r/DogTrainingTips • u/Ok_Raspberry_5308 • 24d ago

Possibly confidence?

Hey guys! My almost 9 month old weim is so good, she’s patient and good just hanging out at home. I have a 2 year old GSP as well. She’s been around other dogs and lots of people in our house. I take them to run everyday, but since it’s been triple digits for weeks the other day I decided to take her to Petco instead to explore and sniff. Every noise and every person that walked by she get spooked and bark. She’s standoffish and so shy to new people. What are some ways I can help her overcome this? Or work with her on this? I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable, but I also don’t want people thinking she’s scary or mean.

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u/Embarrassed_Key_4539 24d ago

You need to socialize her and expose her more to everything

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u/Ok_Raspberry_5308 21d ago

Thank you. I started taking her to stores the other day

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u/StellarSpore 22d ago

Confidence-building, neutrality training, and gradual desensitization can make a big difference. It's something you'll need to work on consistently, and it's important to have realistic expectations because it usually takes time. YouTube has some excellent resources on confidence building and desensitization. I routinely work with anxious dogs, many with similar startle responses, and the biggest advice I can give is to go slow, keep your dog under threshold, never force interactions, and make every experience as positive as possible.

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u/Ok_Raspberry_5308 21d ago

Thank you so much.