Hi, I’m a new member here and was wondering if anyone could help. My 5 year old lab has recently become extremely anxious on walks and refuses to move and will want to turn back. It started off with going on a different route that she didn’t know which wasn’t really a problem before and she totally refused and we walked back the way we come. So we went on regular routes and she seemed fine, until recently she’s very anxious when anyone’s walking behind her and refuses to walk until they have passed. Today we walked to a park she regularly goes to and a dog barked a little and she got extremely fearful and wouldn’t go into the park at all so we walked home. I’m not sure what to do as it only seems to be getting worse, I’ve tried reassuring her. She hasn’t had any traumatic situations recently whilst out.
Hello and welcome to the forum! This guide to helping reactive dogs on our main site might have some helpful information in it, but it sounds like she would really benefit from meeting a behaviorist who can observe her in person - look for one who uses positive reinforcement techniques only Good luck, and do let us know how you get on!
