"Fear Stage"?

TashaBurr · 08-05-2011, 08:29 AM

Hello everyone!

So Phoenix is about 4.5 months old now. She had started puppy training at 10 weeks old but she seemed really bored in her class and by the time she was 13 weeks we transferred to an Intermediate class instead. At 19 weeks she graduated the class and i was told she was the youngest dog to ever pass. She has always seemed like an easy pup to train even when she was six weeks she was already getting down "sit", "shake", and other little commands.

I have socialized her a LOT. She loved coming to classes and had mo issues with the dogs in her class. Matter of fact she never even seemed interested in them. Even in her puppy class she seemed more focused on her tasks then interacting with the other dogs. Now that she's older she goes to day camp when I work long days and I take her to our local dog park and she loves both having no issues in either off leash environment.

I do have two concerns though...At night she barks at EVERYONE while on walks. I'm 100% sure it's out of fear and not "protectiveness". Now this wasn't the case until just recently within the last three weeks. She has never been starled or has ever had any issues at night before but she started barking at any person that walks by us at night. She seems calm if they are across yhr street but if they are within five to ten feet she goes nuts. I typically take her off the side walk and have her sit and watch me then reward her for focusing on me instead of the person going by. It works if I can catch it early enough but if the person is staring or watching her she ignores the food or toy I may have. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get her back on track and I am completly calm the entire time. During the day time she does not have this issue while on walks. It's very rare during the day.

She does however react to dogs while on the leash the same way whether it is day time or night. Even if it is the same dog she has seen from the dog park or on a walk previously. Her back hair stands up and she begins to bark at them from a distance. She eventually settles down but if we get too close she is quiet and seems fine then literally tries to bite/snap at the dog. It doesn't matter if it is an adult/puppy, big/small of calm/hyper. This is frustrating to me because she doesn't get to interact with many dogs while on leash because of this behavior and it tends to detour people away from us. Now if we've seen the dog enough then it's only a few barks, one snap or so then she's fine and wants to play. But if it's a dog she doesn't see much or hasn't seen before her behavior is much more different. I don't want her to hurt another dog and am trying to be careful. She has NEVER snapped at a person though and only seems to bark at them at night.

I was told she might be going through a "fear stage". How do I fix this on leash fear behavior? Off leash she doesn't have a care in the world.

I don't punish her when she does bark, I just try to distract her and reward her when she focuses on me. It doesn't seem to be working when there are other dogs around. We typically come across dogs while on leash at least four to five days out of the week while on walks, at the park or while in pet stores.

**MaggieRoseLee** · 08-05-2011, 08:46 AM

One thing that will be a huge help is purchase the DVD 'Calming Signals' by Turid Rugaas, it will help you be MUCH better at reading your dog so you will always be a step ahead to deal with issues like this. It takes away the 'my dog 'suddenly' did something. Cause turns out the dogs are throwing out signals left and right that we 'stupid' humans don't know, we only see the meltdown, not everything leading up to it.

It's typical that the leash adds to the problem cause they feel they can't 'escape' when the stress builds, to bark and snap to instead make the 'scary' stay away.

BTW, this look familiar???? If you add the clicker to your regime this 'game' is a huge help (click this for general clicker info ---> Intro to Clicker Training (perfect for puppies!) )

‪Surprise Party - Clicker Training: helping the reactive dog‬&rlm; - YouTube

TashaBurr · 08-05-2011, 01:26 PM

Thank you! I will look into the "Calming Signals" DVD. I was using a clicker before in classes and I think I'll start using it again along with the treats while on walks. Although the Youtube clip is very interesting I don't think I want my dog to eat food off tbd ground since we've done so well with teaching her not to pick up anything at all while on walks.

Freestep · 08-05-2011, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TashaBurr

I was told she might be going through a "fear stage". How do I fix this on leash fear behavior? Off leash she doesn't have a care in the world.

Many dogs behave differently when on leash; they seem to have more bravado. I am not sure whether it's "fight/flight" issue (as they know "flight" is not an option while on leash), or whether they feel more bravado because they know there is a human backing them up.

At 4.5 months, your pup is starting to recognize things that *could* be a threat, and her immature brain has no idea how to handle the sense data coming in. The fact that she behaves well off-leash is a good sign. Keep socializing, keep redirecting her toward you when she sees something to bark at, eventually she will learn what is and isn't a *real* threat. Be sure to protect her from any *real* threat. She should develop more confidence and security as she matures.

