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Fear of People

Depending on his previous experiences, your dog may show a fear of people in general, or to a specific group (men/children etc). This can be overcome by altering your dog's perception of the person/group in question. The dog must be allowed to do this of its own free will, but the process can be aided by the use of an incentive such as food. The person/people who your dog appears wary of should never force their affections on him, but wait until the dog approaches them. When this happens they can offer a small treat and then ignore the dog again. Slowly build this up until the dog will allow itself to be stroked once before receiving the treat. Eventually the dog will begin to realise that this person is actually a source of many pleasant surprises, and will not harm them.

If the problem is more severe and the dog shows no interest in even approaching, then whenever that person arrives home immediately take the dog out for a walk. It is important that you handle the dog and the person of whom he is frightened simply comes along (if this is inconvenient then feeding the dog is another alternative). What this is doing, is showing the dog that the arrival of the person in question is not something to be feared, but rather an event to look forward to.

Another approach that my mother in law used with Buttons when we went to stay, was to sit quietly near his bed and occasionally toss his small pieces of irresistibly tasty treats. I think it took two evenings of this treat giving to win Buttons life long devotion and love.

It is important that a nervous dog has a space he can feel safe in and where his privacy will always be respected. Minimising the number of visitors (particularly early on) is a good idea. When people do finally come to visit it is worth warning them in advance to totally ignore your nervous dog, avoid making any sort of eye contact with him, and not saying his name.

It is worth considering using homeopathic remedies to specifically address the problem of fearful behaviour, and as a first port of call I always add Bach Flower Rescue Remedy to the water bowl for at least a week when a new dog arrives in the house.

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