Well we've stayed behind for the extra class for another two weeks and things haven't got any better. I tried Mary's suggestion of walking out after the first class, then going back in again. It seemed to work initially, she went upto the big dogs to say hello..... until she encountered a certain GSD then she went to pieces again and never really recovered.
Last night she was the same although she seemed fearful of all the dogs again. Maybe she has got into a habit now, remembers the fear from the first time and just slips back into it :?: We were doing "down stays" which she is really good in the first class but in the second class she breaks off all the time and heads for the exit, tail between her legs.
The trainer thought it could just be a temporary fear stage but also suggested she could be becoming over reliant on Jimmy. She does follow him around a lot in the park but is also very independent when approaching other dogs, of all sizes. I kind of discounted this theory but last night when we got home from training she started following Jimmy around the flat everywhere, lying down next to him. If he got up and moved somewhere else she was like his little shadow ..... she was never further than about 3 feet from him for about 2 or 3 hours. :?
I really can't understand it. When I got her my main worry was that her and Jimmy wouldn't get on, so it seems a bit silly to now be getting concerned that they are becoming too close. :roll: Misty does get walked a couple of times a day on her own without any problems although she is all over Jimmy as soon as they are reunited. To be honest Jimmy is the same, last night after over 2 hours on his own he spent about 10 mins playing with Misty before he acknowledged the fact that I'd returned home too.
Am I reading too much into all this or is there something I should be doing now for their long term benefit ? Not having owned more than one dog before I don't really understand how the dynamics of their relationship is supposed to operate.