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Member
Posts: 43
Location: Central ND | Ok long story short, I got my mini at 8 weeks...after she'd been living under a barn since birth. She's almost three now and only likes two people, my mom and me. She LOVES other dogs, including our two boxers but with other people she is terrified. I've never even spanked this dog for peeing or pooping in the house, and she's never ever torn anything but toys up. Has anyone on here had any success getting their mini to be less anti social? When she was young, I took her out a lot and she just cowers. I have tried "all natural" treats for dogs with anxiety, thunder shirt....that just takes her shaking away but she's still not happy. Im even willing to see what the vet can give her at this point to make her happier!! I feel awful she's so scared of people (male and female!!) |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
 
| My daughter has a mini Aussie just like your's. This dog chose my daughter after being rescued from the street life. My daughter was the only one she liked for a long time. What works for this dog is for other people to just ignore her, let her be until SHE decides to ease up to you - or in my husband's case, feed her potato chips, seriously! Once she decides a person is ok, she'll ease up to them and they are supposed to scratch her back- nothing else. When she is done she just walks away. Another thing that seems to have really helped is my daughter and her SO got another Aussie puppy and that has helped some with strangers. But bottom line this dog just is not comfortable with strangers and my daughter has her friends ignore her unless she asks for attention. This dog does not bite or growl and strangely enough likes well behaved little kids. |
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 Shelter Dog Lover
Posts: 10277
| Â My mini Aussie Tucker is like that, if you are not in my family forget it, he will have nothing to do with you. Â He stays right on my heels wherever I go, no leash ever needed. Â I call him my little stalker, lol. He is a gorgeous blue merle with blue eyes, about 13" and everyone wants to pet him so I have to be aware when I am in public of people approaching him. Â He is not aggressive, hinds behind me and growls if someone gets in his space.Â
Edited by rodeomom3 2016-02-11 7:59 AM
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1037
| Ours is the same way. She is very very attached to my husband and I and will greet family, but anyone else is a no go for her. She will tolerate people petting her if she is near us, but forget about her just going right up to any strangers. She has terrible seperation anxiety from both of us also, but is loyal to the core and the smartest dog I have ever owned. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Mine is like that. And then out of the blue suddenly loves someone he's never met before, a butt wiggling, sloppy kiss kind of love that really throws us for a loop! Except he doesn't really like other dogs too much, and doesn't like to play with anyone except me or his 'dad'(yes we refer to ourselves as doggy parents)
He acts like he's hand shy, will bark in fright, cowering, whimpering, peeing himself.... You'd think he has had this really excruciating life which couldn't be farther from the truth. But once he gets to see you about 10 times then he thinks you're pretty okay and will stop that terrible display of emotion. Because it is so pathetic I've had people judge me, assume I'm abusive, or even 'thank' me for giving 'a dog like him' a better chance at life... It's really frustrating. But the dog I get at home without others around is the best, most rewarding dog I've ever been graced with. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 634
| Mine is like that too. She will lower her head or lay down when someone else tries to pet her and act like she is scared to death of them. She is 6 now and she found me when she was about 4-5 weeks old, so I don't know what exactly happened to her during that time but she has decided that I am her person and she is scared of everyone else. She also has extreme separation anxiety and will tear the blinds up trying to dig out of the window if I don't lock her up when I leave the house. She loves other dogs, cats, and horses and has never been aggressive, she is just a scaredy cat. When I take her to barrel races or rodeos she just tracks right behind me and dodges people trying to pet her. I guess some of them just don't like a lot of people. Good to know my Stella isn't the only one!  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 1032
Location: IL | Honestly, I think it may just be an Aussie thing. I'm not saying they are all like that because I've met a couple at jackpots that were super friendly to everyone. But generally speaking, when it comes to Aussies (mini or standard) if you are not family or considered inside their circle of trust, you may as well not exist. lol My (standard) Aussie was socialized out the wahzoo as a puppy. She went everywhere with me and had all sorts of people/kids touch her, play with her, etc. Now as an adult, she still goes everywhere with me. She is my shadow and very loyal but has no interest befriending other people. Like others have said, she is really pretty and has two different colored eyes, so a lot of people want to pet her. But she doesn't want "strangers" petting her so I respect her wishes and when people ask if they can pet, I politely tell them she isn't comfortable with that. I've actually considered getting her one of those "comfy" harnesses that have the "do not pet" patch on them simply for her safety/comfort. She will grumble/growl, put her head down, and back away from people who still try and make a reach to pet her. And she can be pretty skittish around strangers in general. But unless she was cornered and forced to, she wouldn't bite. She'd much rather just avoid than confront. Now, if she gets to see certain people multiple times and decides they are trustworthy and accepts them into her "circle of trust" then she is very friendly to them. But you have to earn her acceptance lol So honestly, I think you could try a lot of things to make your dog more "sociable" but odds are you just have a typical Aussie on your hands. lol
Edited because apparently I can't spell this morning
Edited by TACKyPaints 2016-02-11 9:29 AM
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 Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | We've had a few of them....and they're all different. I got one at 5 wks - took her to work with me every day for many years. She liked most everyone and loved attention, but she'd always have one eye on me and wouldn't think about going with someone else. If someone wanted to pet her, it had to be her idea....she would go up to most people, but they couldn't approach her. I got to have her for 12 years and lost her to congestive heart failure....I still miss that little girl everyday.
