I have just adopted a 10 month old German Shepherd from a local GSD Rescue Group. Let me start by stating I know nothing about his previous homes and experiences.The only thing I know about his past is that he chases cats and I am home No. 3. The first few days were fine, but now the dog has developed of fear of almost everything. I dropped a can in my garage and he tried to hide under the car. The back door squeaked when I opened it, now he is afraid to go out that door. I carried a waste paper basket to the garbage and when he saw me carrying the basket he hid under a table. There are many more similar examples but enough said. I have dealt with GSD’s with both people and dog aggressive tendencies, but never this fear stuff. I’m lost. He is neutered and super friendly with both people and other dogs. Has anyone had any experiences with this? Is this just a puppy stage he will grow out of? Could this be something physical? Is there something I can do to ease his fears? Thanks in advance.

There's a lot to be found here on this subject if you do the searching and a lot of reading. As to my own experience, I got an 18-mo-old female GSD from rescue about 5 mos. ago. No history other than she was found wandering loose. She was neutered a couple days before we got her.

She was very fearful of most things in the beginning. While out walking, I stepped on a manhole cover and that made her jump a couple feet and try and run off. When walking on the sidewalk, each passing car made her cower and pull away, especially ones coming up from behind us. She was afraid of krinkling plastic and paper, loud noises, etc. She was unpredictably aggressive toward most dogs and some people, but not others. You get the picture.

Always acting as her leader, I began to expose her to those same kinds of events, starting out with controlled, limited, non-threatening situations and gradually increasing to a point where they are now encountered at a normal frequency in every day living. About 95% of the fear is gone, but I know I have to continue with the positive reinforcement and leadership role to keep her moving forward. It's just an on-going process that has to be taken step by step.

You can PM me if you want some more specific examples of how I handled it.

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