Dr. Marie replied:

Sorry to hear that Cindy is having these concerns.

It sounds like she needs help in building up some confidence. Here are some things that might help:

I would suggest that you only give her positive praise and no punishment. So, this means no more tapping her on the nose. If she does something bad then just ignore her, but don't give her negative treatment. When she does something good give her lots and lots of praise and treats.

It would be a great idea to take her to obedience classes. These will help to build up her confidence. Be sure to really reward her when she is obedient.

We need to find things that she likes to do and then do lots of it. So, if she likes to chase a ball then you play ball with her so that she can have good experiences with you.

There are a number of other things that can help but you would likely need to go in greater depth than we can get into here. You may want to talk to your vet about setting up a behavioral consult.

Hope she is improving soon!

Dr. Marie.

---This question was asked in our Ask A Vet For Free section.---

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