Help! My Pup Is Scared Alll Of A Sudden

[Flaves]

We had a bob cat in yesterday to level our backyard, my husband was home and my pup was with him most of the time, but she is now petrified.

She hangs her head and tail and shakes.

I took her to her final puppy playgroup, which she passed, and she was fine until near the end when she started to shake and fret.

When we got home and i tried to give her her dinner. SHe sits and waits for her cue, and normally the little pigdog scoffs her food but she went into her bed and shook. She wouldn't even eat it this morning.

Please help me undo the damage. I feel so terrible she is like this. I think it was the bull dozer, she was inside with Glenn, or inside in her crate while he went and helped for a little while.

What can i do?

I had her sleep with me last night. I amtrying to ignore her shaking and sadness adn being upbeat so hopefully she will come around but what ele can i do?

[MrsD]

We had a bob cat in yesterday to level our backyard, my husband was home and my pup was with him most of the time, but she is now petrified.

She hangs her head and tail and shakes.

I took her to her final puppy playgroup, which she passed, and she was fine until near the end when she started to shake and fret.

When we got home and i tried to give her her dinner. SHe sits and waits for her cue, and normally the little pigdog scoffs her food but she went into her bed and shook. She wouldn't even eat it this morning.

Please help me undo the damage. I feel so terrible she is like this. I think it was the bull dozer, she was inside with Glenn, or inside in her crate while he went and helped for a little while.

What can i do?

I had her sleep with me last night. I amtrying to ignore her shaking and sadness adn being upbeat so hopefully she will come around but what ele can i do?

Kristie, are you sure shes not sick?

[Flaves]

No i am not sure.

She has a vet appointment tomorrow night for her 2nd needle, so i can get her checked out then. Glenn said to me after i posted this that she was scared yesterday whilst the dozer was there. So i have just put it down to that.

I am so worried. She has gone from this happy, playful energiser bunny to this meek little dot.

I love her to death and hope she is not ill. Will be sure to have the vet check her out. Thanks for that thought i had not even gone there.

[Mum 2 Bailey n Chelsea]

I'm sorry your pup is so scared!!!

Definatley get her checked out by a vet first, if everything is O.k then you are going to have to work at getting her confidence back again....

I went through something similar with Bailey, I was walking him when he was about 13 weeks old and a huge truck went past a struck a pot hole. Bailey would refuse to go for a walk for ages! I just had to build his confidence up again with little treats and toys to show him that walks really were fun!!

I know it is not quite the same but you will need to show her that everything is O.K, she should come out of it though......

Mel

[MrsD]

No i am not sure.

She has a vet appointment tomorrow night for her 2nd needle, so i can get her checked out then. Glenn said to me after i posted this that she was scared yesterday whilst the dozer was there. So i have just put it down to that.

I am so worried. She has gone from this happy, playful energiser bunny to this meek little dot.

I love her to death and hope she is not ill. Will be sure to have the vet check her out. Thanks for that thought i had not even gone there.

Hi Kristie, sorry, I didnt mean to upset you & I hope that Im completely wrong, it just sounds a bit strange if she's not eating either.

I hope that whatever the problem is that you get it sorted out soon .

[Flaves]

I hope she does.

I know you should not make a fuss of them as it can reward 'bad' behaviour but she needs snuggles from her mum. She was just so cute in bed last night. She lay next to me and did not move all night. I got up to go to the loo so i thought i would take her too otherwise she would have slept through. When i got up to have a shower she hopped in my spot and went back to sleep. Cheeky bugger!

[Flaves]

No i am not sure.

She has a vet appointment tomorrow night for her 2nd needle, so i can get her checked out then. Glenn said to me after i posted this that she was scared yesterday whilst the dozer was there. So i have just put it down to that.

I am so worried. She has gone from this happy, playful energiser bunny to this meek little dot.

I love her to death and hope she is not ill. Will be sure to have the vet check her out. Thanks for that thought i had not even gone there.

Hi Kristie, sorry, I didnt mean to upset you & I hope that Im completely wrong, it just sounds a bit strange if she's not eating either.

