From reading other's posts on this topic, I know that some people don't believe that there really is a "fear period" in puppies. I have to say, I hope there is because then there's a chance my pup will grow out of it.

My (almost) 10 week old pup is not easily frightened by things like dropping pans, sudden noises, etc. He's not intimidated by our other dogs. He's been accidentally stepped on-- he yelped-- and then promptly acted like nothing happened. He seems like a hard dog, and he's from excellent working lines. At home, he's a bad ass!

So here's the weird part: I'm trying to socialize him. When I take him anywhere new, he whines constantly and will only look at me--seriously velcroed. He hates new places!! When we're walking (on the beach for example), he will be right at my side, and will occasionally nip my pants like he's trying to tell me he hates this and wants to go home. If I stop walking, he'll jump up on me which he never does any other time. It doesn't matter if we're around other people or not. He will not play or take treats in this situation.

He's just really, really afraid of new places. If you add in cars and lots of other people, he becomes really nervous and tucks his tail and tries to run back to the car. Once in the car (or if I hold him) he stops whining. Otherwise, it's constant.

So two questions:

1.) Does this behavior imply that he'll have weak nerves or is this just a puppy thing that he'll get over. Like I said, at home a firecracker could go off around him and he'd just act curious. Outside of the house just sitting in public freaks him out.

2.) How should I respond to his fear? My instinct is that I shouldn't pick him up or let him go back to the car because that's just reinforcing the behavior. I should keep taking him to these places right? I don't want to traumatize him, but I do want him used to things like crowds and cars.

*You should see people laughing at my "killer" german shepherd when he's a big whiney-baby-head! *

Thanks, all!

Amber, if you ask me there IS a fear imprint period; two of them actually. The second one seems to get a lot of people by surprise.

If your dog is traumatized (as you put it) by something during one of these developmental periods you will have a hell of a time helping the dog to overcome the anxiety toward the fearful object, environment, or situation, etc. That is why socializing at a young age is so important.

Working a dog through a fear, at any age, can be tricky unless you know exactly what the trigger is for the fear. What you need to do is keep control of as many factors as you can in these situations. For example, you know the dog will be worse when there are cars or strangers present in new places, so, try to introduce him to new areas when there these factors are minimal or better yet not even there. When the dog starts getting more comfortable you want to go when there are, say one or two people and no cars... later one person and one car for example.. and so on; until the dog feels comfortable in the new environment.

I would recommend taking the dog to these places, the beach for example, and not actually go down to the beach front. Just hang back far enough where the dog can observe but not be forced to interact with all the "traffic" buzzing around him. If you have been doing some basic obedience at home (very basic) do that at these places at a distance where the dog can be at least alittle bit comfortable. I know you said the dog is only 10 weeks but even now you should be working on conditioning a marker, and rewarding the dog whenever he does something you like. I.E. he's tired and goes and lays down in his bed (voluntarily-no cue) you mark that and give him a treat... that is the type of basic I mean.

You are correct taht you should not traumatize him, this will happen if the puppy is overwhelmed with fear. Try to get as close as you can to new places and set the dog up to succeed. And only one place at a time.

Bradley,

I don't want to overwhelm him, for sure! You said this was tricky if you don't know what's causing the fear, and that's kind of where I'm at.

At the beach there are NO people, NO cars and he acts just as worried as he does in a supermarket parking lot!!

Amber,

Try to narrow down what could be the exact trigger for this anxiety. Does the dog start to get stressed as soon as you leave the house, when you get in the car, when the car is shut off, etc? Really try to pick the thing or coulpe of things that set the dog off. But get this done in the next two days, three at most. Once you have done that try to essentially change the dog's opinion of these things/situations. Dogs learn through association, for example.. every time I (being the dog ) hear that clicking sound I get a treat and everytime I sit I hear that clicking sound, so... sitting gets me a treat!

Knowing that, try to do all your positive interaction in a new area where the dog is "relatively" comfortable; realatively being maybe a bit worse than just aware of the fearful scenarios but not petrified by them. Take him to the beach but hang back a bit, this is where all good things will now happen; play, petting, treats, whatever. The dog will begin to associate these new places with fun enjoyable things instead of being afraid. That is the theory anyway. Oh I should mention that these things (play, etc) should be withheld from the dog except for at these locations. What you are trying to accomplish is instead of the dog being afraid, you are working at changing his outlook and starting to want to go to new places because that is where "fun" happens. Over time he will begin to anticipate the fun and look forward to going to new places.

