Mark,

Puppies have two fear imprint periods in their development. I can't remember at what ages (measured in weeks) that they happen but 12 weeks sounds about right. Basically all you really have to do is repeat what you did in the first imprint stage. It doesn't have to be too complicated but you do have to be careful not to reward the flight response where the dog gives in to their fear and tries to run away from it. It sounds likeyou are doing this and keeping it in mind as you go along, so thumbs to you.

The ladies gave you some good points but I would just add to them that you do not want to overwhelm your dog. If you push your pup too far then you may cause more harm than good. It would be comparable to pushing someone afraid of heights out an airplane; it might work but if it doesn't then there may be an unrepairable emotional trauma to overcome instead of getting the desired result.

I (and I say "I" as not to give the impression that this is the "end all be all" piece of advise. )would just leave the front door open, have treats (toys, whatever-just something to reward with) in your pocket and sit on the porch with a cup of joe and watch the world go by. If you being outside of the house isn't enough to entice (not coax) your dog out then paly with the toys or some grass, a bug whatever, just make being outside more interesting than not being outside. When the dog voluntarily comes out to see what you are doing and to interact with you do not make a big deal out of it, just include him in your activity for a few minutes. Then click the leash on and walk away. A few steps down the road your dog will be like "bing" how did I get out here? Next thing you know after two or three repeats of this.. no more fear of going outside.

The main thing is that this is not abnormal for your dog to "all of a sudden" be afraid of things he was formerly OK with for no apparent reason. But just keep things easy for him and be careful not to make things "scarier" than they actually are (to him) and/or inadvertantly reward the fear.

The only thing I would add to Bradley's excellent suggestions is to have the dog on a long line while he's inside, with you outside holding the end, in case he decides to come out and bolt. You could put a couple of favorite treats on the porch in his view to further entice him while you sit out there.

A side note: I don't think picking him up past the doorway is a good way for him to get over his fear - it may be reinforcing it in his mind. If you absolutely have to get out the door with him for puppy class, Connie's suggestion sounds perfect. But do practice what Bradley said as well. You can also just linger out on the front porch with your pup after he finally comes out. Show him how much fun it is on the porch near the door.

How does he react when someone comes to the door? Maybe something happened out there one day when you weren't home. You might want to test his reaction to someone coming to the door.

That's the whole point - nothing has happened while i was out, that is why it is so hard to understand it, i know she has not been scared by anything. She loves being in the park & walking outside, when i put her lead on she runs toward the door all excited then backs off.

She is just as excited when people come round & shows no fear at all.

All good suggestions but maybe not as practical as you imagine because i live in a shared house so i can't leave the street door open. I also can't spend ages trying to coax her out of the door when she wont budge because we have puppy classes at specific times - we need to leave on time.

My puppy loves travelling on trains, meeting people, going in cars, to the market, and shops, park etc, NOTHING scares her - her development is normal in every way and she is fine with everything but just going out the street door is an issue - i can't sit by the door because all she does is run up the stairs and fight to get back in my apartment - that's why it is so hard to deal with, she will not go within 10 yards of the street door!

So you see i have no choice - i have to carry her to get out of the door, otherwise she will spend the rest of her life indoors. I just don't know where i am going wrong.

Mark.

 Quote: bradley t. martin

Mark,

Puppies have two fear imprint periods in their development. I can't remember at what ages (measured in weeks) that they happen but 12 weeks sounds about right. Basically all you really have to do is repeat what you did in the first imprint stage. It doesn't have to be too complicated but you do have to be careful not to reward the flight response where the dog gives in to their fear and tries to run away from it. It sounds likeyou are doing this and keeping it in mind as you go along, so thumbs to you.

The ladies gave you some good points but I would just add to them that you do not want to overwhelm your dog. If you push your pup too far then you may cause more harm than good. It would be comparable to pushing someone afraid of heights out an airplane; it might work but if it doesn't then there may be an unrepairable emotional trauma to overcome instead of getting the desired result.

