the first fears ...

2GoodDogs

2GoodDogs

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Flyer has gotten fairly reactive over the last few days, anything that changes is cause for grrr's, crouching warily and barking!

The leaf blower moved from one side of the porch to the other ~ scary danger! the knitting basket moved from the table to floor ~ that wascally water bowl turned itself upside down, again!

wooowoooowooof....wooowoooowooof! Flyer says he's alert to all sorts of lurking disasters, stinger tail and all!

(PS - some of this is carry over from witnessing Justus being jumped by the neighbors dog, I think - it was terrifying for all of us but turned out to be spit and slobber attack)
 
Yes, it seems to be object based - placement that upsets him. I know that there are typically two or three fear periods that puppies go through, guess the first one has started!
 
2GoodDogs said:
Yes, it seems to be object based - placement that upsets him. I know that there are typically two or three fear periods that puppies go through, guess the first one has started!
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Ruu has the same issue, but he always has. He doesn't like change. When we vacuum we pick everything up and Ruu is in a crate, when he comes out he freaks out on us. Same with when we were moving with all the boxes and things disappearing. My boy HATES change and boy did we do a lot of changing in his 1 1/2 yrs. That being said, I hate change as well so I understand him :o
 
Flyer is a June pup, isn't he? Sparta is a late May - so in general, he shold be right behind her in development?

She'll be 17 weeks tomorrow, and I've been expecting a fear phase - but if she has entered one, I sure haven't noticed! She still approaches new things with positive curiosity, and doesn't even seem to notice when we change stuff around her.
As her name suggests, she appears to be one tough cookie. She seemed a bit sceptical in the first couple of weeks in her new home and would back away from things that made strange noises, but once she got accustomed, that was pretty much it.
She's not a fan of walking on a leash in new places, though, so we'll have to work on that.

That being said, she still hasn't picked up a barking habit either, despite her housemate being very eager in his guard dog duties. I'm starting to wonder if she's even a real sheltie, or a miniature labrador in disguise.
 
all the shelties notice if something is in a different place or there's something new. Destin being the youngest and not having seen quite as much as the others will sometimes be hesitant and barky about new things but it doesn't take much to get him past it.

yay- wobble board- lots of cookies must come there:winkgrin:
 
Yep, Enzo went through the same trauma at about 4 months (give or take). But if he was brave and calmly checked out and smelled the thing that was scaring him, he got a treat. Now if something scares him he's confident enough to go check it out and see what's up without causing a scene.

Even when my parents came to visit and had their suitcases downstairs - barkbarkbarkbarkbark!! With a few growls thrown in for good measure!
 
Shelby notices every little change too. Sometimes things I would never notice.

I let her out and she started growling trying to sound real mean. Scared me at first b/c I didn't know what was out there. Turned out the bird feeder fell to the ground and she knew it didn't belong there! I didn't even notice it until she was growling at it. She will do this on walks if something is different such as a for sale sign in front of a house etc.

We have new neighbors that put some "lawn art" in their back yard. They are two wooden cut outs of dogs. When Shelby saw them she did nothing but bark and growl at them. I finally had to put her on her leash and walk her over to them. Once she realized they were OK she hasn't growled at them since.
 
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