The other thing to try is to fast the dog a little bit before introducing to him to a new place. For example feed him a half ration in the morning or wait to feed him his meal until you get back. This way the dog will be hungry when he gets to the beach or parking lot and be more receptive to accepting food. A treat is no good if the dog doesn't want it, but if he is hungry he will be much more likely to want the treats you have to offer. Also, use treats that he doesn't often get at home. Let's say the dog gets dry cracker pieces at home well then (after being fasted for a bit) use hot dog pieces or cheese wiz at the beach. What you are trying to do here is take the dog's attention off of its anxiety and onto food. Once you are able to do that you will be able to work with the dog a bit, even if it's ever so slowly.

Thanks Bradley. We went to the beach today and he went longer before getting "worried." He was actually sniffing things. About ten minutes into it he started whining but normally it's an instant thing.

I have a theory, let me know what you think: Could it be that the more he bonds to and trusts me, the better he will be about this? He and I have been spending a lot of time together and everyday he seems more confident in proportion to the amount of affection he's giving me.

Either that or it's just too damn cold for him!


Assuming this is a fear period, how long does it usually last?

The first period's supposed to be 8-10 wks then the 2nd's around 4-6 mths. There's some info here:

http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/ansc442/Semprojs/workdogs/guard.html

Thanks Eva. So if you want the pup to avoid trauma during this period, does that mean that I have it backwards and I shouldn't be exposing him to new things? I thought that I should expose him to as much as possible! Confused!

Tries hard to do a time-warp to when our dogs were last pups...(I've also just had a glass of wine, so pardon my writing )

I always had the view that I was now the pup's mother. So, what would they do in the wild? Mum would always show pup what was safe & what wasn't. Mum was always with the pup or within eye-view. I tried to emulate that.

1. At that age (8-12 or 14 wks), on walks we always carried them in a bag slung over our shoulders. Pup would then get to see what's going on, while being safe next to us. Pup was let down where there were few or no people in order to explore the area. Pup would be picked up in about 5-10 mins to continue the walk. Always right there next to the pup while it was exploring & we'd point out things of interest to the pup. (I don't recall pup being on leash, as I think I didn't start that until 4-5 mths.)

2. If there was a fear reaction, like my sister's dog was scared of manhole covers, just stay in the general vicinity doing other things. Desesitization like Bradley recomended.

3. It just means to be extra-sensitive & aware of what could spook the puppy. You want pup to know everything's safe around you. If there's a fear reaction, pique the pup's curiosity & let it know that you as the pup's mom WON'T let anything scare it. A matter-of-fact attitude helps. I'd say things like, "ooh, what's this? Let's explore," in a happy upbeat voice. Go towards the object & handle/look at it then go back to the same spot where the dog exhibited the fear reaction & approach the object again. And repeat as often as the dog was unsure. You'd see it in their body language as a relief when they "got it." I'd then sit down & give them a big cuddle for being such a clever doggie to do this. I'd then pop pup back in the bag so as not to overwhelm it. It would be time to go back home then. It was a BIG learning experience that the pup just went through.

4. You want to push the pup's comfort boundaries, but slowly. Also, if pup could tolerate something for a max of 5 min's before becoming overwhelmed, the next day, the experience would be repeated for initially 2-3 min then try it for a few min's longer, so it's always within the pup's capabilities.

Does this make sense?

Current example: I got 2 cats fron the pound at the end of June. One didn't mind being picked up & cuddled. The other one hated it. He tolerated it for maybe 1 second. Training: placed my hands on the cat as if to pick him up, for 1/2 sec. Do a couple of times a day for 1 week. Gradually progress to picking up, initially pick up & put down. Now he'll let me pick him up & hold him for about 5 sec's.

Pardon the rambling & I hope that helps

Edit: For me, the fear periods make sense from a developmental view.
8-10 wks: leaving the den.
4-6 mths: learning to hunt with the pack.
Mind you, I could be talking right outta my arse here.

Eva, you're great! That all made sense, despite the wine there was no arse talking!

That's about what I was thinking too, so I'll just keep on doing what I was doing. Like I said, he does seem to be improving either because of age, exposure, trust in me or all three.

He's a great pup...such a bad ass at home. A 10 week old Shepherd pup bigger than our other adult dogs...yeah, he thinks he's all that and a bag of kibble!

I'm glad it made sense, I started my Christmas cheer early, heh, heh. Finals are nearly over & I don't have to go back to work until Tuesday.