my pit bull is scared

Question
I have year and a half old pit bull i got him as a puppy and i used to take him everywhere with me and he was fine but as soon as he got about 6 or 7 months old he started shaking and tucking his tail where ever i brought him he is fine in the car and at home but when ever he gets around other people he hides behind me and curls up in a ball i tried to just keep taking him out and i also tried a 8week trianing class but i don't seem to be getting any where

Answer
First, you need to find a trainer that can watch the dog when it reacts badly to help identify the specific trigger. Normally obedience class also develops social skills. You did not mention how your dog did in class.  There is an excellent video available at 4pawsu.com called Calming Signals. It shows in detail working with shy or dog aggressive issues and how dogs avoid confrontation. Your dog is avoiding confrontation when there is no clear reason [to us] of what he is afraid of. If possible, find someone who has a pit bull terrier under the age of 2. Supervised exercise, walking, play done by the other dog/owner is observed by your dog so he learns correct behavior. Make sure the other dog is a good example [trained, not aggressive].

The use of agility equipment or the home equivalent helps discover and train shyness out of the dog by helping it build confidence. Play should be a win-win experience, not a win/lose. Thus no tug of war or other play. Fetch, Frisbee, hide and seek, and doggy mind challenging toys (food puzzles) help develop the dogs mind and body and self esteem.

Lastly, pets are very sensitive to keying on our body language. Make sure that when you are in a situation where the dog will express his fear, that you exhibit self confidence and don't react negatively to the dog. The dog needs to experience positive events and emotions and looks at you to be the leader.

Regards,

Henry Ruhwiedel
Westwind Kennels LLC
www.dogkennel.org