protective or fear??

[Castlemaid]

LoveEcho - yes, the fear reactions during the fear stages are common, and part and parcel of a pup's social/psychological development. The times that they hit are approximate, and can vary from pup to pup. For example, Gryffon is from slow-maturing lines, and he hit a fear stage at six months, and another one at 12 months.

People sometimes post funny stories, like for example, about how their pup suddenly one day noticed a briefcase sitting by the door (said briefcase would have been there in the past, but puppy would have ignored it), and going ballistic over it. So the owner would laugh, and pick up the briefcase, and play with it, to show the pup that it was harmless, and invite the pup to come up and sniff the briefcase, and they would get treats for approaching and sniffing calmly. Then fifty people would post: LOL, Funny! because it is such common weird puppy behavior, and just about everyone can relate. One day something is perfectly okay, the next, it's a puppy-eating monster.

At sixteen months, Echo could be starting to protective, but the way you describe his temperament, his reactions are much more likely to be fear based than protective for now. And so far you seem to have handled everything the right way - so keep up the good work, and Echo will benefit much from your calm, confident handling.

[carmspack]

fear -
fear period -- the higher the threshold the more you will have reduced to zero "fear periods" . At most you may have a heightened sense of awareness , but what you will be missing is the reaction . Dog is watching and computing , but does not feel it is threatened, does not feel it has to take action, whether pre-emptive strike or avoidance.

this is my experience.
I look to chosing those dogs for breeding (from my program) which show minimal to no "fear period" . That is why when I introduce new genetic material via a female I hold on to as many of the pups as I can and personally raise them to young adult hood. Pups which have left and are in the hands of others are closely followed .

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

LoveEcho - yes, the fear reactions during the fear stages are common, and part and parcel of a pup's social/psychological development. The times that they hit are approximate, and can vary from pup to pup. For example, Gryffon is from slow-maturing lines, and he hit a fear stage at six months, and another one at 12 months.

At sixteen months, Echo could be starting to protective, but the way you describe his temperament, his reactions are much more likely to be fear based than protective for now. And so far you seem to have handled everything the right way - so keep up the good work, and Echo will benefit much from your calm, confident handling.

He's getting much, MUCH better...he struts around like James Dean now He'll occasionally still freak at sudden noises (I think this stems from an incident with my DH felling a tree), but overall his nerves are much better. He's definitely starting to be protective, which I think he surprises himself with... he'll let out a grumble and a good manly "woof" when someone comes to the house, then he looks around like "who did that??"... then he goes back to sleep...

Do you have any tips for general confidence building exercises?

[codmaster]

Just as an aside, aren't hackles up sometimes a sign of dog excitement not just fear?

And/or wouldn't most dogs also show hackles up when exhibiting true aggressiveness and not just fear?

My pooch will sometimes hackle up in the house or in the enclosed back yard when he hears a strange noise and goes running towards it barking. I don't see any fear in that instance.

[LoveEcho]

Originally Posted by codmaster

Just as an aside, aren't hackles up sometimes a sign of dog excitement not just fear?

And/or wouldn't most dogs also show hackles up when exhibiting true aggressiveness and not just fear?

My pooch will sometimes hackle up in the house or in the enclosed back yard when he hears a strange noise and goes running towards it barking. I don't see any fear in that instance.

Echo does it when he's running around like a fool outside, even when he's alone.

[doggiedad]

work with your dog around cyclist, skate boarders, juggers,
people walking, babies, old people, young people, horses,
other dogs, cats, busy streets, malls, etc. work with your dog
in all sorts of places. the more exposure the better.
work with your daily.