fear of people developed over night

[Shanz]

Hey guys i need some help. My pup is about 18 weeks old and about a month or so ago she all of a sudden developed thia fear of people. Shes been around various people and dogs all her life.. but now she cowers. If anyone goes to touch her she runs and hides behind me and then shlll bark at them. I dont know why this happened it literally came over night. Shes been around people al her life.. I work at a community center and i bring her there with me all the time. SHes fine with people coming into my house.. even people shes never met before.. but if she were to meet those same people on the street.. shed run. Any suggestions?

 

[Jan]

She is probably going through a fear period. Just treat her like normal. Let her approach people at her own speed and don't force her on anyone. Don't pat her and tell her it's okay, it's the worse thing to do. Supposedly dogs can't see 100% until they are 5 months old and then everything looks different. It's possible that is the problem as well. Just give her time, she will probably be fine.

 

[gmacleod]

Yep, you just need to be her leader when you're out on walks. Treat new experiences, people, etc as just a normal fact of life and she'll begin to follow your lead.

At http://www.boxerworld.com/puppy/education/ you can find information on the various stages your puppy will go through (including a second fear imprint stage in a few months). You could also do a search on 'fear imprint' which will turn up plenty of advice given to others who've had similar questions in the past.

 

[re68335]

give it time

I brought Jada home when she was 15 weeks and she was quite friendly at when we met at her breeders house. When I started taking her out at about age 16 weeks I noticed she was shy... same as you described, she would cower back if someone tried to pet her or would go behind my legs. Since then I've been taking her out regularly, to Petsmart, to the park, and she started obedience class. She is 5 1/2 month now and is getting much more confident. If someone very big or someone very small comes up too fast she will still shy back but for the most part just about anyone can start talking to her now and will be greeted with wiggles and wags. I followed the advise I got here at Boxerworld... I don't baby her if she acts shy and tell her it's alright, I just ignore it, and I praise her when she acts friendly. It's taking time but I can see improvement! Today she was much more outgoing at obedience class, another particpiant even mentioned that she noticed a change, and this is only our 3rd class!

 

[Shanz]

thanks a bunch i hope to have her started at an obedience class in january.. It being the holidays shell have to deal with more people coming and going. Ive even brought her to malls hopefuly she'll outgrow it.

 

[Ciscobxr]

We're walking in your shoes right now also!
Cisco is going through his second fear period right now. ( He is 8 months old)
He will not get near men that he does not know. We went to the dog bakery this weekend and he would let the women love all over him, but if a man got near he would hide behind me or cower, but they never could touch him. He acted this same way to one of my hubby's friends that was over about a month ago.
Thank God for boxer world! I had read about this here, so I knew what was going on when it started! appicon

 

[DogPile]

Joe went through a fear period at the exact same age. We just kept exposing him to things, being very matter of fact. It's important not to "comfort" the dog (saying "It's okay" in that baby voice we use) because then puppy will think there's a reason to be scared. Praise for any signs of not cowering. Joe got over it on his own in a week or two.

 

[Lennox_ATL]

I agree with everyone else, the most important thing is not to comfort your dog. Ignore her fear, and reward her when she shows courage. Things should get better in due time