# Our 4lb. Shih Tzu Is Scared Of Everything!! Advice???



## emmy127 (Aug 16, 2007)

*Hi Everyone, 
Not sure where to post this so I'll try it here. I was hoping someone could help with an issue that's developed w/ our dog Emmy. She is a full grown 4 lb. Shih Tzu and absolutely adoreable. Needless to say she is very spoiled. Anyway, she has always been a little timid w/ other dogs and especially young children. 
In the past few months, I've noticed that when we (my wife or I) are in the kitchen, she cowers when we do just about anything. She'll bow her head and turn away in what looks like fear from something as simple as removing silverware from the drawer. It doesn't even have to be something that makes alot of noise; just taking things out of the cabinets, etc. cause her to put her head down and turn away. Her tail is down as well. With each thing we do, she'll drop her head a little lower. This bothers me alot because we are very careful with her as we know she's very sensitive. 
This seems to have started in the past few months. The only thing I can think of is our neighbors kids may be taking there toll on her.... Young kids see her and get excited and usually come right at her which, of course scares her. BTW, she doesn't have any problems w/ running right up to adults. Anyway, we recently got new neighbors with two daughters ages 7 and 2 they (especially the 7 year old) was very forward with her in the begining picking her up and going right for her whenever we came outside. We've put a stop to the picking up etc. Sometimes when Emmy is sitting looking out our glass door, the 2 year old has come up and slammed the door w/ her hands which makes alot of noise and scares the dog. I don't know if this has had anything to do with it. 
Anyway, has anyone dealt with this before? Does anyone have any advice? Again, when she cowers at the sight or sound of something coming out of a cabinet or us setting something on the counter, we're usally home alone when it happens i.e. no company or kids (we don't have any). Any and all input will be appreciated.
Regards*


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

I know this is off topic but how old is this shih tzu because a full grown shih tzu is supposed to be 12-15 pounds. As far as her being scared of everything it may have something to do if you didn't desenstize her when she was a puppy and now she doesn't know what it is and is scared of it.


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## TooneyDogs (Aug 6, 2007)

Anything moving overhead is scary for every living animal, humans included...think of what we do when bats are around. Zoo keepers try to desensitize by hanging bottles, and whirlywigs over the compound before opening the exhibits for public viewing. My 8 year old female Sheltie has never gotten over that natural fear even with training. She doesn't run from the kitchen anymore but, is still uneasy. As for the kids, they need to learn how to approach calmly in a non-threatening manner. Ideally, let the dog approach the kids....not the other way around. One thing you can do that is really simple.....yawn...yes, yawn when you see she is nervous about a common noise. Dogs understand that body language clearly and correctly. It won't make the fear disappear magically but, over time and with repetition, she should learn to accept the noises as common place. Don't try words or petting to comfort her....that only confirms that she was right to be afraid and can make her even more sensitive/reactive to noises.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

It sounds like you need to get a pro involved before you have a fear bite happen. I know she's small, but she can still give a kid a couple of stitches. Here are some resources for certified trainer/behaviorists. I'd also get "Scaredy dog" by Ali Brown to help yyou work with her until you geta pro.

http://www.iaabc.org/
http://www.apdt.com/


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## emmy127 (Aug 16, 2007)

First, thank you all for your input and if anyone else sees this and has any ideas, let me know... 
Durbkat, Average Shih Tzu's are 10-15 lbs. but Emmy was the runt and only grew to 4 lbs (she is 3 years old). We are always hearing from other Shih Tzu owners that she is the smallest they've seen. The vets have always said she is healthy, just very small.
Tooneydogs, I figured that it might be something were doing. As you can imagine, as soon as she acts scared, we quikly go over and try to comfort her w/ petting etc. If that is having a reverse effect like you said, there's no wonder the problem has gotten worse over time. We'll try your advice of yawning and not constant reassurance. 
Since this is my first post, I figured I would put up some pics of Emmy.
Enjoy.......


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Awww, she is so cute! She is smaller than my shih tzu and he is only 3 months old but they both weigh the same. 

But that is the reason why she is so scared is because you comfort her everytime she gets scared over something she shouldn't be scared about so when you comfort her it just tells her that she was right in being scared of whats happening at that moment.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Emmy is a cutie, Tooney dogs is right, petting and fawning over Emmy when she's reacting badly is rewarding the undesired behavior. Try rewarding her when she's acting brave instead. Turning your head and yawning is a great calming signal. Also, on the body language thing, turn your back and IGNORE fearful reactions. 

Another booklet you might consider is "Calming Signals" by Turid Rugass. It does a pretty good job of explaining how dogs use their bodies to comunicate and how you can do the same.


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## ShihtzuBeauty (Aug 11, 2007)

Ahh she's just the Sweetest thing Ever! AKC standard for a tzu is 9-16lbs. I'm very happy to hear that her health is good. I'm soo sorry that she's shy and scared sounds like you're trying to socialize her which she really needs but at her own comfort level. I would for sure when anyone comes up to her that you or your wife hold her to help comfort her and let her sniff the other person, espicially kids they can be soo overwhelming. I would let you Emmy make the decesion not the "stranger". 

She's really very Pretty. What an adorable little face she has.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Actually, the best thing to do when people come over is have them completely IGNORE her and allow her to come to them. Holding her and forcing her to meet them could cause the fear to escalete to aggression.


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## tcasby (Apr 30, 2007)

She is likely doing what she doing because she likes the response she is getting from you. Don't comfort or talk to her when she is exhibiting the behaviour as this simply reinforces it. Simply ignore it.