I hope that whatever the problem is that you get it sorted out soon .

You didn;t upset me, i just hadn't thought of that. She is still going to the loo properly just not eating and since she is a piggy, it is unlike her.

[Fit for a King]

Just my opinion but until they fully ascertain that she is not sick I would not let the vet give her her second shot - defer it for a week or so..if she is ill her immune system could be compromised and a shot may be detrimental.....but have the vet check her thoroughly for illness first....

[fido666]

Pups go through "fear periods", how old is she now? She may have been going through one which the bobcat aggrevated, they would be pretty scary things to a pup. I hope she isn't sick and that she gets over her fear soon.

Regards,

Corine

[Flaves]

Mitchi will be 12 weeks old on friday.

It is so horrible seeing her like this. She has not been scared of anything as yet and now this. The vet should hopefully be able to tell me if she is ill or not.

[Muttaburra]

We had a bob cat in yesterday to level our backyard,

Is that a JRT I see tucked away there in your avatar? Mitchie has just seen a noisy monster from outerspace come in and level her whole world, all the smells, the plants and everything familiar to her is gone! Your little dogs trust in the world has been shaken. JRT are earth dogs, very attached to the smells of the earth, and also extremely sensitive dogs (despite their playful and stoic exterior)

Now, assuming all goes well with the vet visit and there is not illness happening you could try this.

Put Mitchie on a lead and take her for a walk around your "new yard".

If you have a favourite game take her out there and play that game.

How about a nice new squeaky toy, give it to her out in the yard.

Give her a bone (chicken neck/wing) to eat out in the new yard.

Don't sook her too much when she is shaking, try to ignore that. Whenever she is quiet and calm give her a reassuring reward or pat. Because JRTs have such HUGE personalities, its easy to forget that they are really quite small dogs and they can feel vulnerable at times.

Carry on about your household routine as normal. Maybe get a kong and put some peanut butter in it and give that to him, he needs some distractions. In time he will forget the monster.

Edited June 20, 2006 by Abergavenny

[Flaves]

"Is that a JRT I see tucked away there in your avatar? Mitchie has just seen a noisy monster from outerspace come in and level her whole world, all the smells, the plants and everything familiar to her is gone! Your little dogs trust in the world has been shaken. JRT are earth dogs, very attached to the smells of the earth, and also extremely sensitive dogs (despite their playful and stoic exterior) " quote

She most definitely is a Jack!!

Little monster that she is. :p

Well, i got home last night all prepared to take her to the vet and she was... FINE!!!!!!!!!!!

Brat!

She was happy, had eaten and was her usual self. I am still taking her to the vet for her injection and a check up tonight but i could not believe that the little horror head was fine.

I was so worried all day at work i even left work early.

She was happy and playful last night, none of the behaviour from the morning or previous night. So we played outside adn she sniffed around and checked it out and decided all was good in her world.

I had been ignoring her sooky behaviour as i did not want to 'reward' bad/negative behaviour but i doin't think it would have worked that quick.

I didn't know that they were earth dogs. I knew that they were used to tunnel into the earth and go in ferret/fox/rabbit holes. Is there anything else you can tell me that could help me with her training and raising a happy and well adjusted Jack? All info would be appreciated. I have been doing my research, heaps of reading and training books. She has just finished puppy school and will be starting obedience on the 1st of July.

Edited June 20, 2006 by Kristie

[MrsD]

Glad to hear that shes back to normal Kristie & especially glad that it doesnt seem to have either been her health or a more longstanding problem.

She looks gorgeous, good luck with her :p .

[ReXy]

awww shes a little cutie.. great to hear shes back to her normal self...

pics would be great too.... :p

[Muttaburra]

Krisite

Is there anything else you can tell me that could help me with her training and raising a happy and well adjusted Jack? ...... and will be starting obedience on the 1st of July

You are doing everything right if you are going on to obedience, there's nothing like hands on training followed up by a few follow up sessions at home. Patience and repetition go a long way.

