Will Laddie ever act right, I am concerned

L

Laddie's Mom

Forums Enthusiast
I am totally confused. I was playing fetch with Laddie down our long hall way, everything was fine, he was chasing it and bringing it back to me. Well, after seeing my husband look at him, he did it one more time, then all of a sudden stopped, put his tail down, cowed down and hid. After that, no matter how I coached or threw it, he just looked and hid, now he is crying and acting very strange. He won't leave his side.

I just do not understand this dog, I just do not know how to handle these mood swings between cheerful to being scared to death of me and crying when he can not see Steve. I thought we were having so much fun with our fetch game. Well, he is not the same dog even right now. He is crying loudly and following the husband sticking like glue.

What gives?????
 
He sounds confused. He's probably feeding off previous experiences where he wants to go to your husband but knows that upsets you. It's a lot of pressure for a pup. He may continue to be upset until he starts realising you won't get angry or upset when he goes to your husband.

It is a passing phase, in a few months your husband will probably be upset that his 'little boy' is ignoring him and giving you all the attention. :smile2:

Also, at this age pups go through a second fear period, so can be easily upset. Here's some useful information about it:
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Second fear period...Corresponds with growth spurts. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]May suddenly be apprehensive about new things or shy or timid of new people or situations. Most of height growing is over, but pup will start to fill out over the coming year. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Puppy begins to mature sexually: male begins to lift leg, and female has first heat period anywhere from 6-12 months. Puppy coat being replaced by adult coat, starting down the spine.[/FONT]
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The fear of new situations must be handled with the utmost patience. Continue positive socialization exposure, but be careful to avoid overwhelming situations. Flooding (throwing him in to "sink or swim") is to be avoided. If your puppy appears apprehensive, avoid pressuring him. Allow him to approach as he is ready. Praise confidence. In the event of an aggressive display, provide space, not correction. You are his support system. When confronted by scary things, he needs you to give him space and time to acclimate and build confidence. He needs to feel safe.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Avoid any potentially overwhelming circumstances you cannot personally oversee.[/FONT]
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*Caro said:
He sounds confused. He's probably feeding off previous experiences where he wants to go to your husband but knows that upsets you. It's a lot of pressure for a pup. He may continue to be upset until he starts realising you won't get angry or upset when he goes to your husband.

It is a passing phase, in a few months your husband will probably be upset that his 'little boy' is ignoring him and giving you all the attention. :smile2:

Also, at this age pups go through a second fear period, so can be easily upset. Here's some useful information about it:
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Second fear period...Corresponds with growth spurts. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]May suddenly be apprehensive about new things or shy or timid of new people or situations. Most of height growing is over, but pup will start to fill out over the coming year. [/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Puppy begins to mature sexually: male begins to lift leg, and female has first heat period anywhere from 6-12 months. Puppy coat being replaced by adult coat, starting down the spine.[/FONT]
​


The fear of new situations must be handled with the utmost patience. Continue positive socialization exposure, but be careful to avoid overwhelming situations. Flooding (throwing him in to "sink or swim") is to be avoided. If your puppy appears apprehensive, avoid pressuring him. Allow him to approach as he is ready. Praise confidence. In the event of an aggressive display, provide space, not correction. You are his support system. When confronted by scary things, he needs you to give him space and time to acclimate and build confidence. He needs to feel safe.
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Avoid any potentially overwhelming circumstances you cannot personally oversee.[/FONT]
​
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Wow, second fear is right, at present, even if I raise my arm, he runs to Steve, he is afraid of all I do, Steve can do anything and he loves it. Man, oh well, guess it will pass. I had no idea they were this tempermental, Laddie the first was not like this at all.
 
What I would do is sit on the floor, ignore him. Just chill on the floor maybe watch tv or something. When he comes over to you tell him how much of a good boy he is, pet him, and then go back to ignoring him and continue the cycle.
 
When you have a dog that is not confident and is fearful, sometimes they feel overwhelmed by the pressure you put on them when you simply trying to interact with them and engage them in the smallest of activities. When this happens they act more fearful and can even shut dwon.

