Thoughts on this reaction? - Page 1

So Auggie has been doing really well lately with pretty much everything.  We went to Lowes quite a bit recently along with PetSmart. He was fine with everyone he met and let everyone who we talked to pet him.  Fine when he saw the other dogs at PetSmart too (I don't let him interact with the dogs, he just passed them or saw them from a distance), and was more so just curious about things and wanting to play with toys.  All good...... Well, yesterday morning was when I went to PetSmart......Last night my brother and his wife came over for a bit. Auggie was fine with my brother....But he acted spooked towards my sister in law.  I "do" know she always wears some type of perfume, and it did make me think back to when he was somewhat younger.  At Lowes once when he was younger he acted spooked just like that when he smelled all of the detergents and certain chemicals he would respond to in that exact same way.  He would start backing away from it.  Any idea why? This is the dog that will climb on top of absolutely anything, chase the ball anywhere, and has been doing so well lately.  Thoughts? Or should I pay little attention to this incident? He seemed alright a few seconds after she got out of the car, he went on about his business and ignored her after that and just went around playing with one of the other dogs.  Normally when people come up to the house or fence he has no issue with them in a fearful way at all. He'll watch them, check them out, etc for a little bit (I consider that normal considering the breed), but then go about his business.

I think she's perfectly normal: strong perfumes put dogs away, especially when they consider it offensive. Sometimes, they react differently to different personality: ask caeser milan "the dog whisperer".

Yeah, I think this is just a surprised reaction to an overwhelming mix of strong scents;  given that Auggie's
olfactory abilities are like ours but to the power of 1,000 - 2,000, we expect our dogs to deal with quite
some assaults on their senses sometimes !  He'll probably be the same when he gets a whiff of his first
drunk  ;0   LOL.

Or whiff's a cigarete;  whatever they are wearing, perfume included covers up the persons scent initially, I think it takes him a while to uncover this perfume scent to get to the person to let you know the person is OK>  True GSD.  Yeah.  He sounds like something I would definitely want for my protector.  Keep up the good work with him  Nan

I have the same reaction when walking through the perfume section at Macys.....lol

Your best bet it so "minimize" your reaction to your dog's reaction. If you make a big deal about it, so will your dog.
Keep walking him by the isle every couple of days, get his focus, walk by at a good pace and as soon as he gives his attention back to you give a treat - he will get used to the idea.