How to handle things your dog is scared of

[lovespandp]

Peanut is scared of a lot of things, I wonder if it’s a Yorkie thing or a Peanut thing… His new scare is when I have something in the toaster and it pops up. As soon as he hears this he will run for his crate!! I don’t get it. Other things he is scared of is followed.

Flicking your finger
A water bottle that pops on its own
The fire place, we can not have fires on our fire place he will shake, pant, and run to his crate.
Thunder
Fireworks
He is scared when I take my parking brake off (When he is in my truck)
He is scared of extension cords that are laying on the ground
He is scared when someone opens a coke can and the tab flicks and makes that noise..
He is scared of the sound of his crate, when I push the lock in the hole on the crate, if I slip and it makes a noise he starts shaking
He is scared of hangers when they fall on the ground
He is scared of his retractable leash, the part that you hold, when I go to clip it to his harness and he sees the part you hold he starts shaking.
When I drop the fan controller on the floors he gets scared

I am sure I am leaving something out, but is this normal? Really?? This dog doesn’t get beat, he has the best life, spoiled rotten! I have NO idea where all these phobias came from. Is this something I need to talk to my vet about?

I mean really what do you do? How can you make him concur these fears?

[jmdt]

Aw my Wally is a "fraidy cat"... leaves blowing...when I use my oven...

He's a big brave barker but runs like the dickens when someone comes in.

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by jmdt

Aw my Wally is a "fraidy cat"... leaves blowing...when I use my oven...

He's a big brave barker but runs like the dickens when someone comes in.

What do you do for them? Doesn't seem healthy to be that scared of things.

[DBlain]

I don't think there is much you can do, some dogs just have a lot of hang ups, my last one was afraid of the dishwasher and deathly afraid of our fireplace, took me a while to catch on but he ran upstairs and into the master bed room each time we had one. LOL I don't blame him my husband makes huge fires and we have even had a few logs roll out. He was also afraid of the large exercise ball would not even walk near it if it was on the floor. Lola is afraid of very little, brings the ball to me while I am vacuuming, would stand on the FP hearth if I let her, and plays with the exercise ball, the one that is about 3' she likes when it bounces and runs after it and jumps up to bat it like a vollyball, it could roll on top of her and she jumps up and starts hitting it again, odd how different dogs can be. sounds like Peanut has a thing against loud noises, stuff like fireworks which I think is pretty normal,

[Nancy1999]

Actually he's smart to be afraid of lots of those things. Dogs and humans that were fearful of certain things lived longer. Loud noises can be a loud roaring animal and it's best to be fearful and take cover. It's not unusual for animals to have an innate fear of snakes, maybe that's the reason he's afraid of the extension cord. His ancestors who were fearful lived longer. I'm not sure why he's fearful of the fireplace, most dogs love them I wonder if an ember ever popped on him? Same with the retractable, cord has someone accidently hit him with it? I think I'd just use a regular cord. Most of these things are loud noises and extreme movement of objects and he’s right to be afraid of them. He’s tiny and even a flying hanger can hurt him. Is he fearful of people? Also, what does he do when he's afraid, just go to his crate? Actually that's very healthy. He's learned to settle himself down. If he has panic attacks you might have to work on his fears and do some behavior modification.

[Britster]

Jackson's main fears would be -- the oven (due to the smoke alarm going off a few times while using the oven), swatting a fly, fireworks, gunshots (or any similar sounding noise).

I don't really mind him going off and hiding during these things. It breaks my heart but if it's where he feels safe, it's okay. However, I have tried to work on some of his fears. The oven, for example... we are always going to be using it so I want him to be more comfortable around it. So I will occasionally break out the clicker and treats and have us do his tricks near the oven on a mat. We inch closer and closer and he ends up not even realizing and forgetting about it. Now, I don't necessarily mind him having a little bit of fear over things such as gunshots and the oven --- yes, these ARE things that CAN potentially hurt him and a bit of fear is okay in my mind. But I'd rather him just remain cautious and work on him becoming less stressed.

Oh, also, last year while we were camping, my little brother has a cap gun that he brings with us while camping. It's not very loud but it's still a "gunshot" in Jackson's mind, and I am sure it's louder to him than us, but last year by the 3rd night of camping, I had gotten him to the point where he could be standing 5 feet away from my brother shooting and had stopped flinching or running, etc.