I (and I say "I" as not to give the impression that this is the "end all be all" piece of advise. )would just leave the front door open, have treats (toys, whatever-just something to reward with) in your pocket and sit on the porch with a cup of joe and watch the world go by. If you being outside of the house isn't enough to entice (not coax) your dog out then paly with the toys or some grass, a bug whatever, just make being outside more interesting than not being outside. When the dog voluntarily comes out to see what you are doing and to interact with you do not make a big deal out of it, just include him in your activity for a few minutes. Then click the leash on and walk away. A few steps down the road your dog will be like "bing" how did I get out here? Next thing you know after two or three repeats of this.. no more fear of going outside.

The main thing is that this is not abnormal for your dog to "all of a sudden" be afraid of things he was formerly OK with for no apparent reason. But just keep things easy for him and be careful not to make things "scarier" than they actually are (to him) and/or inadvertantly reward the fear.

Bradley,

Can you please elaborate on the part i have highlighted? Do you mean like going back to the very first time i ever took her out? The first time i ever took her out she was dragging ME down the street because she was so keen to get out the door and explore. That's why it is so hard to work out because she was going out the door fine until a week ago - this really came from nowhere without any explanation.

Mark.

Hi Mark

I have a fearful rescue dog, he's quite a bit older than your puppy but here's what worked for me.

You put the dog's leash on and she gets all excited to go for a walk. You put on your shoes and open the door. The dog goes into "fear" mode and backs up. You say, "well, if you don't want to come with, that is fine, you stay home." THEN you walk out of the house like you are going for a walk by yourself (close the door, leaving the dog inside) and walk just far enough so she can't see you anymore and wait a few seconds.

More than likely if she is anything like my dog, she will start to worry that you left without her.

So you come back and give her a second chance. Open the door, go in the house, say "so do you want to come now?" she gets all excited. Open the door and walk out. She doesn't want to come? fine, go by yourself again.

Repeat this process and eventually she will realise that she dislikes being left behind more than she dislikes going out the door.

When she does come, say "good girl, let's go" calmly and don't act like she did anything unusual. Just do your walk.

You might have to do this 3 or 4 times in a row, but she will catch on that going out the door is no big deal.

If this doesn't work after say, a week, try using another door in your home such as the back or side door.

Keep us updated.

Mark,

Angela has a good idea here, give that a try. I was also going to suggest using a different door in the meantime, if that is possible. In a few more weeks try the front door again and see what happens. One of the key points Angela makes is to act like "it's no big deal" when the dog succeeds. I think this is a key component to helping a dog get over a fear in the imprint periods.

What I mean by the statement you highlighted is that you are on the right track by not rewarding fear and being very careful to pay attention to what is being rewarded. That a plastic bag blowing down the street is nothing to worry about so you ignore it etc. This is what I was getting at. I think you are on the right track in helping your dog develop properly to a human world but I do see where your concern comes from because it is.. well.. kind of weird really, for us to see these types of reactions all of a sudden when there was no problem before hand.

Another thing you can try (if you are marker training) is to present a tastey treat to your dog and say "let's go walk" (or something) and walk backwards through the door at the dog's pace. The dog's pace is as fast as they will follow the treat before fear overules food and they start to get anxious. Your dog should be more focused on getting the treat than fixated on the door (or other fearful object). When you get through the door you mark and release the treat. I use this one a lot in my classes when one class is finishing and another is starting. A lot of dog's either don't want to leave or don't want to walk past the other dogs. So a lure presented like this works very well. The only thing I suggest with a lure of any kind is to keep in mind that it is only a means to an end and should be eliminated from training as soon as possible. However, when working with a "fearful situation" food lures and prompts may be required for longer periods than molding behaviors like the sit.

Hi Bradley,

I think i understand what you mean. So would it be an idea for me to go back to when i first took her out for walks & maybe just let her play in the garden and not go out for a few days just to relax her - then slowly start to take her on walks all over again like the first days i did? Is this how you mean about going back to what i did before?

Maybe i expect too much from her, she is only 3 months old afterall. Maybe if i just give her a rest from socialization and keep her in the garden and the house for a few days then try walks again.

She is still keen, and she loves to see my neighbour - if he stands at the fence she runs to see him for some fuss, so i could ask people to walk by with a treat when i start to take her out again.

