first socialization attempt did not go well

Oh the poor lil guy! Was he a rescue? It sounds like his previous owners took no effort to socialize him and missed out on some serious impression periods. People just dont realize the imapct they have on a dogs entire life by failing to put a small amount of effort into the early stages of puppyhood.

I agree with the above suggestions of slowly desensitizing him to new sights and sounds. Keep in mind that our soothing and comforting words can be misunderstood by dogs as praise for their behavior. Be sure to reward him with praise and treats only when he is acting calm versus as a attempt to get him to relax. It sounds like you live in a small town, maybe get some locals to come give him treats!

And kudos to you for helping out this scared lil guy, he's too cute!

Thanks all, I'm so glad to hear that it is indeed possible to make up for lost time at this point.  I am definitelyl going to take things slow.  Today after work I took him to the supermarket parking lot and we walked around a bit.  I was happy to see that he was walking with his tail straight out rather than tucked between his legs.  We kept our distance, and at first he barked a little bit at a child and a somewhat large-ish woman, but then he was ok.  I might have let things move too fast though at one point, when he was pulling to go check out a woman that was walking by, and I let him since it was his idea.  She lowered her hand so he could sniff and after sniffing he started barking at her.  I made sure we didn't end there though and we walked around some more and ended on a high note.  He even walked by a group of kids without reacting.  We will take the day off tomorrow and resume on Wednesday.  I'm glad to hear that some of you have unsocialized dogs that turned out friendly with some work, it gives me hope!

Sounds like you are on the right track!

One other thing I did - when strangers wanted to pet my dogs, especially children, I said "Well, they are a little scared right now, but if you want to help me train them you can feed them a treat".  Then (if it was OK with the parents) I'd give them a bit of dried treat (chicken jerky) and have them hold their hand flat - like if you were giving a horse a treat - and my dogs would take the treat off the flat of their hand (this protects little fingers!).  The kids would be delighted and the dogs learned that children and strangers weren't scary or trying to grab them, they were giving out treats!  This process helped A LOT!

Well, we had another setback. Zack has been doing so well, learning to ignore people and not bark at them, and I took him to a neighborhood park for a walk today, being careful to stay at a distance from people, especially kids.  Well the moment I turned my head, Zack starts barking like crazy and I realize a small child is barreling towards us.  I firmly tell the child that Zack does not like to be pet and that he bites, hoping the kid would leave.  The kid then starts jumping up and down, demanding to know why the puppy doesn't like him.  I then look up and notice another child running towards us, and the father of the children right behind him.  We then get a chance to leave.  Immediately following that incident, Zack has been barking like a maniac and every little thing sets him off.  He is now in my house barking at nothing.  He has never done that before. He barked at neighbors across the street, a moving van, and was so scared at the garage door while it was opening he peed all over himself. I actually burst into tears the moment I came home.  Zack is only a puppy, if he is acting like this I can't imagine how he will be as an adult.  I cannot deal with 2 reactive dogs in my house.  

jenns

I cannot deal with 2 reactive dogs in my house.  

corgipower

jenns

I cannot deal with 2 reactive dogs in my house.  

I hear ya. I would call a behaviorist at this point.

Yeah, that's what I've been thinking too.  It just really sucks that I've had this puppy for not even 2 weeks and I'm already needing to call a behaviorist, and he's not even a rescue.  I paid a lot of money for him given that it is a rare breed, and I can't really blame the breeder because I had to wait a month after I gave the deposit to pick him up because I was travelling. So he ended up spending his important socialization periods stuck at the breeders house.  I think I could have worked on the problem myself if I had more control over my environment.

I feel like I want to defend Zack because Willow is just like him and she's an old lady compared to him, LOL! He's nervous--everything is new to him.  Willow is exactly like what you are describing.  When something freaks her out she doesn't forget about it easily.  And, she even remembers the spots things have happened in and doesn't like to be in those places. 

If she comes across something new--the garage door is a perfect example--she was very nervous the first time she encountered one of those.  She panics going into stores like Petsmart that have those electronic doors that open when you step near them. 

What our vet suggested was a course of Clomicalm for about 12 weeks to help calm her down so that she could focus while she was trained.  You might want to see about that.  It's not a drug they have to stay on permanently. 

Thanks Willowchow, the Clomicalm might be an option if the behavior continues.  It's also good to know that I'm not alone with this problem.  My husband also feel like he wants to defend Zack, but for a different reason.  He doesn't like kids either.

