Hi there as most know here I am the owner of 4 sheltand sheepdogs, first we had Sunshine and Simba mom and dad then she got pregnant and was due to deliver 2 puppies sadly one died, we have their daughter Sanibel, then last January we adopted a son for them lol as well as us to round out the Shetland Sheepdog family lol. Okay here is the thing while they truly all have their own personalities and I love them dearly the new one who will be one year old on 11/9 Jax his name is is painfully shy and sooooooo afarid of strangers and anyone who comes into our home. At first we thought it was because he was the new one in the pack so to speak, but he loves his doggie family so much and loves us to the point I have never seen a dog love and kiss and cry when he see's us we should have named him lover or kisser . Does anyone else experience this or has experienced this. Literally besides us me and my dh and our children and my dad who comes over all the time, other then us, he really gets so afarid and runs and hides and then of course he will pee sometimes . Should I bring him to a trainer I do not want to scare him anymore. Also does anyone else experience the crying I mean really crying when we return home and if you pick him up in your arms he crys so much and kisses, he has a endless supply of those lol. Any help deeply appreciated. Peace. Catherine

Hi Catherine
I asked my boyfriend who's a vet tech and he asked if the dog is a rescue dog? He also said to help with his shyness, the next time someone comes to your house and he runs and hides, get him and the other dogs and bring them into the room where the person is, and keep him in the room. Let the person interact with the other dogs in front of him and gradually bring him over to introduce him to the person. He said it may take a few tries but eventually he should be ok. I hope this helps

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~~~~**Maryann**~~~~

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I agree with Ishop. He needs to be gently brought into new situations. I would also suggest that anyone new to him be given some treats to hand out sparingly to the other dogs. The person should not make eye contact with Jax, but just give out little bits of treats frequently to the others. Perhaps a non-threatening person who has goodies will coax him into approaching the person with treats. If he doesn't, just ignore him and let him figure out what he is comfortable with. Patience, patience, patience. A shy frightened dog can turn into an aggressive dog, so he needs to be socialized. I'm a big fan of The Dog Whisperer show with Caesar Milan. If you can get that show on TV, I suggest you watch it and see what is done in other like situations.

Thanks so much Christine and Wildwood for the suggestions and alot makes sense. Honestly and I totally could be wrong but to think of Jax being agressive at any point in his life I do not ever believe that, like I said this dog gives us so much love and kisses and cries so much when he see's us right now as I am typing on the couch he is right next to me with his head on my lap. As far as a rescue dog we purchased him from a kennel that only deals with shelties he was 3 months old when we got him, he was born in Missouri how the conditions were there I will never know for sure. The other thing I have been told is that because he came into a home with already 3 other dogs, he is the alpha dog bottom of the pack and perhaps that is reason for his shyness. We will see but keep those suggestions coming peace to both of you ladies.. Catherine

Dogs can have social problems just like people do, it could be social anxiety. Just try what the others suggested and as for all the kisses and cuddles it's normal for some dogs to do. Our American Pit Bull Terrier give out kisses and cuddles like she is a person and not a dog.

I agree with the others. Use baby steps with him.
As for the crying, ignore him when someone comes in the door until he stops crying. Actually turn your back to him. It's hard but will work after a few times. He has learned that crying works to get attention. We have one that was like that and our trainer was the one who told us to do this. It works.
hth,
Judy

I don't know much about dogs, but I do live in Kansas - right next to Missouri. On the election ballot last Tuesday, Missouri passed a new law about regulating dog breeders because Missouri is the puppy mill capital of the world. So, the chances are that your dog was born into a puppy mill. Google Missouri Puppy Mills and there's a lot of information.

