Building confidence in your dog!

I haven't any problem with my dogs, they are both very confident and a little bit spoiled. I'm writing for my mom's new dog. He's a six months old Jack Russell Terrier and he's a rescue, he was living in terrible conditions until my mom got him and gave him a home. He's very shy and at first he had decided that the bedroom was his safe haven and he wouldn't come out of it for the world. He's already improving thanks to my mom's love and care, and now he's happy to go out and play, but he's still a very anxious and shy puppy. He tends to avoid people (except my mom) and he's scared of his own shadow. Is there any way we can help him? It breaks our hearts to see him like that!

 

I saw a video from Ceasar Milan about this, and I believe your mom needs to socialize her dog with other dogs. Dog parks would be a nice place to just let him sits and watches until he is ready to roam around on his own or meeting other dogs. There are a bunch of videos that she can also watch and pick up tips and tricks if she doesn't want to go out.

 

Rescuing dogs is a beautiful thing to do
I think he just needs some time. Be patient. Play with him and walk him whenever you can, I'm sure he'll slowly become more confident

 

Thank you both for your replies.
IcyBC, he's already confident around other dogs, he plays with mine and with all the other ones he meets. It's humans he's afraid of. He trusts only my mom (and me to some degree) but if everyone else wants to pet him, he gets all jumpy and runs to hide.
Claudine, I think you are right, he's slowly warming up to me, and sometimes he even lets my other half pet him. I hope he will understand soon that he's safe.

 

Patience by everyone, just keep behaving nice to the dog in a consistent manner, that is all it takes. The dog will start to slowly trust your mom and the rest of the family. Most of the time this alone works, but sometimes it doesn't. That is quite rare though, so don't worry It's slow, but sure.

 

Our oldest dog, Tisoy the spitz, is quite shy outside. It seems that he has no confidence when we go out especially when there are other dogs around. But we think that is a better behavior because unlike him, our other 2 dogs would be barking at other dogs and they seem to want to fight. Besides, they also bark at people who appear strangers to them. But with Tisoy, he is a very sociable dog since he doesn't mind people or other animals when we are outside the house.

 

Its natural for animals to be shy especially in new environments. The best approach to build the dog's confidence is to engage it in playful activity using food as a bait. You should also give the dog a name so that rapport is easier to create. You should also hang around the dog when its lying down and gently stroke it. With time, it will get acquainted to new people and environments once it realizes that people are well meaning.

 

I wish I can say the same for Capone! He is a human magnet dog! He isn't shy around people and he just loves to meet new people and wants to be with them. He is just too friendly around people and dogs, which is also a concern for me. But I trust his instinct too. He can smell out a bad guy and won't come near the person, as with the case of neighbor.

 

Thank you so much for all the replies. It's been a while since I've posted, and it seems like my mom's dog is slowly gaining more self confidence. He trusts my mom fully now and he's warming up to me as well. Yesterday I was at my mom's place and he kept wagging his tail, and kept coming near me for a few cuddles. I've noticed that he trusts women more, he's still very shy and wary around men.
Since he seems to be doing much better, I'm confident that he will overcome his fears with time.

 

@Snary84, that dog is going to get there. Trust me on this one. Just keep encouraging him and you will see results - I promise. My Remy was so shy and many just were not drawn to her and she and she was not drawn to them.

Some years down the road and she is almost completely out of her shell. I call her my success story when I see her interact even with us here in the house and other friends who've been coming around for years see the change in her behaviour. I feel like she never stops growing. I tell people you can teach a old dog new tricks and Remy is my proof of that. I've seen those sad, fearful, sometimes teary eyes replaced with happiness and joy.

 

@Winterybella thank you for the support! You are right, he'll get there, he's already improving by the day. I can't almost recognize him as the fearful dog who was afraid even to explore the house. I think my mother's other dog is helping him too, she's a 15 years old Beagle and I swear she has an infinite patience when it comes to the little one. He seems to follow her around everywhere and he's starting to mimic her behaviour, so when he sees that I pet her, he gets in line to be petted too. It's heartwarming. He is still afraid of sudden movement or loud voices but I think he will overcome that too.