**MaggieRoseLee** · 08-06-2011, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TashaBurr

Thank you! I will look into the "Calming Signals" DVD. I was using a clicker before in classes and I think I'll start using it again along with the treats while on walks. Although the Youtube clip is very interesting I don't think I want my dog to eat food off tbd ground since we've done so well with teaching her not to pick up anything at all while on walks.

There's a difference between tossing a treat and giving PERMISSION to eat it off the ground...............and letting a dog wander and eat anything it finds.

One is TRAINING, one is not. If you are TRAINING and the treat on the ground is part of it, then the dogs learn the difference.

jennyp · 08-06-2011, 01:57 PM

I'm having this problem too! Brody is 7 months old now and has been acting jumpy for the past month or so. He sometimes barks at people during our walks and he jumps and barks at every noise outside. What should I be doing when he does this? I've been told not to talk in a soothing voice because this can validate the behavior. How long does the fear stage typically last?

08-05-2011, 08:29 AM	#1 (permalink)
TashaBurr New Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 17	"Fear Stage"? Hello everyone! So Phoenix is about 4.5 months old now. She had started puppy training at 10 weeks old but she seemed really bored in her class and by the time she was 13 weeks we transferred to an Intermediate class instead. At 19 weeks she graduated the class and i was told she was the youngest dog to ever pass. She has always seemed like an easy pup to train even when she was six weeks she was already getting down "sit", "shake", and other little commands. I have socialized her a LOT. She loved coming to classes and had mo issues with the dogs in her class. Matter of fact she never even seemed interested in them. Even in her puppy class she seemed more focused on her tasks then interacting with the other dogs. Now that she's older she goes to day camp when I work long days and I take her to our local dog park and she loves both having no issues in either off leash environment. I do have two concerns though...At night she barks at EVERYONE while on walks. I'm 100% sure it's out of fear and not "protectiveness". Now this wasn't the case until just recently within the last three weeks. She has never been starled or has ever had any issues at night before but she started barking at any person that walks by us at night. She seems calm if they are across yhr street but if they are within five to ten feet she goes nuts. I typically take her off the side walk and have her sit and watch me then reward her for focusing on me instead of the person going by. It works if I can catch it early enough but if the person is staring or watching her she ignores the food or toy I may have. Sometimes it takes a few tries to get her back on track and I am completly calm the entire time. During the day time she does not have this issue while on walks. It's very rare during the day. She does however react to dogs while on the leash the same way whether it is day time or night. Even if it is the same dog she has seen from the dog park or on a walk previously. Her back hair stands up and she begins to bark at them from a distance. She eventually settles down but if we get too close she is quiet and seems fine then literally tries to bite/snap at the dog. It doesn't matter if it is an adult/puppy, big/small of calm/hyper. This is frustrating to me because she doesn't get to interact with many dogs while on leash because of this behavior and it tends to detour people away from us. Now if we've seen the dog enough then it's only a few barks, one snap or so then she's fine and wants to play. But if it's a dog she doesn't see much or hasn't seen before her behavior is much more different. I don't want her to hurt another dog and am trying to be careful. She has NEVER snapped at a person though and only seems to bark at them at night. I was told she might be going through a "fear stage". How do I fix this on leash fear behavior? Off leash she doesn't have a care in the world. I don't punish her when she does bark, I just try to distract her and reward her when she focuses on me. It doesn't seem to be working when there are other dogs around. We typically come across dogs while on leash at least four to five days out of the week while on walks, at the park or while in pet stores.

08-05-2011, 01:26 PM	#3 (permalink)
TashaBurr New Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Southern Oregon Posts: 17	Thank you! I will look into the "Calming Signals" DVD. I was using a clicker before in classes and I think I'll start using it again along with the treats while on walks. Although the Youtube clip is very interesting I don't think I want my dog to eat food off tbd ground since we've done so well with teaching her not to pick up anything at all while on walks.

08-06-2011, 01:57 PM	#6 (permalink)
jennyp Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 191	I'm having this problem too! Brody is 7 months old now and has been acting jumpy for the past month or so. He sometimes barks at people during our walks and he jumps and barks at every noise outside. What should I be doing when he does this? I've been told not to talk in a soothing voice because this can validate the behavior. How long does the fear stage typically last?

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