Is fear behavior stage normal?

[Niya]

My 5 month old female gsd has a fear behavior but its not super bad she's actually getting better because I try to take her to dog parks almost everyday but you can tell she still has the issue. We are also currently taking a puppy obedience class. Is this normal? Will she grow out of it if I keep socializing her? Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

[cta]

beware of dog parks unless you know the dogs your dog is playing with. sure, many wonderful experiences can come from the dog park, however, things can also turn ugly very quickly. i used to bring my dog to the dog park and there have been a few times that i said to myself "wow i wish we didn't come here tonight." put your dog in situations that are set up for success and can build confidence. good luck.

[mysweetkaos]

I would include more details...what kind of fear behavior? Where/when is it happening?

[Anthony8858]

I'll try to sum up my experience with my 5 month old female.

About 6 weeks ago, my pup was literally mauled by an adult GSD. We were walking NEAR a dog park, and there was a loose GS, and he simply attacked my pup. At that time, she was a social butterfly. Immediately following the incident, it was obvious that my dog was afraid of larger dogs. The sight of them, would send her running for cover, with her tail between her legs. Since then, I've had to engage her with stable puppies and dogs, with lots of one on one playtime. She's now OK, but still leery.
I've since come across numerous GS puppies, and I can honestly say that it appears that GS puppies do have a tendency to be a little shy between the ages of 4-6 months. Especially in a dog park environment. I've throw her with a pack of dogs in a dog park, and she'll pretty much just lay at my feet.
If there's one or two dogs, she'll venture out, and try to romp.

Id suggest you be very careful if you're playing in dog parks. Since GSD's tend to be a bit timid as pups, older dogs may get a read on this as a weak, submissive dog, and may attempt to dominate.
Choose his playmates, and try to isolate some play time.
There are times, I may simply sit on a park bench, and let passerby's greet her as they pass.
Lots of people pass by and compliment, and I always ask if they would like to offer her a treat.

BTW.... Today, I was at the dog park as an observer. I would sit outside the fence, and let my pup watch and take it all in. During my 1 hour stay, I watch two pups get roughed up by older dogs. This happened because they entered the gated area with their dogs ON THE LEASH. I never would have known that a dog is more prone to attack, if he's leashed in a pack environment.
Little things like that could really mess up a puppy's confidence.

[MaggieRoseLee]

Alot of good info on the following sites:

Developmental Stages

Puppy Development

How To Train Your Dog: Puppy Development and the Second Fear Stage

Puppy Development Stages | Wonder Puppy

[Niya]

Originally Posted by mysweetkaos

I would include more details...what kind of fear behavior? Where/when is it happening?

Like if a dog tries to wrestle with her she would get scared and run away and if the dog keeps doing it she will start defending herself. With people, she would bark at them if they try to come to her but she doesn't bite or anything......yet. She's not really that bad but you will notice her fear issue.

[Niya]

Originally Posted by Anthony8858

I'll try to sum up my experience with my 5 month old female.

About 6 weeks ago, my pup was literally mauled by an adult GSD. We were walking NEAR a dog park, and there was a loose GS, and he simply attacked my pup. At that time, she was a social butterfly. Immediately following the incident, it was obvious that my dog was afraid of larger dogs. The sight of them, would send her running for cover, with her tail between her legs. Since then, I've had to engage her with stable puppies and dogs, with lots of one on one playtime. She's now OK, but still leery.
I've since come across numerous GS puppies, and I can honestly say that it appears that GS puppies do have a tendency to be a little shy between the ages of 4-6 months. Especially in a dog park environment. I've throw her with a pack of dogs in a dog park, and she'll pretty much just lay at my feet.
If there's one or two dogs, she'll venture out, and try to romp.

Id suggest you be very careful if you're playing in dog parks. Since GSD's tend to be a bit timid as pups, older dogs may get a read on this as a weak, submissive dog, and may attempt to dominate.
Choose his playmates, and try to isolate some play time.
There are times, I may simply sit on a park bench, and let passerby's greet her as they pass.
Lots of people pass by and compliment, and I always ask if they would like to offer her a treat.

BTW.... Today, I was at the dog park as an observer. I would sit outside the fence, and let my pup watch and take it all in. During my 1 hour stay, I watch two pups get roughed up by older dogs. This happened because they entered the gated area with their dogs ON THE LEASH. I never would have known that a dog is more prone to attack, if he's leashed in a pack environment.
Little things like that could really mess up a puppy's confidence.

Thank you so much! Niya is really good with dogs but she doesn't like it when a dog is too much for her, I guess you could say when they try to show domination. She gets along with dogs that have same personality as her (not the fear issue) she would actually initiate to play with them but 1 thing I noticed is that you know when a dog keeps barking maybe for attention or asking to play and stuff and they bark for a really long time, Niya gets upset/stressed and she would start biting them (this only happened twice) during our puppy obedience class this 1 puppy keeps barking like she wants the attention and Niya just got tired of it and starts barking too in a high pitch voice which tells that she's upset of the other dog and would correct her physically, at least thats what my trainer said. Now, she remembers the dog whenever we see that puppy every Saturday she would start barking at her.