Give her only affection at those times when she is showing confidence. Remember, dogs do not know the difference between comforting and affection.

As for the children, do not comfort and reward her fear of children. If she is not showing any aggression then the more supervised interaction with children the better. If she is even showing the slightest sign of aggression with children then she needs to be disciplined properly the instant it happens. 

Praise and affection ONLY when behaving well with children.

BTW: keeping her away from children can only intensify her fear of them.

Good luck,
Cesar Mil... oops, I mean Tom


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Kids can be scary for any dog. They're loud rambunctious and tend to do things dogs find threatening. Reaching over the head to pet, running up o the FRONT of a dog ect are all threats in dog body language, so of course a small dog will be scared! 

Forcing interaction will intensify the fear, it's called flooding and it doesn't work well. Having the kids sit quietly, with their backs to her will work better. Reward her for approching the children *on her own*, DO NOT allow the kids to reach for her as it could result in her feeling she has to defend herself. Let the kids know they need to be more quiet when they are interacting with her so they don't scare her. As she becomes more confident they will be able to play with her more. 

Please get the books I've reccommended and get in touch with a positive based behaviorist/trainer via the certification groups I posted. Understand that if help is not given soon it her fear sould turn to aggression and will be harder to work with. 

Here is an articla you might enjoy reading
http://www.doglistener.co.uk/fearful_dogs/fearful_dogs.shtml


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## Cobalt (Jul 27, 2007)

Our maltese Lilly was afraid of a lot of things and I have learned that we did everything wrong with her. We held her, protected her, anticipated scary situations and babied her because she was so small. It got worse as she got older. She wasn't afraid of kids and never bit but she did have a problem with other dogs and would go for big dogs feet. 

So, since your pup is only 3 I would consult a good trainer and try to help her. I don't know if you can do much about kids but maybe the kitchen won't be so scary. We have a new puppy now and I am banging pots and pans and chopping on the cutting board loudly. 

It's hard because you do have to worry about her since she's so tiny but you don't want to baby her to an extreme.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> Durbkat, Average Shih Tzu's are 10-15 lbs. but Emmy was the runt and only grew to 4 lbs (she is 3 years old). We are always hearing from other Shih Tzu owners that she is the smallest they've seen. The vets have always said she is healthy, just very small.


Runts often end up the size and weight they were intended. That your dog is significantly smaller than the breed standard makes me wonder about her origins, or, who, and what, her breeder was about. This could also account for her shy, fearful nature, but, could simply be the kids you mentioned. Keep those children away from her, unless they're willing (and you have the time and willingness to instruct) to learn how to interact appropriately with a dog.


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## LoveLilly (Oct 25, 2006)

I deal with the problems that you have. Lilly is 6 pounds and just over a year. When she was 3-4 months old nothing scared her but then as I began taking her out and about she learned how scarey kids can be, especially since she lives in an adult only household. She has no problems approaching adults and really no problems with other noises like you mention. Her big issue is other dogs and BIG issues with kids. And yes I learned that running to her rescue and comforting her is the wrong thing to do but with such a little sweetie its so hard to hold back. Its VERY important to keep the kids away from her and turn their interaction to being on your terms so she can learn that kids are safe. I try so hard to get her exposure, but sometimes she turns into a barking cujo & when that happens we quietly walk away. When kids are around and they act like they want to approach I immediatly say....she is very scared of kids so if you want to pet her you stay still and I will come to you. Then i show them how to put their hand out to her, if she sniffs she gets a treat. Then they pet her once, if she does well she gets a treat. I usually only get 1-3 pets in before she shows she is upset or snaps and then I thank the child and we walk away. There are kids who just will not listen and run toward her and act, well, like unbehaved children. I move in front of Lilly and have had to say "if you do not stop she will bite you so please move away." She has never bitten anyone but for everyone involved its what I do to diffuse a bad situation for her and the kids and we just walk by and act like nothing happened so she does not need to experience any more "scarey" kids. Its tough and it seems like I will be working on this forever but its what I have to do.


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## emmy127 (Aug 16, 2007)

Thank you for everyone's input. We've started w/ the yawning and she really does seem to stare at us when we do it and seem to understand. We'll keep it up get the literature mentioned. 
Thanks Again,
Mark


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## newman_perry7 (Aug 16, 2007)

ShihtzuBeauty said:


> Ahh she's just the Sweetest thing Ever! AKC standard for a tzu is 9-16lbs. I'm very happy to hear that her health is good. I'm soo sorry that she's shy and scared sounds like you're trying to socialize her which she really needs but at her own comfort level. I would for sure when anyone comes up to her that you or your wife hold her to help comfort her and let her sniff the other person, espicially kids they can be soo overwhelming. I would let you Emmy make the decesion not the "stranger".
> 
> She's really very Pretty. What an adorable little face she has.


I agree, Shih Tzu are very sensitive Newman hates car rides I have tryed alot of different ways to comfort him!! He always starts panting hard just looks like he is going to have a heart attack. Newman has grown up with children, but he is still very cautious around them as well, so when he has had enough He or I will remove him from the situation. So holding her while she is around kids may help and explaining to children that she is sensitive will give them a better understanding. Good luck and she is a cutie pie.


Angelina


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## Durbkat (Jun 26, 2007)

Snoopy loves car rides cause he will climb on my shoulder and look at the people in the cars behind us and will stand up and look out the windows.


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