Hello Everyone!

I've posted in other subject areas about Cash, and he's doing great! We are walking more and playing ball longer and he's out of his crate more which is helping a lot. But I am running in to a problem, he's terribly afraid of people. When we walk, if they are at a distance he's fine. But if someone comes near him or talks to him, he FREAKS out.... he pulls back and claws at the ground and cries/whines and wants to run home. The last two times I've tried having him sit, which he does for a few seconds but he looks completely terrified. I actually had to pick him up tonight he was so panicked, but he's getting big so this isn't a good option and I know it's not good for him. We don't have people over my house much but we walk every day, my neighbors are social, he sees them and while he's not thrilled with them, he's not aggressive or anything. I want to at least be able to take good walks with him without him freaking out.

Any ideas?? And I got him from a breeder at 8 weeks. He's been around quite a few people but like I said, we just don't have people over the house. He's never been been abused or anything *at least not here, I wonder sometimes about where he came from....*

Thank you!!!

I know EXACTLY what you mean. We brought Alki home at 7 weeks and he was even terrified of us! He's now about 8 weeks and he's fine with us...but terrified of anyone else. He's just now gotten around to walking out the front door without our help. If we're walking and someone else appears, he runs behind us...pulls backwards and tries to run in the other direction. My best advice is to be patient. I know it's cause for worry because you don't know if he'll outgrow it, but I have full confidence that he will. Just be patient. Don't throw him around too many people at once. Someone gave me some good advice about it-if you're around people you know, give them a treat and try to let him come to them. Best of luck. If you need to chat, feel free to send me a message.

I'm glad you understand. Cash was the same way when he was little little, but now that he's 4 months.... I just don't want it to continue. I don't necessarily want him to be super friendly with everyone, but I don't want him to get freaked out every time someone walks out of their house or the sidewalk on our walks.

I can relate. I'm so worried Alki will stay like that. But most people on here say that they'll grow out of it. Just try to socialize him as much as you can...slowly. Our breeder spent time with the pups and ours was just the shy one. She even told us that if you were coming up behind him, you had to talk to him before touching him or he would yelp. My mom made that mistake and he started yelping like she had hurt him when she didn't! It's just a slow process and sometimes, it feels like it won't end. Haha.

You could try desensitising him to people by feeding him treats while the strangers walk by. He may then start to associate people with something positive.

Good idea thank you!

Good idea thank you!

I wouldn't say Ellie is terrified of people but she has some trust issues with strangers. We socialized her right from the 10 week mark but was never that "happy to meet you" puppy with new people which kind of made me sad. As the months went on, she approached strangers but any forward movement by them sent her back pedaling. We tried treats but she's too smart for her own good and grabbed the treat and ran away from the petting. Then, one day she started approaching strangers with her tail wagging and sniffing them but petting was on her terms. She's 8 months now and has come a long way. She warms up to friends that enter my apartment once she sees that I am welcoming them. In a way, she's a bit of a guard dog which is nice. Although, she is a big scaredy cat so if any danger was really prominent she'd be saying to me "You're on your own, Dad."   

I would get some people that you know but are strangers to Cash and load em up with some treats.

I have the opposite problem - "OMG NEW FRIEND JUMP ON THEM" but associating rewards with strangers I think should work.