American Brittany Nervousness

[zachb6]

Hello everyone I am brand new to the forum and a new dog owner. I have a few questions that im hoping the community can help out with. First of all I picked up my new "puppy" at the end of January and she's been great to have around. I put puppy in quotes because I bought her as a finished gun dog and she is almost 2 years old. She does great on her commands and is learning quickly, but something I am not familiar with and am having trouble figuring out is how to make her more comfortable around people. She it absolutely mortified of anybody but myself, she will sometimes let my dad pet her but that's surprisingly only when she has her e-collar on. She will not let my mom get within 20 feet of her and my brother can't get within 50 feet of her without her tail going between her legs and running around in a panic. On walks she does fine until she sees a jogger or biker, then she panics and tugs at the leash to get away. Another thing to add about walks is she is even scared of bicycles that are laying in peoples driveways, I am beyond confused what to do with her to get her more comfortable in public settings. In my opinion I think it is essential for this behavior to stop because one it is embarrassing for me and two it cannot be fun for her to have extreme panic every time a person passes by. A hypothesis for this reasoning could be because she had lack of personal contact when she was a puppy, she came from a great kennel but I think being cooped up in an outdoor kennel and being around the same few people and dogs for the first year and a half of her life could be the root of this problem. I hope I have described my situation well enough for some help, or if anybody else has experienced something similar to this and are willing to help!
Thank you, Zach

[cjhills]

I am not exactly sure how I would approach this but one thing I would not do is try to force her or convince her that every thing will be okay. The more you can ignore it the better. Let her get away from the people that scare her. If she is a house you could let her be around your mother and brother in the house. They will basically need to ignore her no eye contact or trying to coax her. If she wants to hide let her do that. If she wants to approach let her do it at her own pace. they could have a treat ready to give her if she comes for it. Again no coaxing, talking or eye contact.
You can have people you know meet you on walks and just keep on walking by. No eye contact from them and no coaxing from you. just ignore every thing and walk even if you have to drag her a little. Some times having somebody give her treats with no eye contact works.
I think I would talk with her trainer. Was she okay with you right away? Seems Like a learned reaction for some reason. Her trainer must know she does this.....Cj

[zachb6]

She definitely was weary of me for at least week or so right when I brought her home. Even now in certain situations she seems to be nervous around me and that is anywhere that is not outside or in my bedroom where her kennel is. If we are in the living room and im sitting on the couch she is usually at my feet with her ears tucked back and her tail between her legs or she is at the back door looking the same way. But on the flip side when she is in my room she is wagging her tail, her ears are perked up she lays on her back for belly rubs and she does the same thing when in the back yard in addition to running around and playing with toys. I hope it is still a reaction of being in a new environment but you can't help but feel bad when she's uncomfortable in her own house.

[cjhills]

My son got a female that had been used for breeding at a puppy mill. She is similar to your dog. she hides in her crate when somebody comes to the house. She had no socialization and had 4 litters by the time she was 4 years old. It is a ongoing problem.
You say a finished birddog. So, is she trained? I would take her for lots of walks on a check cord, so you can control the situation. If she is afraid of something let her get away from it as far as the checkcord allows, Act confident and don't talk to her or encourage her. Just keep walking. Try not to show any emotions. The calmer you are the better. If she is a trained bird dog, take out where there are birds. Have your brother come with you and flush the birds she finds. Maybe shoot a few pigeons. Do things that will build her confidence. You can also have your brother offer her treats with no eye contact. ignore her when she is scared and praise her when she is confident. It might be a long road. Good Luck......Cj

[Makintrax73]

I went through a similar problem a number of years ago. Saw a couple warning signing when I looked at the dog but she generally looked good in her home environment. Brought the dog home and she fell apart. Kept her for a month to see if she would settle in. She didn't. Wouldn't leave my side when in the field, fear growled at my sister when she stopped over to uncrate her for a pee, etc etc. Just a fearful dog.

I can tell you my solution after a long hard thought process: I hardened up and called the breeder. I said "I paid a good buck for a finished dog, not a rescue. This dog has problems X, Y and Z. I'm not telling you that you have to take the dog back, but I am telling you I'm not keeping it." I love dogs and that's a hard thing to do but it needed done.

He was understanding and agreed to trade me out for a different dog. I ended up with an incredible companion and excellent hunter in the trade that I miss to this very day God rest her soul.

I know you're attached to the dog, but if the kennel that sold it to you has any integrity at all they will stand behind their product. In my mind a finished dog and what you describe don't go together. I would call the guy and tell him what's going on and make a plan. Get his advice on getting the dog socialized and if it doesn't work out tell him to make it right by trading you out or take the dog back for a refund. Something is REALLY wrong with a 2 year old hunting dog that is as frightened of people as you say.

[averageguy]

I went through a similar problem a number of years ago. Saw a couple warning signing when I looked at the dog but she generally looked good in her home environment. Brought the dog home and she fell apart. Kept her for a month to see if she would settle in. She didn't. Wouldn't leave my side when in the field, fear growled at my sister when she stopped over to uncrate her for a pee, etc etc. Just a fearful dog.

I can tell you my solution after a long hard thought process: I hardened up and called the breeder. I said "I paid a good buck for a finished dog, not a rescue. This dog has problems X, Y and Z. I'm not telling you that you have to take the dog back, but I am telling you I'm not keeping it." I love dogs and that's a hard thing to do but it needed done.

He was understanding and agreed to trade me out for a different dog. I ended up with an incredible companion and excellent hunter in the trade that I miss to this very day God rest her soul.

I know you're attached to the dog, but if the kennel that sold it to you has any integrity at all they will stand behind their product. In my mind a finished dog and what you describe don't go together. I would call the guy and tell him what's going on and make a plan. Get his advice on getting the dog socialized and if it doesn't work out tell him to make it right by trading you out or take the dog back for a refund. Something is REALLY wrong with a 2 year old hunting dog that is as frightened of people as you say.

x2.

[JONOV]

Just a thought to help some of the socialization, does a friend, neighbor, family member, have a well adjusted, stable dog?

It could be anything from a Shepherd to a Labradoodle to a Pit Bull, but if you can get together and walk two or three dogs at once, say in a park or in the neighborhood when joggers, etc are around, that might help quite a bit.