Shy dog

Question
Today I handed my shy dog over to a pet service that takes 10-15 dogs to a dog park in Chicago and lets them play for two hours off leash.  I am wondering if this will be useful in combating her excessive shyness.

My dog is a 3 year old basset hound.   Her favorite part of the day is playing with her dog friends in the park, and she is the "best friend" of at least four other dogs.

Nevertheless, she has always been extremely shy of new dogs and people.  She never bites or growls, but she really cowers every time someone reaches to pet her (I bought her when she was 5 months old and had lived with 20 other dogs at a hunting club...good environment, but not much people contact).  I have met her sister who diplays the exact same behavior.

With new dogs, she is always very cautious, but she generally approaches from behind to give them a sniff.  While she is usually fearful of new dogs, she will approach them under the right circumstances.

She was very afraid of the dog service person that came to pick her up, but I'm hoping that she will learn that she has no reason to fear new people.  Do you think this is the right approach?

Douglas Johnson
Chicago


Answer
Hopefully with positive reinforcement, praise and lots of rewards she will come out of her shell.  However, if she doesn't warm up to the dog-walker I would look for another one because you don't want her to hate her play sessions or be afraid of the handler.

Probably when she lived with the other 20 dogs, she got picked on by the other dogs and is just very unsure and submissive.

The other thing to consider is a smaller group to allow her confidence to build versus sticking her with a dozen other dogs.  Maybe a neighbor or a friend and you could get together with a small group of 3-4 dogs.