I don't know what more to do for my nervous/shy puppy

please help

i have a 8 month old cocker spaniel pupppy, she is such a lovely dog and quite obedient too. she loves me and my family and people/dogs she knows. she is playful, happy and a little mischievious

At first she was doing great with socialisation, everyone would ask to come and pet her, and she loved it. she had 4 weeks socialisation at the vet's puppy parties. i enrolled her in obedience classes which she still takes now.
i don't even remember when she started becoming nervous of people, she had always been a little shy of dogs but thats getting a bit better now.

i take her out twice a day on walks to the beach and downs where there are always people and dogs and i always have done. i take her to my lil brothers school and all the kids stroke her, or try to now
she shys away and barks if people try to stroke her or if people 'talk' to her. she is fine around people and acts normally untill they try to communicate with her.

and today we saw a really nice, gentle Newfoundland dog and my pup froze dead in her place and was barking and shrieking and it sounded like she was being mauled and the dog was sitting there nicely doing nothing. after a while it layed down and i rubbed its belly and my pup came over and sniffed for a little bit, bt then ran away again.

this just really upset because i thought she was getting better with dogs now, im so upset and i dont know what more i can do to help her. with the dogs she knows she loves them! she even has a best friend dog, same with people out and about that she knows, she loves them and runs to see them.

i got a puppy so we could start from the beggining and have a well trained, stable dog but this isnt happening, the puppys mum was a lovely friendly dog.

will my puppy be like this forever? what else can i do?

Ive heard of pups going through a 'fear stage' but i think this is at a few months old but may be happening later for your girl? Also being girl an all she may perhaps be getting ready for her first season so feeling a little anxious? (just a thought am no expert on girls)

My friends spaniel will scream the place down if my boy goes so much as anywhere near her but is fine with her 'friends'

Could be as DM says she is coming into her first season and this can apparently upset dogs and change their behavior, but never having had a bitch cannot say if this is it for sure.

My dog now nearly 4 has always been wary of strangers, loves his family and some people in fact even to this day we cannot work out who he is going to like or dislike so we always err on the side of caution, his sign for wanting to be friendly with someone is he will cry a silly little whining cry if he doesn't do that we advise people not too try too stroke him. He will sit or lay nicely by me while I talk to people or he will go up and sniff them if they are prepared to stand still and let him sniff their hand. This does not mean he wants to be their friend occasionally he will let them pet him if they make the first move he will back off and give a bark. That signals the end of anymore efforts of trying to be his friend.

He has been well socialized and been on holidays with us walked through busy towns, but it has not made any difference at all, we have now learnt to accept him as he is and we all feel less stressed which means Ollie is less stressed.

He was always very sociable with every dog as a puppy and a young adult. He is now more grumpy with high energy dogs and dogs that try to get in his face he doesn't like it and will let them know so again we watch his body language and let him go at his pace if he isn't happy we keep him by our side and let other people know not too let their dog approach him as he is not good with other dogs it takes too long and is too complicated to tell the whole story, so is sometimes easier for all to let it go, if we and others have the time we will let him wander and see if he makes friends sometimes he does or just ignores them and keeps his distance. Funny thing is you get too know who you think they will be friends with doggy wise.

I don't think we will ever work out the human aspect of things.

I would say never push her past her comfort zone if you think she is uncomfortable explain to the person she is not comfortable and it is best for all if she is ignored she will be much happier and there is no chance of anyone getting nipped.

When she sits or lays nicely and quietly while you are talking to a stranger even if she hasn't wanted too make friends praise her at the end and the same with the other dogs and if you use treats be sure to reward her for her calm behavior.

She's been nervous like this for a while, so im not sure it has anything to do with the heat thing. she may well be coming into season though, it is the righttime for it.

ahhh im getting so depressed about this

Try not too get down about it, she will pick up on this and things won't improve.

Hard I know but try too keep up beat with her when out and about and not make too bigger thing of it all.

Hi,

i know what you're going through, but please don't dispair!!! She's an adolescent trying to find her place in the world... She needs to find her confidence (just as we all did), and she needs to find her safe haven! For now I would suggest shielding her from new people/dogs/situations as much as possible but increase her time with all people and dogs she knows... This is to build her confidence... In a few weeks time you'll see that she knows where she's coming from and you can start enlarging her world again... Maybe it helps just to think of her as a 12 year old human girl who's just been dumped by the "love of her life"...

Hope this helps and good luck!

Good advice.

Try not to worry too much and just assume it could be a phase. She is in her adolescent prime and all kind of weird behaviors can rear their head at that age.

Signing up for another obedience class would be another good idea, purely from the perspective of spending a good chunk of time around lots of other dogs in a controlled environment.

When on walks, if someone wants to stroke her, hand the people or treat or two to feed her. Make sure the treats you carry are super high value (chopped up meats, cheese, etc.) and that she only gets these high value treats when around strangers. This way she will learn to associate new people with something positive; getting something tasty.

I have a 7.5 month old pup and she does go through different stages too. (like one minute ignoring me, and the next minute sticking to me like velcro lol)

I would say that you should remain consistant with your pup, keep up with her socialisation (dont force her to approach other dogs, which I am sure you dont) but maybe let her test her own boundaries if possible. Do all the fantastic things that you have been doing all along Remain calm, dont react if she appears nervous or plays up in different situations. Just be matter of fact. I can see from your post that her behaviour is affecting you, and perhaps she will perceive that from you too. I think you should not worry, she will come back to you, and as others have said hormones will be playing her at the mo too!!

Enjoy you puppy, she is growing fast, and I am sure in a few months you will wonder what you were worried about.

thank you all, i will try this. i know i shouldn't be getting down because it will affect her, but it is hard. its made owning a puppy a bit less of a good experience, and its upsetting when people assume i got her from a rescue place or something where she's never been socialised

i spoke to our trainer the other day and hes reffered us to someone to help with this. hopefullly things will be on the up. she's such a lovely, beautiful, happy dog around us and i want other people to see this side of her too, not the nervous, barking wreck.

You will. I find my boy is much happier when out on the field on his long line, he happily trots around and meets other dogs much better than when on the lead.

He will have the occasional grumble if they get too near his bottom but it is all soon sorted.

She probably hasn't found her place yet and is confused. I remember being a teenager and at sixes and sevens I would expect it is much the same for some dogs.