My 15 week old Havanese runs up to strangers like she wants to say hi, but when they engage (reach to pet, lean in) she darts away. Same with dogs: she shows interest, may approach, but if they engage she runs off especially big dogs. At puppy class she’s the only one not playing but she watches like she wants to. She is only 3kg so she’s tiny!
Took her to a park today. She was sniffing/exploring fine, then we sat and watched from a bench. After a while she started trembling/shaking so we went home. A huge dog came up earlier and I picked her up and held her facing over my shoulder + tried to act calm and stroked the dog. The owner and I had a chat.
Will she always be fearful? Am I reinforcing fear by picking her up? What’s the best plan to build confidence without overwhelming her?
submitted by /u/Weird_Fall2028
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