Ambrosia

Will be crossing my fingers for you Katie.

Definitely need puppy classes. Try socialising with smaller breed dogs to build confidence. Have you heard of DAP spray? It helps to comfort dogs in stressful situations. My recent experience- I have an 18 week old Japanese Spitz. We attended two puppy schools to assist with his socialisation. At home he was Mr. Confident but in the classes it was a different story. Class 1 had all large breed dogs; he was apprehensive. Would sit behind us and shadow our movements to hide behind our legs. It wasn't just that the dogs were big, they had the energy that comes with big dogs. If I were his size I would have acted the same! Class 2 had small breeds which was substantially better. The trainer of this class recommended the DAP spray which he then wore on a bandanna to all classes. Each week he got more confident. I do think his experience with smaller dogs assisted to build confidence with the larger dogs. He is now doing the next level of classes and each week he is getting more confident. He still wears the DAP, unsure if it actually has any effect. Second the request for photos!

Wow, a Google search revealed this news article- http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-au...c-1225779076208 How can she sleep at night.

What an awful experience... must have been very difficult for you. When you are ready for the next pup, you have come to the right place. This forum has great advice re selecting a great breeder.

A short piece of advice from limited experience- Select a breeder that other breeders like and respect. And preferably visit their house and see how the dogs live.

http://www.bowhouse.com.au/ Great variety & quick delivery.

Very proud of my dog closet. A number of shelves containing: - Treats and chews in airtight containers - Leashes, harnesses etc in an open container - Shelf of toys, balls etc - Shelf containing grooming items & medication - Each dog has a folder containing their records - Kibble in airtight containers

I wish ticks were painful so they could could tell us they are there (paralysis).

Agreed, but will be easier for her to do so with a dog that doesn't bite her & there should be more positive interactions which will build her confidence as a leader.

Thanks for your posts Minxy & Persephone, they're reassuring. My friend is now considering a puppy as they won't have (hopefully) emotional baggage. Am pointing her straight towards my JS breeder as my JS has an awesome temperament. Won't call the breeder today being Easter Sunday, will call tomorrow morning. she did say she would take the dog back if things didn't work out. Fingers crossed all is well on that front.

Have spoken in depth with my friend today and she's decided to return the dog to the breeder. The breeders advertisement stated the dog was socialised and confident in their interactions with adults. Will suggest she changes her advertisement wording when trying to re-home so this doesn't happen again. Thanks again to everyone for your advice- it assisted us to see that this behaviour was a serious problem which wasn't going to go away quickly and that the dog isn't suitable for friend.

If the Breeder has any chance of re-homing to a more experienced home, then this might prove to be the best thing for this dog. If your friend does not have the knowledge or the ability to be the calm, confident leader this dog absolutely needs, then your friend would not be giving up on the dog by returning her, but giving the dog a chance at a home that might be better equipped to helping it become more stabilised, as much as it could be. This dog is not suitable as a "first" and its behaviour is not something that will do well with 'tinkering'. Thanks for your advice- great to have an objective opinion.

Agreed! This is a severe behavioural issue, and one which really needs a professional to assist. Thanks for your thoughts. I guess because it's a small dog (and absolutely gorgeous) the biting behavior hasn't been treated as severely as if it was a large dog. None the less, it is the same behaviour. I really appreciate everyone's advice and opinions.

Thanks for your time in replying Erny, some great advice in there, will look at the books. She hasn't had the dog for long at all, so hoping the steps you've outlined will assist. I agree re breeder... It really feels like the dog has not met any humans, obviously she has to have met a few. She's fine with other dogs, so perhaps just kept outside with the other dogs? She reminds me of a wild animal that has been captured by a human. I'm increasingly getting cranky towards the breeder for putting my friend in this situation. It is difficult if not impossible for her to project the calm and confident leadership required for such a dog, and not something she can easily learn. Not a good first experience of dog ownership.

Ditto. If your friend wants a Jap Spitz 'ready to go' jogging, cafes, accepting friends into the home etc. Then she may need to consider whether this dog is right for her. All the Jap Spitzes I have met are generally very friendly outgoing dogs. Thanks for your reply Staff'n'Toller. I do agree re rethinking whether this is the dog for her... But I'm think she doesn't want to feel like she's giving up on the dog. She's having family over for Easter, with little kids etc. so my husband & I have taken her for the weekend (we've spent time with the dog prior, she knows us) as it would have freaked the dog out too much being around so many people. We're reasonably experienced dog owners, have a Jap Spitz ourselves, so we're trying to do what we can with her to work on this problem while we have her. We feel we have made some baby steps today, but husband has been bitten twice already. It's tough.

Thanks for your advice Jigsaw. Yes, it is a concern. My friend was originally looking at a rescue dog (only as she wanted an adult and isn't knowledgeable about breeders/pure breeds) but I steered her away from this as she doesn't have the experience to deal with any potential issues, so thought a dog from a breeder would be a better option for her situation. What the breeder described as 'laid back' I think was code for timid.

Hello, Hoping for some advice... A friend recently acquired a 14 month old female dog from a breeder. The dog is extremely timid, will not come to anyone, darts away if approached and when trying to pick her up she will actually wet herself and defecate while emitting a high pitched screech and biting the person trying to pick her up (pretty serious bites, lucky it is a small dog so not too serious). It is very difficult to pick her up.... but then impossible to call her, makes things extremely difficult. Absolutely freaks out being on a leash. The positives- she is curious about people, following my friend around (but darting away if the friend makes an advance towards her), is curious about other dogs, sniffing front and back appropriately. She ‘smiles’ a fair bit, but this is a trait of the breed. Dog is a Japanese Spitz. This is my friends first dog, so I’m trying to assist her with this. She wants the dog purely for companionship and a walking/jogging buddy. We speak softly to the dog, encourage to come/walk on lead with food (dog not interested) and get down low to not be intimidating. I’d love to hear from anyone who has had similar experiences and about their outcome.

How devastating My thoughts are with you.

An adult dog I'd take, a puppy that age I'd leave with parents. Have a fun trip

Simply stunning!

Thank you all ;) Sent them a few pics and that's the one they picked, feel like a bit of a crazy person having my pup in an ice bucket (minus ice of course ) There were other more natural ones for the record! He doesn't look like pup of the month at the moment, he's just started going through the Japanese Spitz 'monkey face' stage

Thanks CW EW! You're Emmy is gorgeous as well (as well as Charlie, I'm a bit spitz biased )

A shameless brag- so excited, just received news that my puppy won Dogs NSW puppy of the month competition! http://www.dogsnsw.org.au/puppies/puppy-competition.html ;) ;) :cheer: :cheer: :cheer:

Love te last one, it's like they understand each other.

Fingers crossed for Zoey.