[spiritlegend04]

I have a Siberian Husky which I got at the age of 6 months. He is now 8 months. He is scared to death of people. He shies away from them and basically freaks out to the point where he is screaming and tugging on his leash to get way. I have tried taking him everywhere I go to get him socialized and giving food to people to feed him but nothing seems to be working. I was planning on showing him which I don't think I can do now. I contacted the breeder and she said that the dam was the same way as well as her puppies. He is a gorgeous dog and don't want to lose hope on him. He is great around me though but no one else. If you have any tips please let me know. Thank you.

[labman]

From my answer to A morning after pill for dogs, ''many people struggle with problems with poorly bred, poorly cared for dogs.'' Although it is possible to mess up a dog later, many behavior problems are due to poor breeding and early socialization, before 12 weeks. Your dog is exactly the way the great behaviorist Scott found a dog will be with limited exposure to people before 12 weeks old.

You may or may not make much progress with him. It will take a long time. The food works better with highly food motivated dogs. You could try taking him somewhere such as a crowded park. Stay back from the people where he is comfortable. Drill him on obedience. Try to work him a little closer to people. Remain calm and confident. If people approaching causes you to tense up, he will sense it, confirming he is correct in distrusting them. Good leadership on your part will help too. If you as leader are happy to see people, it will make it easier for him to accept them too. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at Raising Your Dog with the Monks of New Skete For more on being top dog, see Establishing and Keeping Alpha Position, Letting your dog know you are the boss I have a lot of experience and training in good breeding and socialization practices. RubyPitbull has far more knowledge of helping dogs that didn't get the start they should have.

Sometimes I think we should be spaying breeders. We certainly have an over abundance of low quality ones. Even if she has a whole mantle full of trophies, she is a crappy one. It is outrageous to use any dog for breeding that has any known problems. We can take back a car that is a lemon, but it is tough once we love a dog. I would do my best to see that nobody I know ever buys another dog from her.