My dog is scared of random things... including children

[96Firebird]

Harley is a GSD/Akita mix, almost 2 years old now. We've had him since 8 weeks old, so my girlfriend and I must have gone wrong somewhere. We are both in our early 20's, and we don't know anyone with young children for Harley to get acquainted to. For some reason, he is afraid of young children. We were in a store today getting him new food, and a young girl came running over to him to pet him. Her mother was chasing behind, holding another young girl, telling the first one to leave Harley alone. Harley put his tails between his legs and ran behind me, trying to get away. I tried to make him sit, but he wasn't having it. The girl finally gave up after I said he was scared, and she went on to find another dog to greet. What can I do about this, or is it too late? He is also afraid of other random things, such as shovels, flashlights, or anything that points at him. Not sure why.

The only thing I can think of is that we got him from a not-so-good place. When we went to go see him, the owners had two young children. They let Harley out to greet us, etc, and the one kid (probably no older than 5) grabbed him by the neck and tried carrying him around like that. My girlfriend and I figured we were saving him from that house, but next time are going to go with a breeder instead. Could the memory of his first 8 weeks in life have any effect on the way he acts now, or is that unlikely? I want him to be a friendly dog, but he is very independent as it is. Any ideas, tips? Thanks.

[msvette2u]

If you do want him to not be afraid of strange things and people (like kids) you have to control the situation.
Kids running in a store can scare many dogs, they don't know what to expect.

He's not had bad experiences as much as no experiences.

[Twyla]

Yes, things that happen to our dogs early in life can affect them. I'm dealing with that with Woolf now.

Those that know a lot more can give you more specific info on issues with kids. What I can add is locate a behaviorist, you want one very familiar with GSD and large breeds. Don't accept their word they can help, contact current and previous clients and talk with them. You have to be comfortable with them as well, because they will train you to help your dog also.

[Good_Karma]

Some dogs are just less confident, and it sounds like Harley may be one of those dogs, especially if you made an effort to socialize him when he was a puppy. I don't think you can blame all of his fearfulness on his life prior to 8 weeks old since at least five of those weeks he was really not that aware of his surroundings.

For now, I would not press him to meet children. His fear reaction is a safe one, for now. You don't want him to decide that instead of hiding behind you he has to bark or lunge to make the scary kids go away. Will he take treats at all when in the presence of children, or is he too stressed out?

In general, anything you can do to help boost his confidence level will carry over into other aspects of his life. So try an agility class, or nose work, or something else he might enjoy. This is what we did with our underconfident GSD, and it helped him to be less reactive in other situations.

[Castlemaid]

I don't think you guys 'went wrong' anywhere. You probably have a fearful dog who was born genetically inclined to be fearful. You can work on this and get him more comfortable around children and odd objects, but it will probably never really go away.

If he was solid and of a confident temperament, he would have been able to overcome the rough handling he had as a pup.

The best thing to do now is to accept that this is the way he is, not worry about what you did or did not do (because I don't think it had anything to do with how you raised him), and start building his confidence. Manage his environment so he is not overwhelmed and put into scary situations, and go slow and gradual at exposing him to some of his fears from a safe distance, and working on positive associations.

For example, he sees kids at a distance, far enough that he does not react in fear, and he gets rewarded with treats and lavished with praise, and he gets to play with a favorite toy. Then over time, very gradually, you get in closer, and he gets rewarded for being calm and not reacting. If he starts to act scared, you are moving too fast, so back up to where he was comfortable, and stay there for a bit before moving forward.

When I say to take it gradually, I mean days, weeks, months. Don't push him, take your time.

[SouthernNdN]

I wonder if it wasn't so much the size of the person as it was the noises coming from that little person. Most times, kids running towards any animal while excited tend to scream an make noises that could scare even the most sane animals. I would try to figure out what exactly it was that scared him and work on that. If it was the screaming I would try working on some sound sensitivity training.

If there are parks around or a school, I would try walking the dog across the street during recess times. Maybe start a street or two over and gradually work your way to the sidewalk by the playing area, all the while keeping the dog moving. I've always had a better, easier outcome desensitizing my dog while keeping her moving, not allowing her to allow her fear to overcome her. Remaining calm, yet stern, will allow your dog to understand your in control of the situation, therefore there is no need for them to "wig" out. And as stated above, it could take hours, days, weeks, months...make sure that when and what you start with you stick with.

Be glad your dog fears something of the same size, my dog had a huge freak out over a small bird that flew by her in the yard! Now that was something I had to work on.

[KentuckyGSDLover]

I'm getting a crash course in fearful dogs right now myself and it's a whole new learning curve. I also agree it's more genetic or their basic personality more than anything. It completely changes how you deal with the dog, too.