Fear Period Has Arrived?!?!

[Guest RosieFT]

My dog is changing eek! A few weeks ago we had a massive thunderstorm that we got caught in on our walk, the lightning was super close and the thunder was right over head and really, really loud. Rosie got spooked and kept trying to hurry home, I didn't play into the scared of thunder scenario, and praised her when she relaxed a bit and took quickest route home.

I am now finding when I walk those roads she pulls, and scrambles and tries to get home (from this i have ascertained that she has certainly not pulled before!), and if I am walking away from home she lags behind and tries to stop and look back. Do I avoid this route? Keep walking it and ignore her behaviour - which is easy enough going away from home, but towards home she is manic.

On other roads she is now spooking at things she never bothered with before; dogs barking behind closed doors - she would try and go to them before, now the tail drops and she gets worried; People walking down theh road, again used to want to bound up to them, now she is uncertain. This morning she freaked because there was a car parked on the verge

On the walk to the park, she seems better, but still alarmed by loud noises eg. council mowing/whippersnippering etc.

The only thing she is not perturbed by is other dogs, which is how she has always been - will that be next?!?!?

She is 8.5months old, I am not sure if this is all due to this 'second fear period' or if it was brought on by walking in the thunderstorm?!?! We had a very mild thunderstorm the other night and my husband went outside to watch the lightening and Rosie went with him, and barked at the sky a couple of times - didn't run and hide but wasn't super confident.

thanks! :-)

[Kelpie_Pup]

In my experience, it could be both a fear period and the thunderstorm itself..

We, well I, made the mistake of comforting our puppy once when she was SCARED out of her mind the first time we started up the lawn mower in the yard.. it took alot more exposure to get her over it. Its very easy to do, and perhaps your comforting may have made her realise that indeed she did have something to worry about...

We didn't force her into it, but she eventually got over it. For a little while, we used to put the mower where we didn't want her to go in the yard.. it was enough to keep her away hehe.

You might just avoid the areas that are causing your puppy grief for a while.. I would continue to go walking, making it a pleasurable, happy experience Talking to neighbours, talking to your dog, but not comfirting as such... just bright, happy and casual. If you want to keep walking those roads, just use the tug and release awith her leash and tell her to "stop it!". She needs to know you're in control and that she has nothing to worry about by walking on that road..if you let her behave differently, she will think her fear is being given the ok by you.

Hope that helps.. keep us updated

[charli73]

My dog had them at 6 months then 12-13 months...

Just show as much leadership as you can during this time, maybe limiting the time outside until it passes. My girl was suprised by a small fluffy dog off lead run upto her in the dark and the effects lasted months....

Remember never to praise/reassure when they are showing fear, Id just continue on as normal...

Good luck

Edited November 26, 2008 by charli73

[WalandLibby]

When a dog has had a scary experience, it's often better to avoid doing anything that might seem to predict another such experience for them for a while, if you can. Then, when they again are faced with the things that led up to that frightening thing, in a sense (and as much as possible) it makes those things new again, and reduces as much as possible the degree to which they predict the frightening experience. The idea that they should be encouraged to 'get back on the horse' as soon as possible is something of a myth, and more likely to cause their fear to have a long term effect on their behaviour.

But other things, such as driving her to the park, playing with her tennis ball, having the chance to play with other dogs will allow her to continue to develop socially and have good experiences in the world outside your house during this time. Because obviously it wouldn't be good for her to stop taking her out in the world.

When she freaks out, I wouldn't make her continue in the activity, if you can avoid it. But I would try to avoid letting her get to that point in the first place. With the car eg, I would let her stop and look, if that was what she wanted to do. This will require that you are paying attention to her body language, so that you notice her starting to worry about something before she completely puts the brakes on. I'd be talking pleasantly to her, letting her go at her own pace. In that case, she would probably check it out from a distance for a while, move towards it fairly slowly, and then, once she'd worked it out, be completely uninterested in it. She would also have had confirmed the extremely important message that you are supportive, reliable, and listen to her. This increases the chances that with experience she will realise that she does not need to react strongly to things she fears, because she knows you won't make her deal with situations that are beyond her ability to cope.

Edited November 25, 2008 by WalandLibby

[Guest RosieFT]

Thanks for the advice :-)

I have avoided those roads/paths lately and she seems fine. She is super confident and eager to go on her walks in other directions, so I think it must be the bad memory along that route.

I will try it again at a later date.