Advice Needed -- Scared Puppy Hi, All. I am fairly new to this group and am a brand new Yorkie owner. We got Zoey when she was 4 months old. She is now 6 months old. Ever since we got her, she has been scared of everything! She's scared of people, other dogs, riding in the car, the vaccum--many things. Today she started being afraid of the garbage can when she realized the top was closing by itself. She runs behind me and hides. If I pick her up and walk toward what she's afraid of, she claws like crazy to try to get away. When she's scared, she shakes all over. It makes me feel so bad for her. It affects the quality of her life because she is so scared of things she should be enjoying. What can I do to help her be not so scared? I would love it if she got excited about going in the car or playing with other dogs. I will much appreciate any suggestions anyone has! |
Hopefully she'll grow out of this, but I can't say for sure. If she doesn't, you may want to consider an anti-anxiety med later on when she's closer to a year old or more. Does she like toys, or is she afraid of those too? |
The good news is she is still young and impressionable. Expose her to as much as you can. My biggest regret with raising Max is that I didn't expose him to more experiences as a pup. He turned out okay though. Try to make everything positive whenever possible. Be confident, happy, and even silly when you encounter things that are scary to her. For instance, an unusual object on the walk. I tell my dogs, "Check it out." If they approach it, I praise them. If they sniff it, I praise them. This reassures them that it is okay. Talk to your pup. When you see a person, say something happily, "There's our neighbor, Mrs. Jones." If you see a dog, say "There is a pretty doggy." My dogs will jump if there is a big noise. I say to them happily, "That was really loud!" and they know not to be concerned. With maturity and experience, they learned that I am looking out for them and that they don't need to worry so much. General training also helps build confidence: obedience and trick training. Good luck! |
She loves toys. I've tried to distract her. This morning when the gardener was outside with his leaf blower, she hid on the bed, shaking all over. I got her favorite toy and tried to distract her. She completely ignored her toy. She loves playing with us and that toy. Thanks for the suggestions, Maximo. I will try that. She's such a sweet, happy puppy most of the time. I hate seeing her suffer when she's scared. |
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It will be long process, but it will all be worth it! Make these games "fun", with praise and treats. At four months of age, your pup might have experienced a "fear stage". Since she is now at the "adolescent" stage, it is necessary to introduce her to as many new things as possible. |
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http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...ml#post4503132 In that thread, another member (Maximo) posted a link to her blog about anxiety in cars, I recommend that you take a look at it! Dog Travel and Car Anxiety - Dog Life and Style |
Great suggestion above from TheLittleYorkie on training to desensitize for an object. As Ann wrote too, many puppies grow out of it, with a little help. Teddy is still not enthusiastic about the vacuum cleaner, but he is fine if he can sit in one of the dog beds or on grandpa's lap. I know what you mean about being so sad to see these little ones shake with fear. For the gardener, I would try taking her outside (at a safe distance), even holding her, walking around and telling her happily what the gardener is doing, making your yard pretty. The sound of a reassuring voice can be helpful, and I'm sure you have noted how much language these little ones can learn. :) |
Vacuum is normal most dogs I have, have been scared. You can't force her. Say she is scared of the broom you could lay the broom in the middle of the floor. Give her a treat and praise for being simi near it and then move a little closer and give her a treat and praise and keep doing that and moving closer. Sometimes you may have to work on it a little each day. The other way might be to leave some treats on or around it and walk away and let her get them on her own time. Now this part is hard and in some cases doesn't work and even I don't always follow this but don't coddle them when they get scared because then they think it's ok to be scared of the item. No picking them up hugging on them and doing the baby talk. When Callie looks at me unsure whether she should be afraid of something or looks at me like ummm I'm scared now what and I in a normal voice tell her she is fine and that seems to work for us. When there pups it's pretty important to expose them to as much as you can but you can't force them. |
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