-
Puppies 4mos to 18mos Can Move Through a “Fear Period” – What Can You See?
Have you ever dealth with a fearful adolescent dog who either did, or did not, outgrow their fears?
During our HoundTable Very Scary Things event, I shared a bit more about my 10mo old Australian Shepherd, Bliss, who is going through a phase of feeling spooked by things which seem “out of context” or different. Things that didn’t bother her suddenly do. We talked about her body language as well as the signs that I see which have me “not all that worried” about her fears.
1. She startles, but quickly recovers. ☑
2. She looks at me and at Joy (our adult Aussie) to check in, immediately.☑
3. She offers curious behavior toward the “scary thing”.☑
4. She is able to take treats and easily transitions to “thinking mode”, able to respond appropriately to cues. ☑
5. She doesn’t “escalate” any stress signals or remain afraid of the thing. ☑
6. The fears are NOT increasing in intensity, frequency or generalizing to other things. ☑
If any of those ???? were different, or if this persists beyond another few months, I might start being concerned.
Check out our video snip from our discussion, below, where we see Bliss get spooked by a property flag, and see how I help her in that moment.
Let’s continue the conversation together! What questions do you have, or what have you learned about adolescent fears?
3:44
-
2 Replies
-
When she approached, I noticed she appeared to look up at you. Comments were that her eyebrows were moved. I don’t know if it was the darkness around her face and eyes to see it clearly. However, she got the reassurance from you. I liked how she trusted you, when you presented the flag in your hand for a sniff. That was great! With your bonding and trusting relationship, I bet that was adding to her quick recovery and then a happy smile. Very good!
-
@denny THANK YOU! You are right; a great and trusting relationship is key to these situations and teaching a puppy to approach things that are spooky.
I never “throw spiders” on someone who is afraid of them – why would I ever force a puppy up to something that is scary!?
-
Log in to reply.