I just recently got a new dog that is scared of people. What can break this fear?

young puppies are naturally fearful of new things and noises, its important not to coddle them when they show the fear, not to reassure them with things like saying "it's ok, good dog" even though we instinctly want to do that. instead just use treats like pieces of cheese or hotdog..whenever a new person comes in your door, give the dog a treat. do it over and over eventually your dog will associate people with something very good.

some dog breeds though are very 1 person oriented. like poodles for example are very clingy to just 1 person usually.

I've got the perfect answer for you.

I adopted a 10 month old with the same problem. She was TERRIFIED of men and had clearly been abused.

I started taking her out to the local dog part everyday but kept her on a leash to start with. I allowed people of all ages to pet her as long as they approached slowly and at her height level. If a small/medium breed dog sees a hand coming at them from above, they immediately kick on their defense mechanisms and prepare for anything. So, stay at their level.

Once she became comortable that no-one was going t hurt her as long as I was with her, I began taking her off the leash and let her have the run of the park. She slowly but surely went up to people and didn't let them pet her at first, so I got her a playmate - a small breed dog who is younger than she is. She saw herself as pack leader of them and that gave her the job of protecting her new friend. She is now 2 and a half years old and will let anyone pet her, man, woman or child.

So, lots of socialization and possibly a little friend if you're willing to go that far.

how old is this puppy?

emma a german shepherd / collie mix, i got from a bad owner, about 4 maybe 5 years ago,

she was in no way a friendly dog, and most anyone would have put her down, because, no one could pet her, it was hard to even go in and feed her, cause she would look at us and show all her teeth, she scared everyone,

she was not treated the way your dog or puppy should be, and she got a bad mood out of it, your puppy needs you, to take him/her out slowly, bring one or two friends over, don't start out with a lot of friend, the puppy needs to warm up, perfer one person the dog never met,

let that person come in, and just pet him/her for a while, even lay on the floor with the dog, while petting it, and talking to it, very nicely, and softly,

this can take a while and a few trys , but sooner then you think that puppy won't be scared of that person, then try it with a few more,

remember not to many , don't be loud, and be very soft,

and caring,

now my shepherd Emma is very old dog now,

but she runs to the door everytime i come home, she loves to run aroud the yard with me, and is good with my 10 year old brother who comes over to play with her, now she still is a bit on the mean side, when it comes to older men, cause she was hit from a older man who was her first owner for years,

It takes much patience, have your friends one at a time bring treat to the dog Not to many people at a time so he doesn't feel overwhelmed and slowly take him outdoors and have bones handy for strangers to hand him. Do not let new friends go after him let them sit on floor at doggy level and just hand or try to hand him treats maybe just lay them by the new people till he is ready to make up!

That was my dog! He lived in this apartment and never went outdoors. He was difficult to deal with at first - hated people and dogs, always barked and tried to attack them. It's a very slow progression to get the dog used to social contact. You need to start slow, like maybe a few people at a time (a party will freak him out) and take him on walks often to see people from afar. He just needs to get used to it since he's been isolated. Have your friends be nice to him (he needs to learn to trust people) and perhaps give your dog yummy treats, so that he goes to your friends.

You really just have to get him used to being around people, and it sounds like other things as well. The key thing is to be careful what sort of behavior you reward him for. It is only natural for us as people to try to sooth or calm our animals when they show signs of fear. You know petting him and saying "its ok sweetie he isn't going to hurt you." But since dogs don't speak english, all he knows is that he trusts you and you are showing him affection when he shows signs of fear. He needs to build up his confidence. Taking him on walks will indeed help. Also it may help to enroll in a group obedience class once you think he is ready for it. That helps him to be around other people and dogs too. You may also want to consult with a dog behaviorist. When you have people over it is a god idea to just have them go on about their normal business and let him approach them then reward him with attention. Remember that he with go off of your emotional vibes. So if you are confident then he will feed off that. Good luck. ;)

When you have people over hold him and set him on their lap or let them play with him so he notices humans are cool...(even though we are not)