My 14 month old mixed breed dog is suddenly afraid of objects he's been exposed to in the past, advice would be appreciated!

I have a 14-month-old intact male mix breed dog who recently developed a fear of overhead objects like signs, statues, and awnings. All day to day things he been exposed to before. He’s well exercised with 2–3 off-leash walks daily, plays tug, is e-collar trained, and walks politely on leash.

This started after a desensitizing session outside the dog park. He’s very social and excitable (no aggression), and I was applying negative pressure with a slip lead when I saw signs of arousal. Two dominant pit bull mixes ran the fence line, which stressed him out. I moved him away, had him sit, and a gust of wind kicked up debris into a nearby statue, which startled him. He backed away, tail tucked.

Since then, he’s been more anxious and reactive to overhead movement and noise. I’m worried I applied too much pressure and created this fear—or was it just bad timing and too much too fast?

Any thoughts or advice would be really appreciated. Thank you!

Cindy's Answer

It might have been bad timing but I can tell you from experience young intact males often go through goofy stages as they are maturing. They can behave in strange ways, nervous about things they ignored before or act forward and even a little reactive/aggressive to things that they previously showed no reaction to.

I wouldn't focus on this new fearful behavior, but just keep working him while making mental note of any new nervousness or uncertainty. I would avoid uncontrolled environments like dog parks for the time beging (even though you're outside the fence)