My dog has suddenly become fearful, he is so fearful now that just taking him out to go potty is a hassle. He tries to back out of his collar and run away. Do you have any suggestions?

Dear Cindy,

I have been reading your Q&As about fearful dogs but still need help! My dog suddenly became extremely fearful. I don't know if its a "fearful stage" but he is definitely going through something. (6 mo. old) He has become SO fearful that even walks to go potty are a hassle. He tries to back out of his collar or run away when he sees cars driving by, hears voices, hears a radio, sees a person far away, loud noises. I am trying to just ignore it and trying to reinforce confidence with the training he learned but it all goes out the window when he is madly trying to flee. What do i do!

Also I am not sure if a correction collar would be good right now. He pulls hard but pulls out of fear. Martingale collar? Harness? He pulls really bad!

Do I need to get him neutered right now? Would that help? I wanted to let him grow a bit but it's gonna happen one day anyway.

He is a Korean Jindo dog and they are known for being rather soft and are kind of wild.

Thank you!

Well his last vaccinations were several months ago. Could it still be effecting him? I mean, he was cautious before but it's turned into full blown fear very recently.

I wasn't sure if his fear could be caused by uneasiness from hormonal changes. I have been reluctant to take him to be neutered right now anyways, and I don't want the vet the be seared into his memory as bad forever!

Oh wow those videos gave me more insight on how to deal with this. I have been completely ignoring him and waiting until he calms down, making the mistake he mentioned about not wanting to reward the behavior but this changes everything! Never knew that rewarding the dog would distract him and reward him for being distracted. I really have been going about this the wrong way because I always heard "don't coddle the dog you're just rewarding the behavior" but the videos make much more sense. Damn well I guess it's not too late. Thank so so much for taking the time to point me in the right direction.

-Christine

Wow that is frightening. He really did change... Hm. healthcare isn't one size fit all for humans so I guess it's naive to think it's that way for animals. Ugh I feel terrible subjecting him to all these vaccines that aren't even necessary for where I live. I mean, I don't even get the flu shot myself. I knew they were just trying to pump pet full of medication when they tried to deworm my pets without even taking a stool sample but I figured they are professionals I can trust them... Jindos are a feral breed that have lived for generations running wild in Korea and this guy is sensitive to shitty dog food... hm I guess it's the same for vaccinations. Thank you so much. I can always count on you guys!