If your dog or puppy is shy, afraid of strangers, certain situations, objects or your puppy fear biting or your dog fear snapping then this article is written specifically for you. You need to also note that dealing with your dog's shyness is an important part of dog behavior training.

Let me ask you this, is shyness a problem or not? Naturally some dogs do shy of new and unfamiliar things. If a dog is developing, he becomes socialized with familiar people, animals, objects and situations around. But they will still tend to shy away from things that are not familiar. Shyness itself is not a problem, it only becomes a problem if the dog's shyness is affecting your lifestyle or if your dog develops some other problems related to shyness such as fear biting. Shy dogs can endanger themselves by running carelessly into dangerous situations, such as traffic.

Another aspect i want us to look into is when you unintentionally reinforce your dog's shyness behavior during dog training session. This often occurs when you attempt to calm your dog's fears. As a result of this, you the owner unintentionally trains the dog to behave more fearful. You can offer reassurance so as to avoid reinforcing your dog's fearfulness. When our timid dog hides, barks defensively or screams our response looks only natural. Our protective natural way of reacting will cause us to reassure the dog by picking up the dog for a hug. These actions obviously reward the dog for his fearful way of behavior. Most times, the best thing to do is to completely ignore your dog when he acts or behaves fearfully. Allow him to learn naturally by his own experience that there is nothing to be afraid of whatsoever. Also, try as much as you can to save your praise and reassurance for times when your dog acts with confidence.

Furthermore, so many people try to rehabilitate their dog too quickly by forcing him to socialize with other dogs and people around. This usually reinforces the dog's view that other dogs and people around are frightening. But on the other side of it, the dog needs to be socialized as quickly as possible, but should not be forced into it. If you push your dog to do too much, your dog will only behave more fearful and may be forced into a situation where he feels he must have to defend himself.

When you socialize a dog by helping him build his confidence, it will definitely consume a lot of time. Thrusting your dog into the arms of every visitor and dragging him out to socialize forcefully with many other dogs can be less productive.

Do not allow strangers to approach your dog by petting him. Just allow your dog to make the first contact by himself. If your dog is not interested in the approach, that is okay. Allow him plenty of time to hide and eventually he will come out of hiding. It's your responsibility to offer enough opportunity for your dog to socialize, but it is up to the dog to proceed at his own convenience. Don't verbally try to encourage him off hiding, he may interpret your encouragement as praise for hiding. Don't try to force your dog to come out because this will only result to frighten him the more.

Shy or fearful dogs can react defensively when unfamiliar people try to approach them. They may react trying to keep strangers away by growling or snapping. You should not ignore these behaviors when noticed.

Do not allow your dog to get away with acting aggressively towards humans. The fact that your dog is shy is not an excuse to condone growling or biting habits. You must instantly act against such behavior.

As soon as you notice that your dog stops acting aggressively, it is essential that you praise him for that. We do not want a situation where by your dog will think that the presence of the stranger brings on the reprimand, but that his own offensive behavior causes you to get angry.

You need to avoid similar threatening situations or cases until your dog has developed sufficient confidence to deal with them without resorting to aggression. Never allow strangers to reprimand your fearful or shy dog at all and always remember to praise your dog abundantly when he does the right thing that truly satisfies you during every dog training session.