SociaBulls: A Shy Dog Making Sense of a "People World"

We are always interested in hearing what all the different dogs get from the walks, and we were especially interested in hearing more about shy SociaBulls member Nabi. You may have glimpsed Nabi as part of this vaudeville post or remembered this great post about learning to walk two dogs at the same time. Nabi and her brother Willie are very active members of SociaBulls; their mom is even New Member co-coordinator.
What we never realized was how severely shy Nabi is. Here Nabi's mom explains how walking with the other dogs is a comfort to Nabi as she tries to make more sense of the "people world". She is beginning to slowly build up positive associations with scary things in a safe environment. Here is Nabi's story along with photos of our latest SociaBulls walk (including many smiling pooches!).

 One of the great things for us about participating in Chicago SociaBulls is how our Korean jindo, Nabi, seems so different from many of our members, but can also benefit from the same walks.  If you research the typical traits of jindos, you'll see descriptions such as:  aloof and typically not interested in affection from strangers, takes time to bond with a new owner, and tends to be independent minded rather than driven by a desire to please.  The jindo characteristics seem to me to be the opposite of the people-oriented and eager-to-please nature I have come to associate with many of our members.  

 Nabi has many of the jindo characteristics in spades, and this is compounded by the fact that she is very shy.  We believe she was kept outside with other dogs and had little human contact for the first two years of her life.  When we adopted her, she was scared of everything associated with normal pet life, including being touched, a brush, the car, a water bowl, and even a dog bed.  She has always been much more confident when outside.  She absolutely loves walks, could easily walk for hours every day, and she's never been afraid of outdoor noises like thunderstorms.    

With Nabi, it's always been like "dog world" makes sense to her, but "people world" sometimes doesn't.  While many of our members are working on containing over-excitement when their dog sees other dogs (including us, with our dog Willie), the presence of other dogs tends to reassure Nabi.  She came to us with great dog social skills and will become more confident and curious when she sees other dogs, and she walks calmly next to pretty much any dog.  In contrast, she is unsure of herself with people.  It took over a year for her to really start trusting us, and we're definitely the only ones who ever get to see her playful and goofy side.  With everyone else, her behavior ranges from cautious interest to nervous avoidance. 

When we're walking with the pack, Nabi gets into the rhythm of the walk and often doesn't seem to even notice that she's in a crowd of people.  However, we know that the Chicago SociaBulls walks aren't a magic wand that will cure Nabi's shyness, and I believe the reality is that she will always be shy.  Progress with Nabi is incremental and needs to be measured in terms of months or years, rather than weeks.  The walks help us to very slowly build up positive associations with the scary things in a safe environment.  We hope that over time, this, along with continued work at home and elsewhere, will help her stay more relaxed around other people.  

Nabi is the only jindo in SociaBulls (so far!), but she doesn't know that she's different or that she's walking with a group of many pit bull type dogs that some people find "scary".  What Nabi finds scary is the inexplicable things people sometimes do.  With the pack, she's in an environment that makes sense to her, where they're all just dogs, walking without judgment, looking ahead.

 You can also read about more SociaBulls Members: Sprocket (Teaching a Dog When it's not Time to Play), Lola (Living in the City with a Dog who Fears Strangers),  Zoe (The Dog who "Loves Too Hard"),  Izzy (Being a good pitbull ambassador while working with an energetic dog) and Maize (Being social with an unsocial pup).
Plus, join our Chicago SociaBulls  Facebook page for more photos and information about group walks. We've been hearing about so many people starting great groups in their areas. Check the 'likes' on the Chicago SociaBulls page to see if a group has started by you. If you have a group and you don't see it on our Facebook page, please let us know so we can add you!