Me and my husband just got a 4 month old shiba inu puppy. She's very sweet, but extremely shy. She was born in a kennel so I know separation from the other dogs is hard for her. She just started playing with us and will still startle if we move too fast around her. If she's up and about, she'll usually come to us out of curiosity. My problem is that she goes into her crate just fine, but she won't come out. We can get her to come out once in a while if she hasn't eaten for a while or if she has to go potty, but we can't even get her to eat on a regular basis. She just stays in her crate and curls up or sleeps. She's not very responsive to treats either so we can't get her out that way. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

some dogs can take months to become comfortable in a new home.

are there children that would be making a lot of noise?

has she had ALL series of shots? been spayed? if that is all done then I'd get her into some simple obedience classes. that should help give her some self confidence.

walk her where she will meet people & dogs if her shots are finished. that will help with her socialization

Thanks for the response. She's been getting better, I think it will just take time. She's had her shots so I take her outside, there's a lot of dogs in the neighborhood she gets to see (and their owners). I try to take her with me places as much as I can. She always seems to do better outside or somewhere else than in our house. I guess she's still getting used to that. I'm learning that having a dog takes a lot of patience... a LOT. Baby steps

My dog Maggie acted the same way when we first brought her home. The best thing we did was to let her approach new people and objects in her own time. When she did get brave and approach something new, she got lots of treats and praise. Puppy kindergarden was a big help, too. Even there, though, we gave her space to go hang out in a crate when she got overwhelmed.

HTH!
Amy
canineconnection.today.com

I agree with Muttlover13, it will take time. I had a Rottweiller who was very shy, and it took a long time...(years in fact) for her to come out of her shell. Her crate is her comfort space...with my Rotty, it was in the master bathroom between the shower and the laundry hamper. She felt secure there, and we allowed her to adjust in her own time. It will work, just have patience! Good luck!