My 4 yr old female GSD has been scared of animals since she was a pup (got her at 8 wks old). The first time she met a gopher who faced her she ran away. I have a male GSD whom she grew up with and no issues with him.
2 yrs ago year we adopted a then 9 months old male Boxer whom she was afraid of for 2-3 weeks (hiding in the house from him). The Boxer was just playful and absolutely non-aggressive.

Everytime we meet other dogs she is very scared and does not go near them, even when they are little Dachshunds or Chihuahuas.

I have taken her to a dog park, but she does not like any other dog to run up to her. She gets scared, barks and snaps at them when they come too close.

Is there something I can do, like taking her to the dog park more often or anything else to make her loose her fears of animals?

She is NOT afraid of new people and is friendly and curious around them. It's just with animals. Thanks.

Jens, I do not recommend going to dog parks. Dog parks can be dangerous places with lots of uncontrolled/uncontrollable dogs running around that you have no idea what kind of history or training they've had.

Why does she need to play with other dogs if she gets along with your other dogs? I don't allow my dogs to play with strange dogs or animals. She could be feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated from having too many dogs around here at once, her reaction sounds very much like a fear aggression response of a dog that would much rather be left alone.

Has she ever been hurt or attacked by another dog, or when she was a pup before you got her? Was she isolated from other dogs very young/bottle fed etc?

 Quote: Jens Kruse

Is there something I can do, like taking her to the dog park more often or anything else to make her loose her fears of animals?

IMO, she should never be taken to a dog park.

I'd just march right on by when you encounter a dog on a walk, starting on the other side of the street (or however far away it takes for her to have no response) and gradually going past at less of a distance. Be her protector and leader. I also wouldn't make her meet-and-greet with strange dogs.

Is this bad enough to make walks, etc., impossible, or is it just anxiety when there are several dogs or one strange one who just gets too close?

i agree, don't take her to the dog park. your dog sounds a lot like luc, so while i'm not the most experienced person here, i can tell you what worked for us.

i adopted luc a year ago, and he was terrified of dogs....ALL dogs. picture at (then) 68lb GSD trying to run away from an elderly 4lb miniature poodle we met out on a walk.

i took him to the dog park every day for the first 2 weeks i had him - kept him on a long leash, but i figured, the only way for him to get over his fear of dogs was to see that they weren't scary, to suck it up, face his fear, and move on.

i was wrong. i didn't know enough about dogs. i stopped taking him to the dog park, b/c he so clearly hated it.

but it was only once someone said to me that i needed to step up and be the pack leader that luc started to improve. i stopped letting him meet strange dogs, and if a strange dog came near us, i got in between, and i dealt with the dog, not luc.

now, he no longer reacts in fear when we see strange dogs. sometimes he chooses to to keep me between him and the strange dog, however stays relaxed, but often he doesn't bother, b/c he knows if that dog comes up to us, i'm going to be there dealing with it. i wanted him to have dog companionship, so i adopted a confident female GSD, introduced them slowly, and they're fine.

I agree with everyone .. no dog parks!!!

I have a dog who is afraid of car rides, even though he has been on car rides almost daily for the past year and a half. His behaviour in the car has not improved one bit.

I mentioned this to my dog trainer and she gave me a good analogy. "Imagine if I was afraid of bees, and every single time I went outside I saw a bee. I wouldn't be too excited to go outside, and my fear wouldn't improve, but might get worse, because I knew if I went outside there would be a bee there."

Like everyone else said. "Distraction, not interaction", is what she needs. Have her do obedience commands in the presence of a (leashed) dog that is a good distance away. Give her praise and treats for her attention on you. Show her that YOU will protect her from other dogs.

Your goal here is to have her be relaxed, calm, and aloof with other animals, and able to focus on you. You should not expect her to be friendly and curious with other animals, ever, because in my opinion that would be unrealistic. that is not who she is.

Thanks all of you for the great advice! I have made peace with the fact and accept her fully the way she is.

I had expected of a GSD to protect *me* and not the other way around, so I had been a bit dissappointed with her behavior, especially since my male GSD is quite the opposite, not afraid of anything.

Is there a tendancy for female GSD to have weaker nerves and to have less courage than males? I am really curious about that.

I just have to appreciate her for her strengths like her amazing intelligence, agility and loving kindness.

When she was much younger she was also afraid of noises and objects like trash cans. I could desensitize her successfully in that area, so I expected to do the same thing with her fear of animals. I am giving that thought up now.


I must admit that I never liked going to the dog park and only went 2-3 times. It was not really the dogs there that made me uncomfortable, but some of those weird dog owners. I secretly wished someone would neuter *them* .

 Quote: Jens Kruse

I had expected of a GSD to protect *me* and not the other way around, so I had been a bit dissappointed with her behavior, especially since my male GSD is quite the opposite, not afraid of anything.

Is there a tendancy for female GSD to have weaker nerves and to have less courage than males? I am really curious about that.

You're the pack leader and protector.

And no, not that I've ever noticed. Maybe others will disagree.