Puppy is Suddenly Fearful of Everything, What to Do?

Question

I have a 4 month old Collie puppy. Today she has been acting very skittish with any noise, even familiar ones. It all started when I took her outside and my daughter did not see us and pulled a kite into the air. It freaked the puppy out...she peed some strange smelling pee. Ever since then EVERYTHING has been freaking her out.

I read in the Dog Bible that it is very common for adolescent puppies (starting between 16-20 weeks) to go through a 2nd fearful period.

Any ideas of how best to handle this?

Answer 1

Pretend it never happened and everything is normal.

Answer 2

The only thing I can really think of is to not nurture this fear in her, it may confuse her when she sees you giving her affection at this time of stress.  Its best not to associate things like fear and stress with love and affection.

I guess its alright to tell her its okay, but don't seem like you're too worried about it.  Puppies and dogs can sense stress or any kind of tension in anyone, and many end up feeding on it and mirroring the feelings.

Answer 3

Ignore the behaviour you don't like and praise what you do like.  Continue socializing her without too much pressure, but you do need to socialize her.  This will pass.  

She needs to feel that you're there to support her, but you can't baby her in any way which would reinforce her fear and make her feel that she's right to be afraid.

For example, if she's afraid of a bus driving by when you're walking her, be aware that a bus is approaching, calmly walk a little farther away, keep her close to you and if she knows the command at all, tell her "watch".  I always tell my puppy "watch" if there's anything he's unfamiliar with or might be nervous about coming up.  That way, he's not freaked because he's not caught unaware.  He watches, then moves on.

Answer 4

try to not to scare her nd stick with her it makes her feel beter more safe nd if there is alot of people around she gets even more scared nd they pee a little some mine did

Answer 5

If she is up to date on her vaccines enroll her in a puppy class.

Many local humane societies have them. They help get puppies get trained and socialized. This will help her become a well-rounded adult dog that is easily manageable and not ill mannered or fearful of things.