Expert: Labman - 7/7/2009

Question
QUESTION: I have a 14 week old lab puppy I got 4 weeks ago. When we picked her out she was happy, outgoing, and extremely friendly to people. She was raised in a family with both parents on site and was not the runt (or the largest). When we first brought her back, she was a bit frightened as expected, but really warmed up to us and our house within a week or so. She loved walks and meeting new people. Gradually however this has all changed. She's become more timid and frightened to the point that she is now ducking her head when I go to pet her, won't really play with us anymore, and is now shying away from strangers. Every day it gets worse. The vet says she isn't ill, and when we take her into new environments she really enjoys it, but after a few days becomes anxious again about these places. She no longer will play with puppies her age and size and just lays frozen on her back when they are around. I am with her almost all day and she sleeps with me at night but sometimes she completely ignores me or acts as if I'm about to trick her into something awful. It is becoming harder to motivate her with treats or even her favorite toys and she is terrified of the front door. Taking her out requires carrying her (which I won't be able to do for much longer). We never yell at her or hit her and has never had a bad experience with any other people. I know she is still young and may grow out of this behavior, but I really need some tips on how to increase her confidence and reverse these behaviors before they get any worse.

ANSWER: Puppies go through fear stages, usually a little later than that.  If that is the problem, don't make a big deal of it.  Let her investigate things at her own pace.  Don't force her into something that overwhelms her.  Don't encourage it by coddling her either.  Be matter of fact.  She should grow out of it before long, but may go through another one around 10 months.  Our 10 month Golden seems to be going through one now.

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QUESTION: What constitutes forcing her? Everything I have read says you need to expose them to many different environments around this age to socialize them well, but if we take her out the front door she spends the next thirty minutes shivering. Is that forcing her? Am I doing more harm than good? I have just left the door open and sat on the front porch for 2 hours trying to get her comfortable, but to no avail. I need to be able to take her places, but her biggest trigger is the front door and yard, no matter how much fun she has at the park. What should I do? She won't explore the front door herself even if I cover it in treats, have all her favorite toys, and have people she likes all encouraging her to come out.

Answer
Is she any better about going out the back door and around the house?  You could try what often works with a puppy that doesn't want to walk on lead, dropping behind it and running by in baby steps calling ''Go, go, go!'' In a happy, excited voice.

Avoid looking her in the eye or letting her see your teeth.  When you pet her, keep your hand away from the top of her head.  

Work at building the dog's confidence up. Start with obedience training. The key to most behavior problems is approaching things using the dog's natural instincts. Dogs see all the people and dogs in the household as a pack with each having their own rank in the pack and a top dog. Life is much easier if the 2 legged pack members outrank the 4 legged ones. You can learn to play the role of top dog by reading some books or going to a good obedience class. A good obedience class or book is about you being top dog, not about rewarding standard commands with a treat. Start at http://www.dogsbestfriend.com/ As you praise the dog for following your commands, it will build its confidence.

Play tug of war with the dog and lose. However at the end of the game, take the rope or toy and put it up, less the dog becomes confused about who is top dog. Ropes from the pets' store quickly turn to hazardous shreds. Ones I made lasted much better. Go to a hardware or home center that sells rope by the foot. Buy 2' of 3/4" poly rope. Melt the ends, and tie knots in it. Get them as tight as possible, put it in a vise and pound it with a hammer. Watch carefully, and be ready to discard when it comes apart.

Finally, make sure it has a den to live in. If you are not using a crate, buy one. The dog may be happier in its den than loose in the house. It relaxes, it feels safe in its den. It rests, the body slows down reducing the need for water and relieving its self. Dogs that have been crated all along do very well. Many of them will rest in their crates even when the door is open. I think the plastic ones give the dog more of a safe, enclosed den feeling. Metal ones can be put in a corner or covered with something the dog can't pull in and chew. Select a crate just big enough for the full grown dog to stretch out in.  Even if you don't shut her in it much, she needs to have it available to retreat to whenever she feels threatened.