Temperament Theory

SHY STORY: Bessie enjoyed herself in an obedience class of thirty dogs and forty people. I wanted to cry from happiness watching her do such a difficult task. We got to this point by starting with very short private lessons, then working our way up to classes of three dogs and three people, and then classes of fifteen. The whole process cost more than five hundred dollars, but it was worth every penny. Because I had the incentive of regularly-scheduled classes to attend, with a format of how to accomplish my goal, the classes made it easier for me to help Bessie learn how to cope with new situations. The classes helped her go into other new situations with a pattern to follow. Bessie eventually learned to enjoy attending herding clinics and just visiting with family and friends.

A young Bessie.

THRILL: Safely accomplishing a goal or task.

ANXIETY: Safety anxiety. The Shy dog can accomplish many things, but they need to know there is always a safe place around in case they need to re-charge their courage battery.

SHY
Approaches new situations with reserve and close attention to avoiding risks.

SHY/WARY
A dog who goes away from a new situation (action) and expects the situation to contain danger(feeling).
A good dog to teach us how to be the best dog-trainers we can be.

SHY/UPBEAT
A dog who goes away from a new situation (action) and , with a little encouragement,
easily returns to the situation (feeling). A good companion/competitor for introverted people.

SHADOW
Bold. Will over-react when their curiosity encourages them to explore.

SHADOW STORY: Gemma was, at first, terrified of her foster mom's cockatiel. As she became accustomed to being around the bird, she learned to calmly watch it from the opposite side of the room. Her foster mom eventually let the cockatiel out of its cage for exercise while Gemma was in the room. Gemma got used to this and continued to watch the bird from afar. One day, Gemma's curiosity overcame her fear and she went across the room to sniff the cockatiel. But because Gemma had never practiced indulging her curiosity, she caused a crisis. Instead of walking across the room, she ran at the cockatiel. Instead of sniffing at a relaxed cockatiel, Gemma's run had startled the bird. The startled reaction scared Gemma and she bit the bird instead of her original intent of sniffing the bird. She killed the cockatiel and Gemma's foster mom was so upset that Gemma was moved to another foster home. Gemma received short lessons, while on leash, on how to safely indulge her curiosity. She still enjoys bopping animals with her nose, but now she doesn't harm them.

Gemma with her friend Chutney the cat.

TRAINING RECOMMENDATIONS: Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell. I use a four-stage process I call the "See? It didn't kill you!" technique. The first lesson is just for the dog to realize s/he will survive the experience. The second lesson is to learn a little bit and survive the experience. The third lesson is to learn a bit more and for the dog to stop thinking so much about survival. The fourth lesson is to succeed at what was learned in the second and third lessons and forget enough about survival to actually have a bit of enjoyment. See also Herding Behaviors.

By using his love for tennis balls as a trigger, Lisa's Luke learned he could have a good time playing with children. Here he is engaged with Cameron, aged two. Photo by Pat Reynolds.

TRAINING EQUIPMENT: Small or fine pinch collar. The pinch collar is used for safety, as a Shy dog will desperately try to pull out of collars when learning new things. Six foot leash, eighteen inch tab. A crate placed somewhere isolated in the learning environment as a safe place to be. Shy dogs tend to like wire crates with a plywood top creating a solid roof over their heads.

CLICKER: A clicker is a particularly effective tool to use with a Shy dog, because it enables the trainer to capture the tiniest bits of bold or calm behavior and lavishly reward them. The trainer can thus take many tiny steps during each session, gradually shaping the desired response or behavior.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: Acknowledge that a new lesson IS scary, but that you are doing everything possible to help the dog live through the experience. Give the dog a huge reward for accomplishing small tasks. Give the dog a couple of hours of safe crate time after lessons so the dog can "catch his/her breath" before moving along with every-day life. Enjoy the small miracles together.

PROBLEM PREVENTIONS: Don't act frustrated or discouraged around this dog when s/he cannot learn as fast as you wish. Always be prepared for the dog trying to flee from situations. Give this dog a schedule or pattern to follow as a coping mechanism for fears. A Shy dog can easily become emotionally brittle if not exposed to new people and new situations. A Shy dog who is not properly socialized will deeply attach to one person and consider the rest of the world as an enemy.

AGGRESSION: Courage aggression. If this dog has no practice at fulfilling curiosity, the first few experiences can be disastrous. Also, the first few times a Shy dog decides to not tolerate having his/her "space" invaded is when we encounter what is called "fear-aggression."

HUG: A Shy dog needs hug therapy, but is very uncomfortable with it. Put hug therapy into a Shy dog's schedule or pattern and treat the experience as giving the dog yucky-tasting medicine. Hug therapy should always be a part of a Shy dog's life. Transferring the dog to other people is vital in helping the Shy dog accept new people into his/her life.

DRUG: Fort Dodge brand Acepromazine. A Shy dog can get his/her mind so bound-up in fears that they cannot learn what you are trying to teach. Acepromazine helps relax this boundary of fear so the dog can learn. Once the dog has learned, the acepromazine can be eliminated and the lessons are retained. Shy dogs do very well when acepromazine is used during the two lessons in the "See? It didn't kill you!" technique.

CAREER CHOICES: The Shy dog needs a person to lean on, depend on, and borrow courage from. The shy dog can be a loving companion, farm dog, competition participant (just don't expect them to be consistent top competitors), therapy dogs (when they are not at the extreme of Shy).

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BORDER COLLIE BEHAVIORS: A TEMPERAMENT THEORY Shy Dogs

by Val Maurer

BORDER COLLIE BEHAVIORS:
A TEMPERAMENT THEORY
Shy Dogs