Border Collie shyness

Question
Recently my boyfriend adopted a 3yr old border collie rescue, the dog is becoming more responsive towards him since they have started to create the owner-dog bond that I have heard is very common with these types of dogs but towards other people the dog is very shy and won't even look at you when you try to be social with him. When bringing him to my boyfriend's parents house, he would much rather hide in the bathroom than be out where everyone else is. Is there anything to help fix his shyness and get him more sociable? Thanks

Answer
It is best for each new person to ignore the dog and not force contact.

To a dog a head on approach is a challenge, also direct eye contact is a challenge, bending over a dog is dominance, so the way most people greet dogs is completely contary to their intentions.

When a dog is nervous and shy, he will riley on his natural instincts, and thus the approach of strangers sends them the wrong message.

Have people completely ignore the dog, no looking at him, not speaking to him and no touching him.  Allow him to gauge their intent (ie ignore him means him no harm), and just wait for his curiosity to get the better of him and he will start to approach them.  At this point they should continue to ignore, until he noses them, then they should only open a hand to pet under chin, they should not push too far too quickly by speaking or looking directly at him.

Placing favorite treats close to the stranger will help, get the dog moving closer.