My 13 month old male has become a scaredy cat! - Page 1

I dont know if this is a phase he is going through, but it seems to me that my male has lost his nerve! As a younger pup he didnt seem to be like this and he hasnt been through any traumatic event or anything, but it seems that in the last 3 months he seems lacking in confidence in certain situations i.e. when another dog approaches he is fine and curious but as soon as another dog joins as well, he like wants to be out of there, and shoot off!Likewise if another dog-even a smaller one- looks kinda funny at him from a far(i.e. sort of aggresive) he wants to leg it away. Its almost as if he is scared or something. Also although as a younger pup he was more happy go lucky with strangers, now he seems to put his head down and kinda avoid them or steer around them. I dont know if this is a phase or the start of something permanent, but its got me worried, that I'll be left with a spineless GSD! Any suggestions from the more experienced here?

Ignore his trauma and get him out and about. They do have a teenage fear stage. The more he is exposed to sounds, smells, people and other animals the better. Just do not put him in a situation where he will lose, another dog picking a fight. But he can walk on a lead and see other dogs. Maybe take him to an OB class, controlled enviorment with other dogs.

I agree with 1doggie2 ,teenage fear stage.

I had a pup who went through something similar at his age. One day he was afraid to go for walks. I'd get about a half block from the house and he'd pull like crazy trying to get back home. The breeder told me to do my best to ignore it otherwise I might do or say something to reinforce his behavior. So I did my best to pretend it wasn't happening (kept takiing him for walks every day pretending I didn't notice if he showed fear) and a few weeks later his strange behavior stopped as suddening as it started.

Couple of questions: At what age was he separated from his littermates? Has he been socialized and/or you starting to do anything different? A fear stage should not last three months from my expereince. Others may have seen them last this long but I have not.

From my experience I would say that his hormones are to blame for this behaviour. I agree with the others that he does not need special treatment, but do avoid any really bad experiences that he may encounter. It will pass. Sometimes a male puppy must endure this twice during his adolescence, and they are not all the same. Bob-O

OK..I have seen many puppy fear stages but never seem one last 3 months. Plus when I talk about a fear stage I am referring to situations in training that normally would not bother the pup but now do. Ordinary events such as meeting other dogs(as my dogs were socialized to do) and just meeting someone walking down the street (as my were socialiazed to do) never were the type of events that effected my pups. Maybe an agility event that they once loved now seemed to unnerve them etc.. All I ever had to do was back off for a couple of weeks and they were fine, never three months, that's a long time. This is my expereince over many years with my dogs.. Maybe you all have seen much different it seems.

DesertRangers, I agree that three (3) months is a very long time for this type of behaviour that normally lasts but a few weeks if it appears at all. I read the post but did not take into consideration the three-month time span. I should have read it more thoroughly. Klekoni, perhaps this youngster has been agitated by a group of two (2) dogs or more and remembers it well? If this is the case it may take a long time to restore his confidence. I doubt that a puppy who was otherwise normal will suffer a long-term adverse effect such as the one you describe here. Bob-O

Exactly correct Bob.. During a fear stage if something upsets the pup it can have harmful longlasting effects. For example, if doing agility and the pup falls off something it might normally have no effect on the pup, it jumps back up and proceeds, if the same thing happened during a fear stage then you will likely have alot of work to get the pup over it and to do the event again. Critical to know your pup and know when it enters a fear stage.

PS...Bob I have mis-read several posts myself so don't worry about it. Most of us do this from time to time..