Is this the fear period people talk about? He's been a great dog to date, but now he's exhibiting caution in areas where it was never a concern. He's whining more and is overall just acting more like a sucky-baby. Can anyone share experiences of thei dogs going through one of these stages?
2007-03-22 06:28:50 · 4 answers · asked by symbo61 2 in Pets ➔ Dogs
This is pretty common. As long as he's not whining because of discomfort or pain, I wouldn't worry. Puppies at this age are confused, especially if their parents are working with training. They love you, but when you correct them, it scares them. It's the whole pack mentality thing... The alpha-dog is above all, and the subordinates are all timid and sheepish around him or her. Just make sure that when he is exhibiting cautiousness, he isn't also exhibiting aggression. When he's scared, you don't want his reaction to be to lunge or bite. Make sure that he will always submit to you, because he needs to know that he's not on top. Just keep working with him, this phase will pass.
2007-03-22 06:35:42 · answer #1 · answered by allisoncooke 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I will give you a tip that was given me for this.
When your pup is fearful, hold him close to you as possible, wrap him up in your arms and hold him. Pick him up if he isn't too big. This will tell him you are protecting him, he is safe with you. If he is afraid of a slipper, pick that slipper up, smack it against something, shout 'bad slipper' at it and toss it across the room.
The first thing my puppy was afraid of was a rubber chicken toy we brought home. I don't know if it was the crinkly noises of the wrapper or the chicken itself but my baby ran from it. I put that chicken in my mouth, shook the heck out of it and then threw it on the floor and yelled at it to stay there. My puppy went over, sniffed a little, picked it up and shook the heck out of it and tossed it in the air over his head. It became his favorite plaything.
You have to show your dog two things, that you will always protect him and that there is nothing inside his perimeter that he can't rule.
I did this every time my pup would back off of something or whine or whatever. It didn't take long for showing something he was master to be his first action.
He is a very bold guy these days. Fifteen pounds of fearless.
2007-03-22 13:45:46 · answer #2 · answered by Liligirl 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I read something on dog Kongs that made me want to utilize the use of a Kong for feeding and teething more than I have been doing in the past. I have a subscription to Whole-Dog-Journal, and in one of the articles it explained how Kongs require your dog or pup to exercise more of a mental effort in the feeding process distractring them from doing more harmfull/compulsive behaviors like chewing on furniture or themselves for that matter. Not sure if this helps but I certaitnly wasn't aware of the behavior benefits of a Kong, just thought it was a neat toy for my dog to play with.
As far as just getting your puppy you might want to check out a free article on the whole-dog-journal website called pre-puppy-preparation. it talks about crates and all different things you can do to help out the "breaking in" process to bringing a new puppy to your house. As far as the poor behavior I think the dog Kong will definitely help distract him from some of these traits. Thanks!
2007-03-22 13:42:16 · answer #3 · answered by RO 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wrestle around with him it helped my German Shepard and some of my small dogs as well
2007-03-22 13:37:09 · answer #4 · answered by Howdy17 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