Desensitization & Socialization

Hope everyone has been well.

Lillian and I are about to begin either a CGC & TDI prep class or an Advanced class.

This once shivering shy puppy we brought home has been blossoming into such a well mannered and lovable companion. Though secretly we've decided the Breeder did not give us a Shetland Sheepdog... I think we got a Cat... a Cat in a Sheltie costume... haha

She is so loyal to me that off leash training and basic family pet training was a breeze for her. Now that we have had her for a little over one year I want to pick back up some formal training due to some concerns.

We most certainly need to increase how often I work on socializing her with very unfamiliar places and people. Not overwhelming shy but shy enough that I think she would have issues with the TDI test. She is so calm and wonderful with people that I think she would make a great volunteer in a geriatric environment. But not having much exposure to wheelchairs and walkers we would need to work on all this.

A big priority of mine is desensitizing her to things that at first I thought she may outgrow in time, but realizing now they are probably just fears from either a bad experience or just the fear of the unknown. Take our wooden stairs for example. Slippery and fairly steep. She avoided them after taking a bad fall when she was a small 8 pound puppy. So all last week I slowly got her to go up and down the stairs. Now she can successfully without slipping or falling but pants heavily and sometimes attempts to bolt when I ask "up the stairs" (down the stairs she will do on command). It's so sad to see that stressed out anxiety type panting. So I figure we just keep doing this daily a few times a day she will eventually stop having a negative association with it.

Being just naturally what seems a more timid and sensitive puppy she fears a lot of the unknown so I guess my task this year is to be an active dog mommy and help her overcome all this through experience. I am blessed by being able to stay home to take care of our two young children which provides no excuses in a limited amount of time to do this. Which is why I think she has come so far all ready. So I am dedicated. And ready. I would absolutely love advice on where to go, what to try, places or things or sounds to expose her to more and more.

I also have trouble wondering if she does things out of respect for me or an unnecessary fear. She will stand up and move away if anyone in the house walks by her, not sure why she would be afraid of us walking by her, I always wondered if she thought she was in the way so she was moving out of the way? She also will NOT play fetch. She won't take anything from my hand that is not a treat. I can't even really get her excited enough to play tug. She won't dare. It confuses me because this is why we call her a cat, haha, she just doesn't do mannerisms I thought all dogs did or enjoyed. Such as fetch or tug or playing. She just wants to sleep and snuggle haha...

Boosting her exercise. I'm into running so I'm going to start taking her with me this spring. Maybe this will reduce anxiety that I think I'm seeing.

And of course continue our canine education by taking more classes.

Tips or books for timid/shy/sensitive dogs would be appreciated. She really is a great dog everyone loves her she's so friendly in a very respectful way. Will slowly approach someone and say hi then want to snuggle with you. But I just get vibes that we haven't overcome all of her anxiety yet and I want to make sure I'm doing her a justice and help her with all this.