There have been a couple of events in the last couple of weeks that have made me raise an eyebrow...

My 7 month old has recently been scared out of his wits on 3 separate occasions all within a couple weeks.

The first was during playtime in the yard. It was dark out and pretty late. Someone came out of a building across the street (this is a COMPLETELY normal thing- people go in and out of there all the time and he's never reacted) and Dom's hackles went up from neck to tail. This is someone that is no stranger either. The guy said something like "Hi Doggy!" as he was walking to his car and Dom totally freaked and ran away whilst barking his big-boy bark that I almost never hear. I was so shocked I didn't react. I just called him back to me, put him back on leash, and walked him around till his hackles went down.

The second time, he was out for a potty break late at night and a piece of ice cracked off the roof and fell. Same thing- bark, hackles, run!

And the third, I was sitting here browsing the forum. He was laying at my feet on his drag leash. I was alone in the house. I don't know what he heard but he was staring at the front door with the hackles up again, doing a low deep growl.... So I got up, checked it out, and let him look out the door. He growled for a bit longer then came back in with me and laid down... He had an eye on the door for the next hour or so.

This is brand new behavior for him. He has always been a very outgoing puppy in any situation. He has been around VERY loud noises, hectic situations, and has never showed any fear. I'm wondering if this is a developmental thing. Has anyone else gone through a fraidy-pants stage with their dog? I'm trying not to react that much because I don't want him to pick up on that and decide to ALWAYS be scared. On the other hand, I want him to know that I'm here to keep him safe.

Any thoughts??

Pups go thru multiple fear periods during thier development into maturity. This article describes this well. Just a part of puppyhood. Some pups experience isolated episodes of this others more often. Each pup is different. Dom is very cute.

The Critical Fear Periods in Puppies
By: Nancy Frensley, CPDT, CAP1
Berkeley-East Bay Humane Society Training Manager
The Critical Fear Periods in Puppies:
Seven to Nine Weeks
Four to Six Months
Approximately Eight to Nine Months
Approximately Twelve Months
Approximately Fourteen to Eighteen Months
During these periods, puppies may show fear of items, situations or people with whom they formerly felt safe. They may start barking at people entering a house or become fearful and startle at benign items like trash cans, drainpipes or even yard gnomes. They may crouch, shake and try to run away, submissively urinate or tell the scary thing/person to go away by showing an aggressive display (which could include piloerection, snarling, lunging or other unruly behavior.
You must be patient during these periods and keep to the familiar. These are not good times to introduce your puppy to new situations or people. Be very careful to avoid doling out punishment or reprimands. It’s vitally important that you understand that your dog is afraid and that you add to the fear when you reprimand or punish. This, in turn, can set the dog up for future aggression problems.
During these periods, introduce your puppy slowly to the situation, with good tasting treats, so that he or she does not experience fear. Control situations so that you can prevent a fearful response and show your puppy that you enjoy the situation. Use food treats and happy talk to lure your puppy up to scary objects. Teach the targeting exercise (touch your hand with his nose) and work on getting your puppy to “touch the goblin”.
When people visit your home during these periods, put your puppy in another room until visitors are settled in, then bring your puppy out on leash and praise for any show of confidence. Even have visitors toss good treats toward your puppy without approaching him or her.

Thanks for the compliment, Anne! I need to update his pic because he has recently put on a growth spurt and is in a very awkward stretched-out slinky phase!

I figured this was a phase. As far as my reaction to the situation, I should just ignore the feared event? I have been redirecting. Anytime he was startled, I recalled, put his leash on, and walked him around a bit. All of which he obeyed. I want to be careful that I don't react in the wrong way and lock in bad behavior forever!

 Quote: jessica pedicord

I figured this was a phase. As far as my reaction to the situation, I should just ignore the feared event? I have been redirecting. Anytime he was startled, I recalled, put his leash on, and walked him around a bit. All of which he obeyed.

As an added step, you could, as the article Anne pointed out instructed, actually "introduce" him to the source of fear (if you know what set him off, and IF you can guarantee that the source is in fact neutral and will not cause more anxiety - like a garden gnome or even a person that is willing to be still and let Dom give a quick sniff). The key is really to remain completely calm and get him to either relax through redirection, or relax through cheerful investigation of the unknown thing (if it is in fact not scary ).

Whenever my dog had these episodes as a pup, we made a point of thoroughly checking out the offending inanimate object, or looking around for the startling sound (if it was a sound I made, I'd make it again with him watching)... today, at 5 years old, Oscar feels confident enough to investigate unknown objects or sounds on his own (this time of year snowmen are the worst offenders ) and doesn't immediately have a flip out if he's not sure about something.

It sounds to me like you're doing just fine.

~Natalya

Yes, what Natalya has added. That's the way that I have handled it.

So funny.... While you guys were responding, we JUST went outside for a potty break and a plastic shopping bag blew across the road, triggering the growly-monster. So we marched over to the bag... Ears were pricked, head was bobbing, hackles looking dinosaur-like... He sniffed it twice, looking like he was ready to explode out of his skin if it so much as twitched. It was so hard for me not to laugh. But it seemed to go well. As we walked back to the house, he kept looking over his shoulder to make sure the big bad plastic bag wasn't going to get him. But he seemed to be ok with it.


I tell you, if a get one more sarcastic "There's your fearless guard dog!" from my husband.... LOL!

Anne, that article was extremely helpful and the tips you and Natalya gave are great. My dog seems to be in one of these stages now. She was called a cream puff just this weekend by my husband when she freaked out and wouldn't get in the back of the car because the seats were up (they are usually down, giving her more space). We had to lure her in so she could confront the seat backs of the SUV.

Don't they keep us on OUR toes!!

The plastic bag story made me laugh. Thanks!

My dog just went through this stage. We had run ins with things like a ribbon on a christmas wreath blowing in the wind, a woman wearing a winter coat with a pointy hood, and a statue at the park. They all elicited this exact response.

One of the worst "threats" was a guy wearing an athletic cut suit with exaggerated shoulder pads.

I can't blame your pup on that last one- if I saw a guy wearing shoulder pads in a jogging suit I would be running for the hills WITH the dog!