Innate fear in small dogs?

Question

Please - no stupid answers, and only answer the question below if you have knowledge. Any abuse will be reported.

I have a small dog and so does my brother - neither dog has ever been hit or abused - but I see them act cautious at times (not all the time), as if they fear being hit. My dog is afraid, or at least barks at, anyone with a stick/rifle/etc. - any kind of long instrument. My dog is just over a year old - and I am just wondering if this is innate - self preservation - behavior - esp. because they are small dogs?

Thanks Caiti - I socialized her very well with people (matter of fact she comes to work with me and so even though she is a breed that is "supposed" to be a one-person type dog, she loves people, at least until she gets used to them (sees them alot). But I have not, perhaps, exposed her to many situations (long objects, etc).

Answer 1

Most likely its because the dogs weren't fully socialized as pups. If puppies aren't socialized to as many different experiences as possible by the time they are 12 weeks, they may show caution or fear toward certain things later in life. Also, many dogs do not really like to be patted on the head, but if you do it a lot when they are puppies then they get used to it. A lot of people think dogs duck because they were abused, but that is not necessarily the case.

One thing that makes dogs dissimilar from wolves is that they display curiosity and are less cautious than wolves. So caution is an innate characteristic in dogs' ancestors.

Answer 2

I have small dogs as well. One is scared and barks at everything, the other can't be bothered to bark at all.

The one that barks at everything has been with me since he was 4 days old so I know he wasn't abused unless it was before then. (His mother and her litter were taken by DCS and Animal Control from one of those "Houses of Filth" you see on the news and brought here for fostering. We ended up adopting him.)

Some dogs are just more sensitive than others. He barks at the broom, the mop, the fly swatter, barks at and attacks the vacuum, Barks at people with hats on or big hair until he figures out who they are. He is just high strung. He barks if a truck drives by, he barks if he thinks a truck might drive by.

Now my mother adopted a puppy a year ago from another litter I fostered and her's comes here with her to visit everyday. He is a small dog too. One day I had just mopped hte kitchen floor before she came over and had a fan running in there to dry the floor. We thought nothing of the fan and put the dog in there. He was scared of the fan so much that when she brought him home he would not even walk past her air conditioner that she has had the whole time.

Sometimes dogs are just scared of things for no reason, well they have a reason, maybe they don't like the sound or they don't like the motion.

It's not always small dogs either. I have seen big dogs do the same thing.

Answer 3

I have raised several German Shepherds in my time and I have indeed noticed the timidity of some of the smaller breeds of dog. The human world is an alien place for any dog, but the larger breeds obviously see the world as a bigger place than the tinies. Small dogs are at risk of not being seen and tripped over; they probably see large objects as a threat.

Big dogs can become afraid, but usually as a result of ill-treatment.

Often, if the owner is afraid, say of storms, the dog (of any size) can pick up on this.

I trained mine to gunshot from eight weeks and they all grew up as steady as a rock.

Answer 4

Some small dogs tend to be more excitable and highly strung than their larger breed counterparts.You shoud try desensitiong your dog, have something like a feather duster beside you, pick the dog up and get his attention by letting him get a scent of some chicken that you should have in your hand, gradually bring the feather duster uo and near to the dog, continue feeding tipbits which will take the dogs attention away from the duster, repeat with different items over the next few weeks....

Answer 5

Dogs form their personalities in the first 4 months of their lives. If you take them places and introduce them to a lot of people when they are 2 and 3 months old; (Socialize them) they will be comfortable with the way people act and not flinch at the wave of a hand. This is also the right time for training. What ever gets established at this early age is hard to change.

Answer 6

I don't know if it's natural for small dogs. My Chi is isn't like that and they're supposed to be one of the most cautious. If you want to help your dog get over her fear you can intorduce him/her to long objects slowly for a few minutes at a time. Strat by bringing them in the room and lying them on the floor, once your dog gets used to that, them slowly work your way up to strangers walking around with them. I don't know for sure that it will work but it's worth a try. Good luck.

Answer 7

The dog never got to socialize properly during a critical period.
Hope this is not TOO harsh.
BTW, the dog doesn't have a clue that he/she is small.

Answer 8

they need to be socialized better at a younger age u get what u produce sorry!