Two years ago my Ginny stepped on a bee in our yard and it was like she had a complete mental breakdown. She became afraid of everything, didn't enjoy being touched, wouldn't go for walks, play with us or our other shelties and was especially afraid of outside and grass. She loved doing obedience but trying to engage her in training just made her shut down. It was like she was a different dog.

We put a crate in our living room with the door open so that she had a safe place to hide when she was feeling uncomfortable, then found ways of engaging her in activities she liked without making her feel pressured.

I'd play Ginny's favorite games with the other dogs, knowing Ginny was normally bossy and couldn't stand to sit out. When Ginny joined in, I didn't let her know I'd noticed.

She likes to chase things like a cat, so I got her a mouse that squeaked that was at the end of a string, with a handle at the other end. She was crazy about that toy and felt comfortable playing with it because I was holding the handle a few feet away, instead of holding the mouse.

I worked with her in the grass, laying outside on a blanket with her and the other dogs, playing all her favorite games just off of the blanket and ignoring her fearful behavior. She gradually became more comfortable with the grass.

What worked for her on walks was ignoring her fearful behavior, because there was nothing to be fearful of. When something legitimately scary to her happened I would stop, let her calm, then continue.

A behaviorist helped me with these techniques and she started to improve almost immediately. She was back to her usual self in approx. 6-8 weeks and never looked back.

That being said, every dog is different, I have another dog with a true anxiety problem that I have to treat completely differently.

I hope my long winded story is helpful and gives you some ideas! :fl
 
I re-read the title of the thread and it actually got me a bit concerned.

Laddie is acting like a perfectly normal puppy. If you got another puppy you'd be facing the same circumstances.

It sounds like you really need help with raising him. Keep in mind he is about to hit adolescence so you've got another 6mths before he's likely to settle down. You need to decide if you can manage that.

If not contact the breeder, don't worry about having neuter him, if she had wanted to breed from him she would have kept him. While she may not take the dog back she will be in a position to help rehome him. And she could probably give you advice anyway on raising a pup. If you want to get another dog I'd suggest sticking with an older one - maybe an ex-show dog.

If you think you can handle raising a pup, you seriously need to connect with other people. Join your local dog club, and think of seeing a vet-behaviourist for help. Avoid any behaviourists who aren't positive trainers or that use the word 'dominance' and don't go for those clinics where you send the dog away.
 
I whole-heartedly agree with Caro's advice. You sound out of your comfort zone, and I strongly recommend taking classes with a humane trainer who you are comfortable with. They will be an excellent resource and may be able to make observations about his behaviour that you aren't noticing at this time. Good luck!
 
3Stars said:
I strongly recommend taking classes with a humane trainer who you are comfortable with. They will be an excellent resource and may be able to make observations about his behaviour that you aren't noticing at this time. Good luck!
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I agree with this!

I would make sure that the classes are a positive experience (with positive reinforcement methods of training and possibly with a trainer that uses a clicker to train).

This could help you tremendously in forming a good bond with Laddie. You will also learn how to communicate with your pup in a way that he understands. I really feel like this is the main problem here, you are trying to bond with him but it seems Laddie is not understanding this and feels a bit confused.

Time to start communicating in dog language :wink2:. I would suggest searching for threads on clicker training on this site and reading the info and looking at free youtube videos on the subject.
 
Meldor said:
Time to start communicating in dog language :wink2:. I would suggest searching for threads on clicker training on this site and reading the info and looking at free youtube videos on the subject.
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Excellent suggestion - Kikopup (on youtube) has some really great training videos.
 
Meldor said:
I agree with this!

I would make sure that the classes are a positive experience (with positive reinforcement methods of training and possibly with a trainer that uses a clicker to train).

This could help you tremendously in forming a good bond with Laddie. You will also learn how to communicate with your pup in a way that he understands. I really feel like this is the main problem here, you are trying to bond with him but it seems Laddie is not understanding this and feels a bit confused.

Time to start communicating in dog language :wink2:. I would suggest searching for threads on clicker training on this site and reading the info and looking at free youtube videos on the subject.
Click to expand...

clickertraining is a great way to bond with your dog and learn about body language, I can't add to what has already been said.
It just takes patience and pretty soon you'll remember these days but can't quite imagine what it was like without that bond.
 
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