Extremely Timid Vizsla

[HillVizsla]

Hi,

 

My parents have a beautiful 6 month old Female Vizsla cross, who adores them, but is very timid & skittish around new people. We’ve tried all the obvious methods of conditioning her (no eye contact, rewards when she approaches etc), with limited success.

 

The unusual part of this is that if any of us are on a bed or lounge, she’ll climb up without hesitation & allow us to pat her, and is completely calm. As soon as we stand up or she’s not on the bed it’s as if she’s never seen us before. She darts away & hides.

 

Is this a common trait, and if so, what are the best steps forward?

 

thanks

 

 

 

 

Edited April 3, 2018 by HillVizsla

[DogsAndTheMob]

I haven’t owned a visla but I have owned timid dogs. It’s difficult to comment without seeing the pup, but your parents should probably contact a behaviourist to improve the pup’s quality of life and forestall further problems.

 

Speaking generally:

Timidity can be genetic or learned, and is often a combination of both.

Some timid dogs will bite if they feel threatened.

Timid dogs are frequently frightened by quick movements, exciteable behaviour, human appearances they’re less familiar with (e.g. walkers, hats and beards, shorter or taller people), loud or low growly voices, direct eye contact and people who ‘loom over’ them. This latter may explain the changes in your parents’ vizla’s behaviour.

Children tick several of the ‘scary’ boxes for timid dogs, so supervision with children is even more important than usual.