Why Does A Very Well Adjusted Dog

[KOE]

Why a well adjusted dog that loves everyone (human) is a bit male dog aggressive change from a happy tail wagging dog into a dog that appears to be scared of people to the point of going and hiding or peeing itself.

One minute happy the next a scardey pants and is 3 1/2.

Is well socialised with people taken out and about all the time, was never scared of loud noises. There have been no changes in living arrangements.

Any one have any ideas so this can be fixed before it gets worse.

[Aphra]

Why a well adjusted dog that loves everyone (human) is a bit male dog aggressive change from a happy tail wagging dog into a dog that appears to be scared of people to the point of going and hiding or peeing itself.

How old is the dog? Many dogs go through a kind of "fear period" in late puppyhood (six - 12 months), where a normally happy, well socialised dog will become shy and fearful. The advice I've heard is that its a phase that the dog will go through, and that the best course of action is to not over-face the dog at this stage or try and work through it, but try to avoid fearful situations until the dog itself is showing signs of being happier.

"Second Fear Imprint Period/Pre-puberty Sensitization Period ( 6 - 14 months )

This stage precedes puberty---and is marked by the appearance of fear in dogs that were previously not fearful (including well raised ones.) This stage is believed to be related a development of a cognitive (i.e. intellectual versus emotional) understanding of fear. Again dogs must be socialized and taught that there is nothing to fear with firm and understanding training. It is important not to "baby" the fearful dog as this simply reinforces that their fear is a reasonable response to the situation. It is imperative that the dog's environment be controlled at this stage to protect them from psychological trauma which could have a lifelong affect."

http://www.briardsbriards.com/oa_pup_behav.htm

Ooops. Teach me to read the OP more carefully. If illness/injury are ruled out then I'd wonder about trauma of some kind.

If it's not a puppy then I'd suspect someone has done something unpleasant to the dog at some stage, either hurt it or badly frightened it.

Edited September 5, 2007 by Aphra

[Vickie]

Have you done a vet check?

[poodlefan]

A neurological disorder or psychological trauma would be my guesses.

[Arya]

Sometimes this sort of problem can have a genetic origin. I know of certain lines in dogs where a lot of the dogs are like this. They perceive problems and 'see bogeymen' all of a sudden where there are none that you, I or any other dog would see. With time and patience this can be worked through but the key is gentle, slow, never lose patience, don't try to correct the behaviour in any way. Calm, gentle leadership. My experience of this is that it never seems to go away totally but you can control it to a degree by constant exposure to a lot of different environments and rewarding hugely for calm behaviours will lessen the problem and with time, cover it up. I'm not saying this is the problem with your dog but it is something to bear in mind. Plus, 3 1/2 is not very old for a larger dog. May just be going through that 'fear period' later.

[KOE]

There is no medical problem.

[Staranais]

Does that mean that you took the dog in for a vet check for possible causes of the behaviour change?

If medical issues have been totally ruled out, then I'm wondering if there is any chance your dog had a bad experience when you weren't around? Getting bailed up by another dog, having kids throw rocks at him over your backyard fence, someone yelling at or kicking the dog when it was tied up somewhere, etc. Any bad experience like that could explain his new fearful attitude around strange people.

Also, I was wondering whether you know if the parents or siblings of the dog showed similar behaviour when they were that age - have you asked the breeder if they have seen this problem before in their dogs?

My advice though is to see a good behaviourist, best to get help to nip this in the bud before it becomes a serious issue.

Edited September 7, 2007 by Amhailte

[stormie]

This is a really common behaviour that is seen by pets that have encountered an intruder of the BAD kind. Is there any way that someone has come into your yard/house while you weren't there?

[BaaabyFlynn]

is there anyone else involved with this dogs life in a negative manner?

[persephone]

No medical problem....

maybe something hard to detect? Like a change in vision or hearing capability?

If all this is well checked out, then I too would suggest that there has been some sort of encounter with someone which has affected the dog.

[KOE]

There is no way anyone would be game to come in here they would have to climb a 6 foot fence for a start and would get a bit chewed up, Kim would make sure of that .

I did hear the teenager next door today and Oliver came bolting for the house, but he would not be game to come in here as they are all petrified of Kim who is very protective of her premises as is the mutt. Outside of here they love anyone and anything just not here.

But there are no foriegn objects in the yard either.

I took him out and about and he is fine not scared of anything so beats me.