It just took a bit of de-sensitizing and counter conditioning. In other words, changing his association with a certain thing and creating a new one. So I take what he is fearful of and slowly introduce him to the scary thing paired with yummy treats. I wouldn't just put him in a small room with a bunch of gunshot noises going off. And I wouldn't expect him to sit in my brothers lap while he's shooting his gun, either. But I just want him to be not so stressed out and know that I am here to protect him and he doesn't have to worry about these kinds of things.

[DBlain]

i know with mine it was the popping of the embers, sometimes he would sit on my lap and as soon as a ember popped he would jump off the couch, Funny thing and sort of embarrassing he also hated and was afraid of farts, if someone passed one while he was on their lap he immediately got up and turned and looked at you with total disgust then he would indignantly move to a different location. It was so funny we would try to do this on purpose. LOL of course my husband was the only offender, never ever me

[lovespandp]

See it makes sense when you explain it to me Nancy. He is also scared of the noise the extension cord makes when it moves on the floor. We have never had a fire around him, he was around a camp fire- This was a couple years ago he didn’t seem to mind it. The first house fire we had was a couple weeks ago- I honestly think he was scared of the popping. Since he is scared of fireworks that makes sense to me. I remember one of my cats use to lay right next to the fireplace lol..

I do notice now that most of the things he is scared of is noises. Nobody has hit him with the cord or handle, I did drop it one time when he was on a walk, it didn’t hit him- not even close, when it hit the ground that’s when he jumped.

No I have never seen him scared of any human, nor child. He doesn’t really like kids if they are too loud, he will want to get away from them. Yes anytime he is scared he will go in his crate. I have his crate its like this one, same size http://deeprunkennel.com/wp-content/..._dog_crate.jpg in my closet. I put pillows down for his bed and a big throw blanket, he also has a couple little blankets in there, I call it his man cave! I also have another blanket on top- so it kinda covers it. He loves it! He sleeps in there at night I will lock him in I will also shut the closet doors, I will leave it open just a tad. So during the day, the door to my bedroom is open and so is the closet- he can go in and out as he pleases.

Sometimes if something scares him and I don’t notice I will find him shaking in the corner. What should I do when I find him scared and shaking? DH always says I made him this way, he said I baby him! I told DH we are not going to have any fires bc it scares Pnut too much, DH said that’s why he is scared bc I don’t let him deal with it….? I told him he is my baby If I can stop something from scaring him I will!

[chachi]

Well my Jewely is a scardy cat too and Ive always read not to make a big situation out of it by coddling them and giving in to them basically ignore the situation. That is not what Im going to do though. Im not going to know my little dog is in distress and just ignore her. Now I dont make a big commotion over it but she gets attention even when shes fearful. It hasnt changed her for the better or the worse. I just think its part of her personality

[lovespandp]

http://pet.imageg.net/graphics/produ...758451r200.jpg hope this works

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by chachi

Well my Jewely is a scardy cat too and Ive always read not to make a big situation out of it by coddling them and giving in to them basically ignore the situation. That is not what Im going to do though. Im not going to know my little dog is in distress and just ignore her. Now I dont make a big commotion over it but she gets attention even when shes fearful. It hasnt changed her for the better or the worse. I just think its part of her personality

I think a lot of Yorkies are!! LOL. That’s what I heard too, I have a hard time ignoring Pnut when he is scared and shaking in the corner- My DH says I made him this way WHATEVER

[alaskayorkie]

It's not uncommon in Yorkies, but that is quite a list! They're the smallest things in their world, so they only have so many ways to deal with scary things -- aggression (barking, biting), submission (peeing, hiding), and, hopefully, acceptance.

Fireworks petrify Eddie, and the best I've achieved is to just take the edge off. But other things he's overcome. Elevators used to bug him, but I just started loading him up with tiny treats for the entire ride. Now he shows no hesitation. Clicker training didn't work at first because he was afraid of the clicker. And he hated my harmonica playing. He's overcome all that.

I would start with something he's only mildly afraid of, maybe a cord or something. The goal is to desensitive them to it. You do that by taking the least-threatening cord you can find -- maybe white or short. And place it within sight but not threateningly close. Reward for acceptance with either a treat or a toy. Do this in 10-minute sessions once or twice a day. When he accepts that difference, move it closer. Toss a toy past it and reward and praise for success. If at any time he panicks, lower the expectation to a distance he'll accept. Always end the session on a success.

When you tackle noises, start with a soft one (Maybe the click of a pen) far away. Same routine. Slowly increase the level of threat and reward for success. If he refuses to accept the reward, get a better treat or a more high-value toy. It helps to not make the noise be the focus of your session at first. Ignore it yourself and do something fun with the dog.

