7 month old Husky very timid and feared of humans

[Aki The Husky]

I've got my male pup for almost 1.5 months now. Ever since I got him, he is very fearful. The first week I started walking him, he wanted to hide under parked cars and had a strong fear towards unfamiliar dogs and humans - He jumped in a river because another (calm) dog was following and smelling his butt. Although the fear for other dogs disappeared after several weeks by going daily to the dogs park for socialize, I don't see any progress, maybe slight regression over the fear of humans - starting from new people coming inside home to having panic fear when we pass a stranger outside - strongly pulling the opposite way or towards his comfort zone (Home).

When we get into a fairly crowded place he completely freaks out and he strongly pulls me the opposite way while he starts crying, although he is a quiet Husky - he only occasionally barks (at most once a day) when he is very happy and wants to play or gets his meal, howls at youtube husky videos and cried and howled when I used to let him period of times at home with my parents (he got over this though). He never bite anyone. Only sign of aggression I've seen on him was a couple week ago when a dog in the park started humping him and Aki growled at him until he let him alone. Otherwise he is fairly playful with other dogs, not so much with familiar humans, only rarely with me. One time he also peed himself while I was gently holding him while a friend petted him.

Aki was bought from a fairly small kennel at 5.5 months. I've been told he was socialized with other dogs and humans until that period and that he wasn't fearful, only a bit submissive.

To get over his fear I've tried positive reinforcement, by giving treats while passing by strangers on the street. But in fairly crowded places he doesn't even want to eat the treat, even drops out of his mouth if he manages to grab one. I've also learned Aki to look at me and give me attention when I call his name, but he completely ignores me in presence of humans as his focus is completely towards them. I've tried the treats near strangers for about 2 weeks now, but haven't seen any improvement until now. I've also walked Aki together with another Husky friend which gets nicely along with him and that helped a very little bit. His usual routine is a short 15-30 minutes morning walk which includes potty time, then I bring him 9-10 hours at my small office where I have 4 colleagues. He kind of gets along with them now, not running or hiding from them, but he's not completely comfortable with them either. He mainly sleeps this whole time. After we get home, I walk him 1-2 hours to either dog park or in the woods.

What do you guys think I should do next to overcome his fear? Thanks!

[2Huskyfun]

I have  rescued a lot of dogs of all kinds of breeds and have an animal  profession background. (First timer raising Huskies thou, so this is only my experience with my last dog ( highbreed mix)

She was thrown away in a garbage bag with 11 others when she was 2 months old and was on the bottom. Did not trust humans or other animals.  Peed herself every time I went for my keys, she would hide from everybody in the house, vomit and shake during car rides, and would break away from my husband during walks and clear fences until she was in her own back yard.

I started with small walks. Same street same smells. Every time she would get nervous (the sooner you pick up on the signal the faster this will hopefully work) I would use my body to block (step between him and whatever is stressing him) in a calm voice say a one word  phase. I used easy. After a few weeks she would start going behind me herself if something made her nervous. Which got less and less. Once she started doing this on her own and realized nothing bad was happening to her we added a street at a time. Never add a new street or new surroundings until she was comfortable with the one we were working on. 

I also did this inside the house. I leashed her to my  Pant loop and just did normal daily things. I would step between her if she got fearful of a sound or an action that was going on inside the house. Until she realized nothing and no one in the house was going to hurt her. Then each family member one at a time would do the same thing until she trusted them. Then the next family member. Don't move to different family members until he is totally comfortable with the one he is working with.

Eventually we could take her everywhere. But I never let strangers pet her because I knew it bothered her. (She was never aggressive towards people but I respected the fact she just didn't want them touching her) This is a trust  exercise that worked for her. Slow and steady. Hopefully it will give you a starting point.

Funny side note: she ended up being 150 pounds and it was funny seeing her hide between my legs when something little scared her.

Hope this helped

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

I would keep him away from over crowded areas until he's comfortable with people passing without treats, by putting him in a situation he's not comfortable with you're making him regress and it will just get worse instead of better

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app

[Aki The Husky]

42 minutes ago, 2Huskyfun said:

I have  rescued a lot of dogs of all kinds of breeds and have an animal  profession background. (First timer raising Huskies thou, so this is only my experience with my last dog ( highbreed mix)

She was thrown away in a garbage bag with 11 others when she was 2 months old and was on the bottom. Did not trust humans or other animals.  Peed herself every time I went for my keys, she would hide from everybody in the house, vomit and shake during car rides, and would break away from my husband during walks and clear fences until she was in her own back yard.

I started with small walks. Same street same smells. Every time she would get nervous (the sooner you pick up on the signal the faster this will hopefully work) I would use my body to block (step between him and whatever is stressing him) in a calm voice say a one word  phase. I used easy. After a few weeks she would start going behind me herself if something made her nervous. Which got less and less. Once she started doing this on her own and realized nothing bad was happening to her we added a street at a time. Never add a new street or new surroundings until she was comfortable with the one we were working on. 

I also did this inside the house. I leashed her to my  Pant loop and just did normal daily things. I would step between her if she got fearful of a sound or an action that was going on inside the house. Until she realized nothing and no one in the house was going to hurt her. Then each family member one at a time would do the same thing until she trusted them. Then the next family member. Don't move to different family members until he is totally comfortable with the one he is working with.

Eventually we could take her everywhere. But I never let strangers pet her because I knew it bothered her. (She was never aggressive towards people but I respected the fact she just didn't want them touching her) This is a trust  exercise that worked for her. Slow and steady. Hopefully it will give you a starting point.

Funny side note: she ended up being 150 pounds and it was funny seeing her hide between my legs when something little scared her.

Hope this helped

Thanks a lot for the reply! I actually tried putting myself in front of what's stressing him out, but the thing is when he gets stressed out he starts pulling really hard and so I can't get a chance to put me in front of him... all he wants is to run away to a safe zone. Maybe I should work on him seeing me like a protector in different ways.

 

9 minutes ago, BingBlaze n Skyla said:

I would keep him away from over crowded areas until he's comfortable with people passing without treats, by putting him in a situation he's not comfortable with you're making him regress and it will just get worse instead of better

Sent from my [device_name] using http://Husky Owners mobile app
 

Yeah, that's what I also thought...

[2Huskyfun]

Mine jerked and pulled frantically too at first. 

I agree with BingBlaze n Syla. I would not put him in a crowded  situation. I would start with home and work. Keep him in his safe zone until he has fully bonded and trust you. Maybe just start the  exercise inside the house? This way he will know what he can expect from you on small walks and while you take him at work.

Does he have a crate at your work?

place it under your desk so he has a "safe place".

Everyone and other animals in the home (and your work) should respect that when he is in his crate that is his time.

It took my girl 4 months to walk to the mailbox without freaking out, a year for enjoying car rides, and 7 years to fully feel comfortable in large crowds." Please keep in mind she had brain damage on top of her anxiety from lack of oxygen". She still had a full wonderful 15 years.

But this takes time. Be patient. Listen to wait he is telling you.

You guys can turn this around.

[2Huskyfun]

I was speaking to a couple of old co-workers today and one of them stated that she had a dog similar and he had anxiety really bad. She would use  a dab of frankincense oil on his collar. (It calmed him down)

Please do research on the oil. I know some can cause issues to animals. But she swore it helped and it was safe.