A fun way to reinforce commands is to incorporate them into a play session. So instead of just throwing the ball for the dog, give them the command "sit" first, for example. Work at extending their vocabulary of words they understand. Maxi knows the name of serveral different toys, we have Footsie, Big Ball, Ball, etc, and he will fetch whichever one I tell him on command. Play hide and seek with the ball and soft toy.

The great thing I have found about the JrT is that they seem to have a natural keeness to work with you. You can experiment with giving instructions to the JRT and will sometimes be surprised how much they understand. Both of mine know how to "go round" "under" "over" "up" and so forth, these commands were taught "on the fly" within minutes.

JRT's as you have probably noticed have boundless energy, but I have read that it's best just to exercise them as you would an average dog and not attempt to "tire them out". Many JRTs will just become more wound up, so the more exercise and excitement the more wound up they get. Make sure that they have some nice quiet times away from the excitement each day.

You can be sure that JRTs will learn very quickly and will challenge you from time to time, so you have to be fair but firm and even strict in some situations. They must be kept on a lead near roads, this is because they are just so fast when they dart towards something they can be out of earshot by the time you give the command for them to stop. It is in their instincts to investigate things and they are a breed that is regarded not to be safe near roads.

And just a final word on pre-emptive correcting, when you get to know your dog better you might be able to see the expression and body language that tell you it is about to do something naughty like chew a shoe, so as soon as they look like they are going to chew the shoe that is the best time to correct them and redirect them. It is always harder to do it after.

Main thing is have lots of fun and take care. :D

[Flaves]

Krisite

Is there anything else you can tell me that could help me with her training and raising a happy and well adjusted Jack? ...... and will be starting obedience on the 1st of July

You are doing everything right if you are going on to obedience, there's nothing like hands on training followed up by a few follow up sessions at home. Patience and repetition go a long way.

A fun way to reinforce commands is to incorporate them into a play session. So instead of just throwing the ball for the dog, give them the command "sit" first, for example. Work at extending their vocabulary of words they understand. Maxi knows the name of serveral different toys, we have Footsie, Big Ball, Ball, etc, and he will fetch whichever one I tell him on command. Play hide and seek with the ball and soft toy.

The great thing I have found about the JrT is that they seem to have a natural keeness to work with you. You can experiment with giving instructions to the JRT and will sometimes be surprised how much they understand. Both of mine know how to "go round" "under" "over" "up" and so forth, these commands were taught "on the fly" within minutes.

JRT's as you have probably noticed have boundless energy, but I have read that it's best just to exercise them as you would an average dog and not attempt to "tire them out". Many JRTs will just become more wound up, so the more exercise and excitement the more wound up they get. Make sure that they have some nice quiet times away from the excitement each day.

You can be sure that JRTs will learn very quickly and will challenge you from time to time, so you have to be fair but firm and even strict in some situations. They must be kept on a lead near roads, this is because they are just so fast when they dart towards something they can be out of earshot by the time you give the command for them to stop. It is in their instincts to investigate things and they are a breed that is regarded not to be safe near roads.

And just a final word on pre-emptive correcting, when you get to know your dog better you might be able to see the expression and body language that tell you it is about to do something naughty like chew a shoe, so as soon as they look like they are going to chew the shoe that is the best time to correct them and redirect them. It is always harder to do it after.

Main thing is have lots of fun and take care. :D

Thankyou for your help. THey are very cheeky that is for sure. I will use everything you have said, she already knows 'in your basket', and 'get your ball'. I will contine to work with her.

Thanks again.

[Steve K9Pro]

K9: the behaviour is normal, it will come again too...

Look at this page...

[Flaves]

K9: the behaviour is normal, it will come again too...

Look at this page...

DOes that mean she may have a fear of loud noises? If so, how can i combat that? Is taking her around loud noises with me and showing her that it is ok the best thing to do?

Are you coming to Melbourne any time soon?

[Steve K9Pro]

K9: when the dog is in the fear periods I keep the dog at home & practice toilet training crate training etc... when the period is over you can expose the dog to noises etc...

I plan to be in Melb in November...

Are you on my mailing list?