Lisa

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Lisa thanks so much for the information about Missouri about it being the biggest puppy mill in the United States now I was under the impression it was Pennyslvania that was the state that had the largest number of puppy mills. Since I am a huge animal activist I have watched many many sad stories of puppy mills and actually right from Lancaster and it was mostly the Amish people, this was also shown on the Oprah show I clearly remember that and the conditions in which these puppies and adults dogs lived were horrible it brings tears to my eyes. Personally my female the mommy Sunshine came from Lancaster however that was after the fact of knowing . She is somewhat shy and reserved herself but she will go into her bed and not get upset and if someone wants to approach her I will always say she is shy , she has never shown any form of agression . However I am all too aware and I would not recommend a young child or any child to approach Sunshine she is not used to babies or small children at all. Now Simba her husband lol is a total nut he should have been named RedBull he is on the go 24/7 and is extremely friendly towards anyone that comes into our home , I believe anyone who actually take him home and he would be okay for awhile. While the daughter of Sunshine and Simba, Sanibel I believe is just a regular dog goes with the flow friendly and plays and no problems. As far as the crying Jax does it alot when we come home and if you pick him up he is kissing your face and crying so much like we left him for years lol. Again I sincerely appreciate all the help I will try some of the suggestions. Peace to all. Catherine

I live in Missouri and it's a disgrace what goes on here in regards to animals. I would suggest that anyone who wants an animal from this state, visit the breeder's facility in person. The new bill, may or may not make all the changes that are needed. I suspect it's a small step, but there will always be those who flout the law and human decency. I also suspect that in the areas where the bad breeders, (much of the rural parts of the state), live, will have law enforcement people who are related to them or friends with them, that will attempt to look the other way. Much of that part of the state voted against the new bill and have no sympathy for us "liberal, city, crybabies" and probably no intention of following the new rules if they can avoid it.

Better yet, get a mutt from a local shelter.

Wildwood and Lisa one of my husbands cousins is a huge animal activist and he is always posting videos or stories for me on facebook about the abuse and neglact our beloved pets suffer all over the world. From all I have seen and viewed alot happens in China for sure where they eat cats and dogs and just about any type of animal terrible. However just yesterday he posted this video about pitbull fighting a story about a dog they named Stallone. This I believe happened 2 years ago or perhaps shorter time. Anyhow the state was Missouri which they found one of the largest pitbull fighting happening. The owner of the dogs received 24 months disgusting. They retrieved so many pitbulls, however this one Stallone was so badly ripped apart and the humane society and animal doctors were doing all they could to save him, and even though he was a mess and so badly hurt, he was so kind and wagging his tail, sadly they could not save him, his inguries were too severe. Now I will say this even though this animal was severely abused and hurt and beaten , he still offered love and what does that truly say about some of us humans, I totally believe animals could teach us alot. I honestly never knew Missouri was one state where this would happen. I would think my own state New York because I watch the animal precient sp.. and I know in some rough neighborhoods Pitbull fighting and cock fighting happens all the time. So very sad and that is why Pitbulls have been labeled bad dogs, not true there is good and bad in all breeds . Same on these people and sincerely hope they make the laws siffer for these acts of abuse brought to any animal. Peace . Catherine

Catherine, I'm not aware of huge problems here with pits, but I'm sure there are some. I think in out state you are liable to come across almost anything. I avoid going to the animal shelters because I can't afford a dog anymore, not to mention that even walking one is probably not something I'm willing to do anymore. The two we have are my adult family member's. I don't have to pay for their care, just play with them and give them cookies once in a while.

I have a cute little story about my two granddogs. On election day, my son decided to walk to the polls at my grandson's school. It's over a mile and it was a nice day and he took the dogs with him. We showed up while our son was inside voting. The dogs were tied up near the door and some poll volunteers were seated next to them. We went over and said hi to our "girls" and then headed into the school. The dogs were tugging at their leashes to go with us, I was about 15 feet away, turned toward them and pointed down and both butts hit the ground at the same second. The people sitting there were very impressed. I thought it was funny. The little dog usually is not that obedient, but I guess she got caught up in the moment and just reacted.

Wildwood cute story thank so much for sharing. I would assume that in all states pitbull fighting and cocking fighting happens, probably more so in poorer areas or run down areas where I only assume people are so desparate for money they will resort to doing anything sadly it is our beloved pets who suffer the abuse. Yesterday and today my daughter had over some friends and of course Jax got scared I told them to him Jackie Poo lol which we have nicknamed and asked them to say it over and over he seemed to respond to that and acutally let them pet him a little . Again alot of people have told me it is either he was new the already formed pack of dogs since we had 3 already now 4 or that it is his personality just like us humans who have different personalities. Again thanks for all your help to all. Peace. Catherine