I have a little male that was 3 or 4 when I adopted him, EXTREMELY anti-social. Friends for Animals wouldn't take him because they didn't think they could find him a home. I couldn't touch him for the first 3 days - he followed my other dog everywhere. He decided shortly after that to come out of his shell with me and a few select people. The best way to sum it up is he loves his small circle of people and has no use for the rest of the world. I've hauled him to team ropings, barrel races....all over the place, he's never had a leash because he won't leave my heels. He's an agressive little guy and can bite fingers with pretty good accuracy if someone gets to close to me. (he weighs all of 13 lbs so I don't get too worked up about it).
I got my Dad a puppy at 6 wks, he's been well socialized but really has no use for most people.....if you're not family, he won't let you pet him. He doesn't shake or get agressive, he just moves away. This dog has been to team ropings and traveled all over the place.
My Mom has a little guy that we adopted - he LOVES everybody! Most outgoing dog you've ever seen.
I adopted an 8 year old female last year and she's a little bit shy but coming out of her shell. She loves attention from most everyone. You can't raise your voice or she will pee on the floor...but the longer we've had her the less it happens. The first month or so it was pretty much a daily occurance, now it's very rare.
I've got several friends that have minis also...they're my favorite dogs. Some of them are just shy. It seems to work best if strangers just ignore them and let it be their idea to be friends.
Edited by MS2011 2016-02-11 11:10 AM
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Own It and Move On
Location: The edge of no where | babbsywabbsy - 2016-02-11 8:27 AM Mine is like that too. She will lower her head or lay down when someone else tries to pet her and act like she is scared to death of them. She is 6 now and she found me when she was about 4-5 weeks old, so I don't know what exactly happened to her during that time but she has decided that I am her person and she is scared of everyone else. She also has extreme separation anxiety and will tear the blinds up trying to dig out of the window if I don't lock her up when I leave the house. She loves other dogs, cats, and horses and has never been aggressive, she is just a scaredy cat. When I take her to barrel races or rodeos she just tracks right behind me and dodges people trying to pet her. I guess some of them just don't like a lot of people. Good to know my Stella isn't the only one!
My little mini would shred blinds when I left...until I figured out that as long as she could see out - she was ok with them. I just had to make sure there was about a 6" gap at the bottom for her to look out. If I ever forgot - then I would have to buy new blinds - she could shred them in 30 min. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | I encourage my minis to not be accepting of strangers. They are my "protectors". They can be aggressive at times, but when it's called for. They are very wary of strangers though but I like that. I don't want someone sneaking up on me or to my truck. I also don't want them to go up to someone and that someone steal them. They are a very protective breed and if you are not the one they bond to, it's hard to get anyone else in their circle. I would try to contact some trainers if you have any in you area and see if they can help. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 672
| I had one that was like yours and would even pee if someone tried to pet her. I started with family then friends, and after every interaction would give her a treat and praise. I would also NOT pet her and tell her it’s ok when she cowered, I didn’t want to reinforce the idea that it was scary and she needed comforted. She was always kind of shy, but this really helped her!
My mini now is the total opposite. She is ADHD to the MAX, has never met a stranger, and doesn’t know the difference between “Bad *&!^% Dog” and “Good dogILoveYouSoMuch”
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 I Love the Oldies
Posts: 3767
Location: Central Washington | I have a male who is very anti-social. When we have family gatherings or people over, he pretty much disappears. Our heelers are the total opposite. LOL |
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 Good Grief!
Posts: 6343
Location: Cap'n Joan Rotgut.....alberta | I have one that doesnt tolerate strangers touching her....and one that will knock a stranger over (literally hes 65 pounds). .lol..unless he in his truck..then its hands off...m |
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Member
Posts: 43
Location: Central ND | Thanks for things to try! I knew it was typical of the aussies to be this way, just looking for things to make it better for her. My boyfriend feels like he's torturing her by even being around because she just hates attention and shakes. Sometimes, it's like she goes through a "spell" where she wants attention from no one. She'll come cuddle for about 10 seconds then decide she wants her own space. She's never had separation anxiety or been scared of storms luckily! |
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