It is sad to see such a young dog so terrified.
Darcy is only five months old. At home, with family and close friends, she is relaxed, friendly and biddable. She is surprisingly calm for a puppy. She doesn’t chew things and she is house-trained.
The problem is ‘other’ people. She’s terrified of them.
When I arrived her hackles were raised high all along her back, she backed away and she barked like mad. This carried on for a while. She would find the courage to come a bit nearer and then back off, barking again.
The natural reaction of humans is to either tell the dog to be quiet, or to pet and ‘comfort’ her. They were doing both these things. Scolding a dog for being scared and terrified isn’t appropriate. Stroking may be a bit better but is unlikely to work.
I showed them what are the appropriate ways of reacting. You can see in her photo she is yawning – a sign that although she now looks in settled position she is still anxious.
Out on walks
Out on walks poor terrified Darcy shrinks away from people and other dogs. She has already started to bark at things she hears outside the house or garden. One can imagine what she will be like as an adult German Shepherd if something isn’t done now.
Darcy displays all the signs of a puppy who has not been kindly handled by a sufficient number of new people before she even leaves the breeder. One or more of the following factors could also contribute to the cause: being born to a fearful mother and maybe of a natural nervous disposition anyway, kept out of the way in another room or a shed for the first eight weeks of their life, possibly some inbreeding.
I shall be helping Darcy’s family for the next few months, maybe longer, helping them to understand her and to help her gain confidence and become less terrified of people in particular. There is no quick fix and we can’t put the clock back.
