[lilnuttbutt]

Hello All!

I've written a few times about asking for some advice for my 5 dogs:

Molly a 8 year old foxhound who is battling cancer, but is CGC certified.
Buddeh a 3 year old rott mix who jumps the fence if not watched, but over all very well behaved, also CGC.
Jordan 8 month old pitt who is very obediant, but has very little confidence, even though she'll be taking her CGC in 4 weeks.
and Brynn and Kaede our 2, 6 month old pitts who are very good, one is a digger, but has improved alot, both are in training to be CGC.

I've been doing lots of training with them (agility, basics, "find it" games and corrections in the moment), and it has all been going incredible with the dogs. Obviously I'm not too new at this, and we also have a trainer, but I don't think some of the things I read or am told are not always helpful or realistic. However, I've been able to address most of our dog's issues.

Our current problem is my 8 month old pit. She is very smart, very well trained, and about the same size and our two younger pitts. The problem is, even with all her training, praise, rewards, love and play time, she still isn't very confident. She listens to everything we say, but she tends to tuck her ears back and put her head down, even pee at times when even I go to pet her or praise her. I could understand when we first got her and she was abused and neglected, but its been about 5 months, and she still shows these behaviors. Even when we try to praise her, sometimes she'll pee or take off. I've tried being very calm with her especially, but she doesn't seem to be responding to the training or postive reinforcements.

In our house we are the boss, and all the dogs listen to us. However I also notice that Jordan always gets the last pick of bones, food, spots in bed, etc. We try to step in and give her things, but she always surrenders them immediately to the other dogs.

Any sugestions on how to build her confidence?

 

[TooneyDogs]

Lots of liitle things to be aware of: no direct face-to-face approach, watch the leaning into/over her and the 'hard' eye contacts (all threats).
For confidence building teach her tug of war and let her win most of the time. Same rules apply for all tug....game ends when you say so, no nipping of your hands, gives up the tug on command and no run away/chase with it. Play games with her while laying on the floor. Let her walk and sit on you....make it fun.
Most important, catch the times when she shows confidence/bravery and praise. That includes making a scary jump, walking towards/on something scary. Agility is a huge confidence booster.