I would say stop trying to socialize him at this point. He's not been with you long enough to know that you're going to take care of him. And at 5 months old, a few weeks isn't going to make a difference. Bond with him and let him know that you'll take care of him. Then take him IN YOUR CAR where you have control of people approaching. You're still going too fast. If you can't completely control the environment, you shouldn't be taking him out. And when you do go out, make sure you're far away from where people go and move in slowly.

FourIsCompany

I would say stop trying to socialize him at this point. He's not been with you long enough to know that you're going to take care of him. And at 5 months old, a few weeks isn't going to make a difference. Bond with him and let him know that you'll take care of him. Then take him IN YOUR CAR where you have control of people approaching. You're still going too fast. If you can't completely control the environment, you shouldn't be taking him out. And when you do go out, make sure you're far away from where people go and move in slowly.

 You're so right...we were doing so well walking around parking lots I assumed the park was a good next step.  It's too soon.  I feel like I destroyed every bit of his confidence in himself, and in his relationship with me, because he is now barking at every little thing inside our house and outside. I get frustrated because everyone else I know has these calm, confident dogs and I can't seem to have that. 

jenn, I'm sorry you're having a tough time - I can most certainly sympathize! 

 I agree on calling a behaviorist at this point - but don't look at it as a defeat - look at it as getting more tools in your toolbox.  You will learn very valuable things!

Another suggestion - do you have someone with a calm, confident dog that your dog is comfortable with?  If so, team up with that person on outings.  For one thing it will help detour children from trying to pet your dog and often times a nervous dog picks up the calm confidence of the well-adjusted dog and realizes there is nothing to fear.  Plus, sometimes it really helps to have a bit of moral support to help keep you calm and feeling upbeat.  These things can be tough and often times the toy breeds are quite prone to over-reacting.  Though when you consider their size in comparison to the rest of the world maybe they aren't so wrong to be cautious!

Wishing you the best of luck and sending you some moral support!

Well I spoke with a behaviorist and what she suggested is pretty much the same as the responses I got here.   Mainly, that I just need to get him out there and expose him but she sounded like I shouldn't be too cautious about it because if I avoid things and situations now that I'll have a real problem later.  She thinks I should get him into a group class. 

One other thing that's been holding us back is the weather has been so cold here, I really wish it would warm up already!  It's hard for Zack to feel like he is having a positive experience when he is standing there shivering!  He doesn't have much of a coat to keep him warm and he is not used to clothing yet.  He has also been spooking a lot at things when I take him outside to do his business because of the wind today - the doors to the area where the garbage dumpsters are kept were banging open and closed for instace and freaked him out.  Additionally, I've been somewhat sick the last couple of days and that doesn't help either! Additionally, what he is afraid of most of all is small children and besides my niece and nephew who love an hour away, there really aren't any other kids I know of that I can work Zack with.  I mean, there are some in the neighborhood but none that I trust will go about things the way I want them to.  And it's been too cold here to find many kids at the playground.

One of my little dogs FREEZES if it's under 70 degrees F so I can understand!

 One thing I did was get a pouch from Outward Hound like this:

 http://www.amazon.com/Outward-Hound-Sling-go-Pet-BLACK/dp/B000PKT2PO

 then I put some warm blankets in it and went everywhere with her.  She not only felt safer, but warmer and our outings remained positive.  She became used to people petting her in there, noises, etc.  I would put her out on the ground for walks and after she was used to being in an area.  This worked out quite well for us.

well we've been making lots of progress!  Zack has met neighbors, other dogs and kids with no issues.  I also took him to a puppy class and while he spent the first half of the class scard with his tail between his legs, the second half he was fine.  He was marching right up to people and other dogs!

 Now, the issue we're still having is the reactivity when he sees someone in the distance.  Like, if we are walking and someone suddenly appears across the street he starts barking and lunging at them.  What a coincidence, Zoe does this too.  I started another thread about this.  It's especially difficult walking them together .  

Sounds like it might be possible that Zoe taught Zack this behavior?  It can be tough when you have one reactive dog.  It is quite contagious.  My advice (though I don't follow it myself!) is to walk them separately until they are both calm when people are in the distance.  Then try a few outings together and see how it goes.  Otherwise it's like fighting a losing battle because if one dog reacts it will prompt the other dog to.