I am well acquainted with the dog behavior issues you are facing if you're trying to deal with a shy dog.
I would even say that I am an authority on the matter, since I was myself a very shy dog a while back.
In fact, I was so shy that I could not bring myself to eat when I arrived at my new home, although I had been starved for the first nine months of my life.
At the Humane Society, I shied away from everyone because I thought all people were bad.
I did not even trust the other dogs.
I had never been socialized, so they felt very threatening because they made no sense to me at all, and I could also smell their fear.
Shy dogs tend to display signs of behavior that are easy to recognize.
They will often have their tail tucked between their legs and will avoid looking at you, just as they would in a pack in the hope of not offending anyone.
They will hide behind their owner's back or make a disappearing act when visitors appear at the door.
In their distress, they'll even piddle on the floor.
These dogs are usually not comfortable being with other dogs.
Even if they ever become socialized, they will tend to exhibit omega dog behavior, showing signs of subservience such as exposing their bellies to indicate that they are not a threat to other dogs' authority.
Now, they call me the 'party butterfly', and I have yet to meet a dog I have not liked.
Of course, I always greet newcomers by showing them my tummy and letting them know I'm no threat to them.
And we always have a grand old time.
But watch out! Just because I'm your typical omega dog doesn't mean I won't stand my ground.
No stranger is allowed near my mom or dad until they show their credentials.
Mind you, in all the din I make, I don't always hear them right away, but eventually I get the message.
Hey, just because I'm shy doesn't mean I'm not brave, right? Did you know that toy dog breeds are well known to have at least one puppy exhibiting fear disguised as symptoms of shyness? The worst thing you can do is reinforce their behavior bytrying to soothe away their fears.
They will only grow needier with time and will eventually turn that fear into aggression.
Encourage them instead to become social animals by letting them know it's not okay to be afraid.
Shy Dog Behavior of the Lost Dog Perhaps surprisingly, shyness is often the common behavior of a dog once it returns home from being lost.
Though it may be baffling at first, it all starts to make sense when you look at it from a canine perspective.
From a kind and loving home, you suddenly find yourself roaming unfamiliar streets, being chased away by strangers and having aggressive dogs growling and barking at you, dodging to safety with cars racing by, hungry and thirsty.
Wouldn't you agree that this would be an earth-shattering experience? And besides, how do you explain your absence? Somehow you're not quite sure if you're going to get blamed for taking a hike, or maybe get exiled for causing so much grief.
And to top it all, you can't even remember how it all started.
Come on, give a fellow a break, will ya? Maybe the best thing to do is hide under the table till the storm passes.