nervous dog

whats the best way to desensitise a nervous dog? my mums friend got a rescue 10 month old bichon a few weeks ago and hes extremely nervous of other dogs. At the moment shes been kinda forcing him into the situations but making him go closer when hes pulling back and he hides behind her legs etc. Apparently he is fine a few minutes after hes met the other dog and is fine playing, but there must be a better way to get him used to these situations without forcing him into them.
She said that gradually doing it in his own time wouldnt work cos sometimes dogs offlead come bounding over

When Star went through a stage of being nervous SBs advice helped us. Have you read her article yet? It might be more for humans but it might give you some tips.

http://www.dogweb.co.uk/talkdogs/des...dogs_8050.html

Tam was quite a nervous dog with both humans and some dogs. Forcing them into a situation, IMO, is NOT the way to go. Tam is much happier dealing with the situation in her own time. okay it may take 20mins or so for her to get used to it but she get's there in the end. It makes life so much easier if she can realise in her own time that the situation, whether it be with a dog or with a human, is not a threat to her and she has no cause for concern.

She must remember that this is a rescue dog and we don't know exactly wot has happened to this dog in the past to make it so nervous.

you have to take things slow with nervous dogs .. like im doing with topaz right now . dont force them in to a situation or it can set them back .try not to be too pushy let them come to you in their own pace if she wants to hide let her she only asking for protection and for her to trust you give it , she will soon learn how to interact in the right situation

Jenny, if you are studying canine behaviour then you would know that forcing a dog to face its fears is totally counter-productive and can lead to fear-based aggression. The desensitization article mentioned by Carole can easily be adapted to help a dog that is nervous of meeting other dogs. Until the dog has overcome its fears then the owner should try to avoid situations where she may encounter off-lead dogs.