Hi my 7 month old chocolate lab puppy has suddenly become spooked by people she doesn't know. Shes been well socialised but she reached 7 months and suddenly started getting scared by people. Shes always been fine with people including joggers and cyclists but has just started chasing them too and shes frightened a few small children when we've been out walking and shes been off the lead. She responds well to a whistle but Id rather she didn't react this way in the first place. I wondered what people think is the best way to deal with this. Thanks
Hi, I am by no means an expert, but I had a similar problem at about 5 months. Bear who was normally happy to go up to anyone, got scared when my brother came through the back yard and called Bear over in an excited voice. Bear wasn't expecting anyone, and my brother is a big guy, he met me at the back door and ran in refusing to come out of the house. In the week following he started getting nervious when approaching strangers and weeing if they would pat him. It was very strange, and sudden, I had heard my brother and he was just trying to say hi to Bear in a happy voice, but it caught Bear completely of guard and flicked a switch in Bears head from happy go lucky to cautious fear. I was really concerned as I knew Bear was going to be a big lab and the last thing I wanted was fear aggression. I ended up getting my brother to come over again and stand in the middle of the back yard. I put Bear on a lead and walked him around the yard ignoring my brother. We just kept looping the yard until his mind settled. Then I picked up the pace a bit and looped around and headed straight past my brother, when he shyed (which he did), I looped away, built up speed and then turned and headed past him again. Once he was comfortable with that, and he had lost some energy, I eventually stopped close to my brother and had him offer Bear a treat for sitting. In the end, Bear was in getting belly rubs. My brother dropped in the next 3 days after work and now Bear gets excited when my brother comes. After that day it was like the switch flicked back, and every human was his best friend. Like I said though, I am far from an expert, just sharing my story and what I did
Hi there, Welcome to the Forum . I've got server problems so I can't pop over onto the main site to check if there is any reading I can link you to about this 'phenomena' .Around the age your dog is there is something that gets called a second fear phase ,a dog can suddenley become reactive /anxious about things that have previously been ok.If you use the search option on the Forum and put in Fear Phase ,you will see a lot of members have posted when they have experienced similar problems .I think it's open to discussion about whether it is an actual definitive phase but it does seem to be a common issue. It's something to work through by keeping up with your socialisation while taking care not to overwhelm your dog.Lots of praise and rewards for not reacting in certain situations to create great associations with the scarey thing.For example with the cyclists/bikes you could go and hang out in a place where you will see them but at times when there won't be a high volume of traffic.Give your dog plenty of distance and arm yourself with some delicious treats or whatever your dog finds really rewarding ( I always suggest food because my dog is so food motivated! ) and sit quietly ,rewarding your dog for staying calm ....if she's getting anxious move further away and slowly move nearer as she gets her confidence.You are also hitting the terrible teens now where you may find your recall breaks down a little ,bouncy labs can scare children ( and a few adults too!!!) You may find it useful to go back a few steps on your recall training and opt for a long line in very exciting places .That way you don't diminish your whistle's effectiveness when your previously well behaved puppy goes charging away from you in search of fun,fun,fun! Hope that helps a little x
