Does this begin at 6 months ish or is that the first fear stage? Gypsy has suddenly started being wary of things she was fine with before, especially noises outside - when she is inside. She responds by barking or growling and making herself taller, no cowering or hiding - which is a good thing, I would think? I have been distracting her with training sessions. Is there anything else I can do to bring her safely through this phase?
Re: Second fear stage? Hi Mags Everything I've read about fear and nervousness say second fear imprint is 6 to 14 months. I'm probably not the best person to give advice as I got it wrong although unfortunately it was unavoidable. :-\ Also with Gypsy being a guide dog in the making I don't know if the same advice applies but I'll tell you what I know. If the dog reacts to a situation remove/distract it. Don't make it face it's fear. The more times it reacts to the same situation eg when meeting a big dog the more it is practising that behaviour. Try and keep the dog below threshold in the situation that scares it so it can practise an alternative behaviour . When a dog reacts it cant work out there's nothing to fear. Counter conditioning really works. It teaches the dog to associate a good thing with something it finds scary. Have lots of very tasty treats, let the dog see the scary thing then give tasty treats until the scary monster has gone. You need to keep calm and behave normally trying not to give any signals. I hope that makes sense and I hope Gypsy gets though this with no problems. I'm sure she will you've done lots of socialising and exposing her to new things. I'd have lots of tasty treats to hand and if she seems to be getting nervy, worried or worked up distract with treat. The BATbthread might help as well. I got lots of advice. Good luck.
Re: Second fear stage? I am not aware that we went through this stage. Have you spoken to your puppy walker supervisor person? Just in case there is anything else you should be doing? There is loads of stuff on Jen's BAT thread though.
