depression and fear

[balthazar]

The past day my boy has been acting strange.
The first incident happened when i went out back to the shed to get the lawn mower out, my boy was next door with my mom and when he noticed me he came running out barking with the scruff on his back standing straight up like he didnt know who I was. Once he got to within ten feet he realized it was me and started wagging his tail again. This was very unlike him.
The second incident happened later in the afternoon, me and my wife were at the front of the house and he was at on his chain at the back of the house which extends most of the way down the side of the house. He saw us and started wagging his tail like normal, I went towards him to unhook him from his chain so he could come join us but as i approached him he acted like I was about to beat him, he cowared away from me and then ran about 5 feet away. I have never even raised my hands towards him before so i'm not sure where this behavior is coming from.
That evening he seemed depressed which continued thru this morning.
Has anyone else ever experience similar problems with their boxer?

Any help would be appreciated, maybe I'm concerned about nothing and he will be back to normal in a few days.

 

[gmacleod]

Your guy is 9 months old? If so, it could just be that he's going through his second fear imprint stage. That typically occurs at any point between 6-14 months, and lasts for a good three months or more.

During that time, the dog is likely to be frightened by strange things, different people and situations, and - also being an adolescent - is likely to react defensively. The way to handle it is to lead Show him by your own nonchalent attitude that there's nothing to be concerned about. He'll watch you, and eventually will follow that lead. It's important not to make any fuss - don't try to reassure him, nor force him to face whatever he's frightened of because either action would confirm to him that there's something to be afraid of. Instead, you need to show him through your own confident and unconcerned attitude that his fear is groundless. (LOL - and don't, for goodness' sake do what some fools do and egg him on, imagining it's some sort of guard dog instinct coming out - it isn't, it's fear. And the one thing worse than a frightened dog is a dog that bites out of fear).

Anyway, he will come out the other side of this stage in the not-too-distant future. Expect it to last three months or so though. During that time, you need to continue to socialise him, making exeriences as positive as possible and using distraction techniques where needed (hard to be barking at something if you're doing sits and downs for treats instead ). With your calm and collected leadership, it will be as a confident and assured individual who's alert but not threatened by new situations.

There is a little more on this, and other developmental stages your pup will go through at www.boxerworld.com/puppy/education

 

[Net45582]

Boxers do go through a second fear stage. You may want to use the search tool here using "fear stage" or similar. You will find previous posts with info about it.
Do you think anyone in the neighborhood has teased him while on the chain without your knowing?

 

[Lola's mum]

Oh boy do I hear you.
Lola is the same at the moment and has been for the past 2 months or so. Some days she's fine, some she's not.
One day she looked so frightened of me it hurt my feelings. Then the other week she was petrified of my daughter stirring pasta with a wooden spoon.
We just ignore her little episodes and hopefully they will stop soon enough.
The first time it happened we took her to the emergency vet as we thought it was neurological.