Scared Red-nosed Pitbull

Question
we recently adopted a red nosed pit bull from an animal shelter who is roughly 7-8 months old. she is deathly afraid of everything and everyone. how do i earn her trust and make it so that she is not scared of everything that moves.
we also have a lab/pit bull mix that has helped her to socialize and play with other dogs but she is still extremely sketchy about other people. the red nose has not been trained, she has been neutered, and i live in a house with three other guys (I am in college). she seems to like some people more than others, but still inst comfortable around anyone in particular.

Answer
Your dog needs a lot of individual work, 2-3 hours per day in training, socialization and confidence building. You need to find a local trainer that can devote significant time to assist you.  What you are experiencing is lack of trust from the dog. Trust comes with time and companionship (training, play, etc). If the dog was abused befoe the shelter, then you need to have a trainer that is experienced with working with abused dogs.  You can start by watching Dogtown TV series that works with abused dogs. They may have an internet video site, or materials. Your next stop whould be www.4pawsu.com and look for materials there you can use.

regards,
Henry Ruhwiedel
westwind Kennels llc
www.dogkennel.org