[SmokeMyBritt]

I have a 4 year old Brittany named Smoke, he is rather shy, but he will go up to other dogs, I got him 2 years ago at rush lake kennels, this is his back story- A man came in with a pregnant Brittany, she went into labor and had her pups in the kennel, well five weeks later the man picked up the mom and not the two pups, they were both male, so the owner of the kennels gun dog trained them and then when he was done just let him stay in the kennel with his brother, I attached to the dog when I went to help my mom work at the kennels and he said yes, so we took him home happily. I have 2 younger siblings, a 5 year old and an 8 year old, both rather short and VERY spazzy, I did a lot of back ground knowledge on the breed and it said that Brittany's are very spazzy and usually get along quite well with Children because of there similarities in energy, as soon as Smoke saw the kids he freaked out, he is not aggressive at all, in fact I have never heard him bark, or growl, but when he sees kids he looks at them with the most horrific expression like they are going to seriously hurt him, I know why he does it, he was never exposed to them, he sees these short people making lots of noises and doesn't know what to think, I recentley became very attached to this dog to the point were I am giving up my free time for sports to take shock collar lessons with him, this sounds weird I know, but I can't trust him off leashe unless I'm positive we re alone, he is so terrfied and I'm worried that if I try to take him off lead and a child comes around he maay run off and I won't ever find him, I am only 14, I have spent all my money, (400 bucks) on this dog because I care for him so much, if some one could just help me so that he can overcome his fear I would really appreciate it

[JudyKayTee]

Shock collar lessons? How does that work?

I can only guess that shocking your dog is making him more anxious and unsure of himself. My other thought is that some dogs can NEVER be off lead unless they are in a fenced area.

Are your siblings out of control? Have they frightened him?

The secret here is patience and very slowly getting him to "tolerate" children. Kindness and patience are the answer. I am quite concerned about the shock collar lessons.

Have you ever put one of those things around your neck or arm and shocked yourself? I find them barbaric - I know not everyone agrees with me.