Good luck! In a perfect world, all puppies would be exposed to all that stuff when they're still with Mom, then they'd continue that education from the moment they go to their forever home. I did that with Jillie, and she can handle just about anything despite being just 4 1/2 pounds.

[lovespandp]

Originally Posted by alaskayorkie

It's not uncommon in Yorkies, but that is quite a list! They're the smallest things in their world, so they only have so many ways to deal with scary things -- aggression (barking, biting), submission (peeing, hiding), and, hopefully, acceptance.

Fireworks petrify Eddie, and the best I've achieved is to just take the edge off. But other things he's overcome. Elevators used to bug him, but I just started loading him up with tiny treats for the entire ride. Now he shows no hesitation. Clicker training didn't work at first because he was afraid of the clicker. And he hated my harmonica playing. He's overcome all that.

I would start with something he's only mildly afraid of, maybe a cord or something. The goal is to desensitive them to it. You do that by taking the least-threatening cord you can find -- maybe white or short. And place it within sight but not threateningly close. Reward for acceptance with either a treat or a toy. Do this in 10-minute sessions once or twice a day. When he accepts that difference, move it closer. Toss a toy past it and reward and praise for success. If at any time he panicks, lower the expectation to a distance he'll accept. Always end the session on a success.

When you tackle noises, start with a soft one (Maybe the click of a pen) far away. Same routine. Slowly increase the level of threat and reward for success. If he refuses to accept the reward, get a better treat or a more high-value toy. It helps to not make the noise be the focus of your session at first. Ignore it yourself and do something fun with the dog.

Good luck! In a perfect world, all puppies would be exposed to all that stuff when they're still with Mom, then they'd continue that education from the moment they go to their forever home. I did that with Jillie, and she can handle just about anything despite being just 4 1/2 pounds.

LoL Yes and his list keeps growing!! Thank you for the tips! You can add the clicker to his list- he is also scared of that! I am going to start little by little with him- hope one day he can pass it up like Eddie! Jillie is so cute, I love watching her jump in the snow! Peanut would never do that, I have to carry him, I don’t blame him for that- I wouldn’t walk barefoot LOL.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by lovespandp

See it makes sense when you explain it to me Nancy. He is also scared of the noise the extension cord makes when it moves on the floor. We have never had a fire around him, he was around a camp fire- This was a couple years ago he didn’t seem to mind it. The first house fire we had was a couple weeks ago- I honestly think he was scared of the popping. Since he is scared of fireworks that makes sense to me. I remember one of my cats use to lay right next to the fireplace lol..

I do notice now that most of the things he is scared of is noises. Nobody has hit him with the cord or handle, I did drop it one time when he was on a walk, it didn’t hit him- not even close, when it hit the ground that’s when he jumped.

No I have never seen him scared of any human, nor child. He doesn’t really like kids if they are too loud, he will want to get away from them. Yes anytime he is scared he will go in his crate. I have his crate its like this one, same size http://deeprunkennel.com/wp-content/..._dog_crate.jpg in my closet. I put pillows down for his bed and a big throw blanket, he also has a couple little blankets in there, I call it his man cave! I also have another blanket on top- so it kinda covers it. He loves it! He sleeps in there at night I will lock him in I will also shut the closet doors, I will leave it open just a tad. So during the day, the door to my bedroom is open and so is the closet- he can go in and out as he pleases.

Sometimes if something scares him and I don’t notice I will find him shaking in the corner. What should I do when I find him scared and shaking? DH always says I made him this way, he said I baby him! I told DH we are not going to have any fires bc it scares Pnut too much, DH said that’s why he is scared bc I don’t let him deal with it….? I told him he is my baby If I can stop something from scaring him I will!

Oh poor little thing. Your hubby may be right, it's human nature to baby them when they are afraid, but they don't understand our words, just the tone of our voice and if you are talking in a different tone than usual, they might think they are right to be afraid. Experts say to act nonchalant and talk in you normal voice, distraction can work as well, such as playing with a favorite toy.

[York4Ever]

I think is a natural thing, his personality.. and is normal as long as it doesnt put him into danger (I dont think this is the case). I had all sort of different personalities in this little ones.. brave one, shy one, outgoing, but never a too scared one. Did you try to introduce the thing he fears to him in a different way?.. slowly you can show him something he fears when you are playing with him... or make the noise he doesnt like it and give him a treat. (it looks like he is scared mostly of strange and sudden noises.) maybe it helps.. just a thought anyway..