Why now????

[GSDOWNED]

Yurik is 7 months old and I think he's going through a fear stage. He's been well socialized since we brought him home at 8 weeks old. We started taking him to public places, Lowes, Tractor Supply..etc a few days after he finished his third series of vaccines. He's been in obedience training for the last 8 weeks. We haven't had class for two weeks because our trainer had a death in the family one week and pouring rains last week. Yesterday when I took him to class, he acted a little afraid of people. He was still friendly but apprehensive. He has an SV conformation show in 9 days and I wanted my trainer to stack him to make sure he'd stack and hold for a stranger because he will be with a handler instead of me. He did stack and hold but was shaking. I've never seen this out of him and now so close to the show, it has me worried.

Anyone have any advice?

[rumhelka]

I have a 7 months old female, who was very well socialized from an early age (with people and dogs), and she is going through a "fear stage" now. When she sees a person or a dog, she barks and backs off (her hackles are up). When I come close to the "fear object" and allow her to sniff, after a few seconds she will relax and will want to play. Is this normal for the age??? When she was 8 weeks old, she was not afraid of ANYTHING!!!

[N Smith]

GSDOWNED - so what age exactly did you start the exposure? Waiting until his vacs were complete would have set you back a couple months I would think? Only Obedience training for 8 weeks is such a short amount of time to expect anything from a young dog and will only somewhat help with exposure.

It could be a fear stage - or it could be bad nerves - how quickly has he been recovering and what have you been doing in response to his fearful moments (ie, talking, petting, ignoring etc)

[Lilie]

Be very careful that you aren't transmitting nervous vibes to your pup. Although he might be going through a bout of 'fear stage', some of it can be coming from you as well. You might be getting a little anxious regarding the upcoming show. You might feel as though you aren't ready because of the missing two weeks of training, etc. Those butterflies might me running amuck!

I have nothing to base this on, but I feel that part of the timing of our pup's fear stage might have a direct result on the fact that we are beginning to recognize that our pups are no longer cute litte balls of fur. That an accidental nip can now cause a great deal of harm. So when our pups are approached by strangers we are a bit more watchful, we are a bit more nervous and our pups might pick up on this.

[rumhelka]

Amber was 8 weeks old when I started to socialize her (puppy classes, visits to Petco, parks, etc). I also have two other dogs (mix breeds) and a cat, so she is not alone in the house. I'm not nervous approaching other people, because she is not dangerous in any way. She barks out of fear, I think. Still, it is annoying because my other dogs are perfect and always know how to behave, even when other dogs bark at them. Now, I'm one of those people who seem not to be able to control their dogs!!! What a shame! We will resume obedience classes soon, after Amber recuperates from being spayed and I hope that her behaviour will improve.

[koda00]

My two both went thru it. Ryker was about 5-6 mths, Zorro closer to 8-9 mths. My trainers have said its very common for GSD. They do grow of it. Both of mine have anyways. They are both still continuing with their training.

[GSDOWNED]

Originally Posted by N Smith

GSDOWNED - so what age exactly did you start the exposure? Waiting until his vacs were complete would have set you back a couple months I would think? Only Obedience training for 8 weeks is such a short amount of time to expect anything from a young dog and will only somewhat help with exposure.

It could be a fear stage - or it could be bad nerves - how quickly has he been recovering and what have you been doing in response to his fearful moments (ie, talking, petting, ignoring etc)

We started exposure in safer places as soon as we brought him home. (neighbor's houses, my chiropractor's office, and relatives and friend's homes) We started exposure to more public areas after his 12 week vaccines eg..Lowes, pet stores. etc..) He's also been going to our area's public park since that age too.

He recovers quite quickly. When he did this, I ignored it. I don't reinforce bad behavior with petting or baby talk because I know that's a bad thing.

I did take him to Lowes today and he was quite excited to get inside the store. He acted a little shy when the first person approached him but didn't move away. He just laid his ears back, lowered his head, and wagged his tail. After the initial meeting with her, he rolled over on his back for belly rubs and gave her kisses.

[BlackPuppy]

I wish our Lowes allowed dogs. At least you have some good places to bring him.

[GSDOWNED]

Originally Posted by Lilie

Be very careful that you aren't transmitting nervous vibes to your pup. Although he might be going through a bout of 'fear stage', some of it can be coming from you as well. You might be getting a little anxious regarding the upcoming show. You might feel as though you aren't ready because of the missing two weeks of training, etc. Those butterflies might me running amuck!

I have nothing to base this on, but I feel that part of the timing of our pup's fear stage might have a direct result on the fact that we are beginning to recognize that our pups are no longer cute litte balls of fur. That an accidental nip can now cause a great deal of harm. So when our pups are approached by strangers we are a bit more watchful, we are a bit more nervous and our pups might pick up on this.

Great advice Lillie! I am nervous about the upcoming show. I've never been in the showring before, never been to an SV show and since Yurik is going to be with a handler, I'm worried how he will do. You're probably right.

When strangers come to our house, Yurik is always super friendly. It's like he doesn't know a stranger. Both of my dogs are like this. They love it when new people come over. They do bark and alert when someone pulls into the driveway but once they're inside, tails are wagging and they're ready to pass out kisses.

[GSDOWNED]

Originally Posted by BlackPuppy

I wish our Lowes allowed dogs. At least you have some good places to bring him.

Have you called Lowes and spoken to a manager? When I first started taking Mia there, we called. At first they were unsure but when we explained what we were trying to achieve, they were happy to let us come and after our first visit, they told us to come back anytime. Now it's caught on in our area and you see lots of dogs there. The employees always tell me, they love seeing owners come in with their dogs.