to YT! you have a handsome baby!! where did you get his argyle shirt from???

Hi everyone,

Thank you for all your replies.

When Kimchee was 4 months old, we had tried to introduce him to different dogs and people, and now we still do that; however, he still scares of dogs who are more active. Kimchee also graduated from 2 obedience classes - starter and intermediate. These classes did not help much of his socialization skills but obedience. May be I should put him to puppy class this time to see if it will help. Do you think the agility class will help to strength his confidence?

When my friends visit me at home, Kimchee loves them so much that he would jump up and down to welcome them. Do you think it is because he feels very safe at home and he acts differently at home than outside? He once had a ShihTzu friend who came to our house and play. The ShihTzu would chase him and Kimchee would just run for his life. Kimchee won't even play with the toys that other dogs touched. Even I have to wash my hands after holding other dogs; otherwise, he won't let me touch him or won't take the treats from my hands. Needless to say, he won't share his water bowl with other dogs.

Kimchee was bitten by a wired fox terrier when he was almost 1 year old. But I don't think this attack contributes to his lack of socialization skills since I see he acts exactly the same before and after the attack.

Any advice?

~Cindy

PS. The argyle sweater is from www.dog.com.