So we've had Navi going on 2 months now and she's shown great improvement in a lot of areas. She was very skittish of new places and people due to lack of socialization, and though she's not perfect she's come very far. There's only one area she's made no progress in whatsoever; children. She's absolutely petrified of all kids, male or female, older or younger it doesn't matter. Dwayne's children come to visit twice a month for 2-3 days at a time; during the 2 months we've had her, they actually stayed for a week straight once and she's made no improvement at all during any of these visits. If we're at the dog park and she hears a child off in the distance (far enough away that she can't even see them) she'll stop playing and will start pacing back and forth panting. Dwayne's kids initially wanted to interact with Navi but we explained to them that she was scared and it was best to ignore her, which they did. We left her crate door open and allowed her to come and go as she pleased; she stayed in the crate for probably 2 days straight. We'd have to lure her out on collar and leash to her water bowl or else she'd refuse to drink. For the first few visits, we decided to just let her do as she pleased and figured she'd eventually get the courage to come out and be with us... but that never happened. I don't think she'd ever come out on her own accord, so we started to bring her into the living room on a leash. Once she's out there, you can drop her leash and she'll stay there without being forced. I assume she's just too scared to leave.

If she's around the kids on a leash, she'll try to hide behind us (which we don't allow) or will pull on the leash in whatever direction opposite of the children, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. If they get close to her, she'll back/lean away and will avert her gaze. She's never once growled or acted remotely aggressive towards any of them, though I know fear can create aggression so we are always very mindful. She even allows them to pet her (I think we've allowed the children to touch her twice since we've had her) and it's obvious she doesn't enjoy it at all.

The oldest (15) has taken her outside to go potty and for walks many times; I'd say she was the least scared of her because of her height (she's pretty much as tall as I am) but she's definitely not comfortable with her despite their more frequent interaction. I don't know if she's not improving because her interaction with children isn't frequent enough? If the kids were there everyday, maybe she'd be different by now. If that were the case, I thought we would have seen at least SOME improvement when they were here for 8 days straight.

We just don't know what else to do. Hoping someone here has been through a similar situation and might know how to proceed. We hate to see her so handicapped by this, but we never coddle or "feed" her fear. Not sure what we're doing wrong.

I wrote a long reply and then lost it.... POO!

Basically, I don't have any answers, but I would compliment the kids for behaving nicely around her. I think as they show her that they can be trusted, she will warm up to them. It's probably one of those things that will take time, patience and some well-behaved kids!

Due to an incident where my teen brother forgot his house key and had to break in our mom's house, Sandy (our first husky) had a stint of being fearful of men wearing baseball caps. My guess is that Navi has had a bad experience with a child and now all children must earn her trust back. I am surprised that she even sees the 15-yr old girl as a kid (most 15-yr old girls really look like adults).

I hope things get better soon....