Dog Health Questions: DS: Shy dog training suggestions?

The last 2 weeks I've been conditioning my 2 yr old dog to like being petted by strangers. We had awesome progress and he looked quite content. Today however he reverted back to being really shy again when two stranger tried to pet him. It was a little discouraging. I've had him since 8 weeks of age and he's just recently(2 months ago) started being this shy and fearful. He actually loves kids though and has no problem being petted by them. I aim for him to be petted by 2-3 new people per day for his conditioning and he gets handling exercises by me in the house at least twice a day. Anybody have experience or have success stories on training their shy dog to love being petted by friendly strangers?

Dog Training - Beyond Conditioning

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although with my own dogs i do the same as nikko, for your purposes i must agree with miss manners.
help to alleviate your dog's stress by doing tricks for the people who would like to pet him. then you or they can give him a biscuit once he's earned it, and that may help him to feel more comfortable.

because you didn't let anyone pet him when he was a pup, he became fearful. it's important when raising a pup to know when and when not to let people pet the dog.
if it starts to become fearful of strangers, it's important to immediately make strangers look very non threatening to the dog.
the aim when not letting people pet the pup isn't to make the pup shy or fearful, but to make it ignore people.

what i've always done is let random people pet the pup until about 4 months of age. then the puppy really learns that people are not scary, and i can introduce my training with the pup ("mommy is WAY more fun than that guy!!!") at which point i stop letting people pet the pup.
if the pup starts acting fearful or nervous, i go back to square one, and drop treats next to people, let the pup investigate the people, and have them pat him again.

it's not advisable to disallow people from petting your dog unless you really know what to look for in terms of confidence. also, having a pup with good, solid nerves really makes a huge difference. "not interesting" and "scary" are two different things

Types of Dog Training Programs: The Best (and Worst)

• For a dog that is up for adoption, learning to tolerate strangers is a must, because it will be a stranger who takes the dog home.
  
  So....with my shy foster dogs, I take along treats, and have passing strangers give treats to the dog.
  Most dogs soon start looking at strangers as potential treat dispensers, rather than something scary. :o)
  
  Also, encourage people to pet your dog on the side of the face or under the chin, instead of the top of the head. That is less intimidating.


• I for one never ever let a stranger pet my dog..they can look but don't touch..The dogs is wary of strangers and should be as not all are good people,so be careful who you let your dog become friends with..as he gets older he will get better but he is still a pup..
  ADD>>> then try this,have a stranger approach with a treat and a friendly voice,hand held out but palm up and call the dog to them..This should have your dog feel less threatened and more calm and trusting.You may have to start with an adult that has met him a few times to understand it's ok than move onto someone he has'nt met yet..Make sure the stranger and yourself gives him much praise after the necounter.Try taking him into an open area leashed when trining so he gets use to people being around and make him more comfortable..


• How are you conditioning him to like it? Just making sure he gets exposure (other people pet him) isn't sufficient, and may actually backfire. Other people petting him needs to be kept low key, he shouldn't be pressured or even coaxed into it, and all contacts or near-contacts should involve some great treats, or a play session if he likes that better than treats.
  
  Think of it this way- if you didn't like or were fearful of snakes, would being made (its not your choice!) to see or touch 2-3 snakes every day help you "get over it" or would you now dislike them just as much, or maybe even more? And maybe make you distrustful of whoever it was making you do that?
  
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