I have a 6m old female Belgian Tervuren, and she is very shy around people?
Topics: Dog Breeds | 6 Comments »By admin | March 6, 2010
She goes everywhere with us and meets alot of people, but she is shy and scared around new people like if she hasn’t met them before, then she warms up to them a bit. But i was planning to do agility with her and I am worried that she may not be able to handle the enviroment. Is it just a herding dog instinct not to mingle to much with strangers?
Posted by crrousey on 03.06.10 10:45 pm
I would just continue to keep bringing her around other people as much as possible thats the best way to get her to not be afraid…The place you got her from maybe the people didnt treat them right and that could be why she is afraid of people
Posted by iluvmyfrenchbulldogs on 03.06.10 11:40 pm
I have had multiple Belgian Malinois (like a short haired tervuren, but they actually are the same dog) that I have raised from puppies and they all have been the same way at that age (they all seem to go through a shyness phase a 6-9 months and then just snap out of it). I think that it is just the breed. I have done agility, obedience, and herding trials with my dogs and have had no problems with their shyness continuing later in life, especially when they are doing something that they love to do.
The Belgian Breeds do tend to be a little more reserved than other hearding breeds (which is partial why police departments use them so much). They are not usually scared though, so I would try enrolling her in a training class (belgians usually excel in obedience and it would just work as a confidence booster) or do things such as tug games (which I usually don’t recommend for Belgians, but in your case it is okay, just let her win) to build her confidence. You are actually pretty lucky, it is much easier to train a shy dog than it is to tame a very dominate dog (which I have had to do with many Belgians). It takes time, but it is well worth it in the end.
I would just keep socializing her. Good Luck!
To WOOOH!: I have been involved in the Belgian Breeds for over 20 years now, and yes AKC considers them different breeds, but they are truly the same breed just different hair coats, in fact in Belgium all of the breeds can be crossed together and have registrable puppies (like breeding a yellow to a chocolate lab). A Tervuren can actually have Tervuren, Laekenois, Malinois, and Groenedael puppies and they are still purebred. Even AKC Terveruns can still have Tervuren and Groenedael puppies. Their are 4 types (the Tervuren, Malinois, Groenedael/Shepherd, and Laekenois). The Tevuren has a long mahogany coat, the Malinois a short fawn coat, the Groenedael a long black coat, and the Laekenois had a fawn curly coat and is not recognized by AKC. They are all bred for the same purpose and have similar attitudes (I have trained all four types and they defiantly have similar personalities). I have a very good friend of mine that is a AKC herding group judge and he said that the only difference is the coat (like collies) and the color (like labs). Just thought you should know.
Posted by nicname on 03.07.10 12:03 am
keep taking her around people don’t take her around loud or noisy people and especially kids let her get use to calm people first
walk her up to people not the other way around
Posted by woooh! on 03.07.10 12:50 am
Shyness is not a breed characteristic of the Belgian Tervuren.
Iluvmyfrenchbulldog:
Just for general knowledge the Belgian Tervuren and the Belgian Malinois are NOT the same dog.
Posted by dogandcatluvr on 03.07.10 1:06 am
Actually, Woooh!, if you read the breed standards for the Terv and the Malinois, you will find that they are INDEED the same breed in their home country, and in a single litter there can be Tervs, Malinois, and even Groenendales (Belgian Shepherds – the black ones). It is only here in AMERICA that they have been separated out into separate breeds (more correctly: varieties like the smooth and rough collie).
That being said… it would not be considered normal for a herding dog to be that shy… most herding dogs are quite gregarious and love to be around people. I would see if you can find a “special needs” training class that would be designed to build on her self confidence. Terv’s excel at agility as a breed, but of course not all individuals within a breed enjoy it. Take it slowly, build her up with tons of praise and love.
Good luck
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