Scared Shepherd

Question
Dawn:
 We took in a 3 yr old Shepherd who was, and still is, afraid of men. We knew this going in, but felt we could offer him a good home. I (dad) eventually got him to warm up to me, and now shows no fear towards me. My son, is another story. The dog(Stryder) is petrified of him. When my son is in the house, Stryder either is sitting at attention by my wife, watching for him, or pacing nervously. He doesn't even eat much when the boy is home. I have encouraged my son to not appear threatening to him, get down to his level, let him come to him, etc.. We have even taken walks and allowed my son (who is 15 and tall for his age) to take the leash. He did okay, but was halting at times. Do you have anymore ideas or things we could be doing to convince Stryder that he need not fear our son? I can kind of see that Stryder in one way wants to make friends, but is holding himself back. Any advice or help would be appreciated.
Thank you:
Mike M.


Answer
Hi Mike, how long have you had Stryder?  The best thing to do is let Stryder go at his own pace.  Don't force him.  That is the worse thing you can do.  It takes at least 4 weeks for an adult dog to acclamate to a new home, so for an abused dog it can even take longer.  Having the boy work the dog in obedience can help as it can establish a bond.  Also having him feed can help get the dog to trust him too.  The biggest thing to remember is that you need to let Stryder do it all on his own.  Hope this helps,

Dawn