Mark.

Mark,

I wouldn't stop socializing her at this point; remember that you essentially don't want to draw attention (so to speak) to anything that the dog is "suddenly" afraid of, and after a few more weeks, this critical socialization period will be over, never to return again. So keep up the socializing. As far as nieghbors with treats go... that seems to kind of be a personal preference. What I mean by that is, some people do not like their dogs to accept food (or anything for that matter) from strangers. Myself, I do it because my dog is a bit suspicious of people she doesn't know so I try to boost her confidence in people this way.

Most of us tend to expect too much from our dogs, don't feel bad. I think it's because we, as a species, have no patience! Ha Ha... But seriously, the trick for me, when it comes to that, is to keep my training goals in mind without losing sight of what my dog's abilities are. I want to push my dog beyond her ability, that is how goals are reached, but I do not want to make things too hard too fast and overwhelm her. If I do then she may make a negative association to whatever it is that was happening when I pushed her beyond her capability.

So to recap a bit... if your dog can only handle playing in the garden for now then sure keep the training/socialization there, if your dog can handle more then add a bit more to your regime. But set the dog up to succeed! As a puppy everything in life should be positive! And if something is a bit too much for your dog to handle, that thing should be paired up with something positive. For example, dog thinks, "that door is scary" but if you pair up the thought of the door with a tastey treat then hopefully the dog will change its thinking to, "that door is scary..but..if I go through it then I can make a yummy treat appear for me!" Over a little bit of time the dog will begin to enjoy the door because you will have conditioned the dog to think "door = treat".

There has been a fair amount of info that has come at you over the past two days but the most important things to remember in puppy development are;
1.) Keep things positive
2.) Don't draw attention to fearful situations
3.) Set the dog up to succeed

If anyone else has any other major points to add I'd be all ears too!

 Quote: bradley t. martin

Mark,

I wouldn't stop socializing her at this point; remember that you essentially don't want to draw attention (so to speak) to anything that the dog is "suddenly" afraid of, and after a few more weeks, this critical socialization period will be over, never to return again. So keep up the socializing. As far as nieghbors with treats go... that seems to kind of be a personal preference. What I mean by that is, some people do not like their dogs to accept food (or anything for that matter) from strangers. Myself, I do it because my dog is a bit suspicious of people she doesn't know so I try to boost her confidence in people this way.

Most of us tend to expect too much from our dogs, don't feel bad. I think it's because we, as a species, have no patience! Ha Ha... But seriously, the trick for me, when it comes to that, is to keep my training goals in mind without losing sight of what my dog's abilities are. I want to push my dog beyond her ability, that is how goals are reached, but I do not want to make things too hard too fast and overwhelm her. If I do then she may make a negative association to whatever it is that was happening when I pushed her beyond her capability.

So to recap a bit... if your dog can only handle playing in the garden for now then sure keep the training/socialization there, if your dog can handle more then add a bit more to your regime. But set the dog up to succeed! As a puppy everything in life should be positive! And if something is a bit too much for your dog to handle, that thing should be paired up with something positive. For example, dog thinks, "that door is scary" but if you pair up the thought of the door with a tastey treat then hopefully the dog will change its thinking to, "that door is scary..but..if I go through it then I can make a yummy treat appear for me!" Over a little bit of time the dog will begin to enjoy the door because you will have conditioned the dog to think "door = treat".

There has been a fair amount of info that has come at you over the past two days but the most important things to remember in puppy development are;
1.) Keep things positive
2.) Don't draw attention to fearful situations
3.) Set the dog up to succeed

If anyone else has any other major points to add I'd be all ears too!

Thank you for persevering with me Bradley - you have loads of patience! LOL

I really think this last post of yours spells it out really clear for me, so now i can move on and keep socialising her sensibly. I did not take her out yet today but may either do so after dark when it is quieter, or allow her a day off and just let her have fun in the garden & then get back to normal in the morning, eitherway your advice & indeed that of the ladies has been very helpful to me - thank you all for your valued input. I really am most grateful.

I may come running for help again sometime soon!

Mark.