Last weekend we became a proud husky owner! We adopted an adorable (and what I've come to learn, thieving ) 9 month old husky pup, Zapp.

Now Zapp is a shy dog. We new this before we met him from conversations with the breeder. But I don't think we expected how much trouble he has had adapting in certain aspects. Particularity, he seems to really like his crate. So much so that he won't leave it when we are around. Now normally, I would chalk this up to the acclimation process and Zapp still being shy around us, but when we do get him out of the crate and close it up so he can't hide inside, he has a wonderful time exploring the room (he hasn't really ventured too far out of our bedroom), stealing socks, licking my Kindle and even examining us in some detail. Although he still shies away when we approach him to quickly or make any sudden movements, he is getting better around us. However, getting him out of his crate is a traumatic experience. We literally have to push him out. Let me tell you, its heartbreaking making him do that, but like I wrote before, he has a great time when hes outside the crate. Plus he needs to go to the bathroom at some point!

Which leads me to my next problem, taking Zapp outside. He doesn't seem to like his leash much and getting him outside can be a bit of a challenge. Sometimes he will come along fine, but other times he will hunker down and not move. So usually we give into his stubbornness. Once he's outside, he is happy to go to the bathroom and explore. Although loud noises like loud cars and particularly loud dogs will frighten him and I think this may be where our problems stem from.

I know he can be a happy dog. When we first picked him up he was jumping around his kennel like a mad dog...until he saw us strangers (I get that, it will take a while to warm up to us). And when hes not in his crate, he is very happy and excitable!

Does anyone have any advice or relevant experiences? I just want whats best for him. Thanks!

9 months and shy, I'll guess and say he was abused and poorly handled by the previous owner(s). Fear of loud noises are 1st reason I suspect this. Hopefully time and loving will bring him out of his shell.

You mention the breeder...did the breeder have him the whole time or was he brought back to the breeder by the first owners? I agree with Len, he sounds like he wasn't treated very well. You might look into a behavioralist to help you overcome his fears. Congrats on the adopting him and giving him a good home!

Whole Dog Journal has an excellent article this month on games you can play to help a shy dog develop courage. Suggest you check it out. Not all shy dogs were abused. Sometimes they are born with a fearful temperament. That said, when worked with early enough they can overcome many of their issues.Best of luck and thanks for giving Zapp a loving home!!

Our local training place has a shy dog class, maybe yours does too?

We have a shy dog that we rescued from a backyard breeder and my in-laws have a dog that was rescued from a puppy mill. Both of them have have some serious fear issues and in the case of ours and my in-laws' rescues they are going to need lifelong work to deal with the problem, and believe me it's not for lack of training, patience or work on my part. I don't say that to scare you. We work with our shy rescue every day and we have seen improvement but I honestly don't believe she will ever be "normal".

You haven't had your pup long enough to expect much change. These things take a long time and loads of patience to work through. Our shy rescue wouldn't come out of her crate for anything for several weeks. She wouldn't even come out for food or water and would only eat and drink at night when she thought everyone was asleep (I'd lay awake listening for her). To take her outside to potty we had to drag her out of her crate every single time. She'd never worn a collar or harness before in her life so that freaked her out. She'd also never been outside in her life before we rescued her (at 3 yrs old) so each trip outside to potty was terrifing to her as I'm sure it is for your pup. As the weeks passed she become more and more able to handle being outside without completely freaking out. Mind you, even now 2 yrs later she still is not that comfortable being outside and walking but we work through it every day. I will admit it is a ton of work that I really was not expecting and I'll be completely honest here and admit that I don't ever want to take on a shy, fearful dog again now that I know the level of commitment they require.

I doubt your pup will be that bad based on what you've posted but I think you need to give your pup more time. I wouldn't close the crate to prevent him from going in it at all this early. That's his safe space that he needs to know he can run to if he feels unsure. Maybe several months down the road when he's built up more confidence then you might be able to close the crate door for short periods of time to encourage him to spend some time outside of it. I remember for my husband it took our shy rescue months and months to get to a point that she wasn't completely freaked out by his presence...and even longer to get to the point where she actually liked him. Every dog is different and will take varying amounts of time to adjust so don't rush things and let him adjust at his own pace with gentle encouragement, and have loads of patience. It may take him 3 months to come out of his shell, it may take 3 years. Just be patient, gentle and try not to rush or force things as that can sometimes end up setting you back. I wish you the best of luck, congrats on your new pup, and kudos to you for adopting.

hollywoodhuskies wrote:

Our local training place has a shy dog class, maybe yours does too?

^ what this says. The training people I am taking Faolan to have a class called "Fearful Fidos" that would probably be appropriate.

Wow! Thanks everyone for your advice and insights. Our vet also suggested a local trainer for anxious dogs and that is something we are definitely considering strongly. Its always good to get a personal interaction with an expert.