# Did your puppy go through a fear stage?



## hudak004 (Aug 3, 2006)

Just curious.. I always see people blaming things on "fear stages" and what not. Often at several different age points.

Just got me thinking.. I'm on my 4th puppy (I know I'm crazy but that's another story) 

My first 2 dogs, as puppies, showed some behaviors that I could see someone blaming on a fear stage, nothing in particular and nothing crazy, but as adults these dogs both have similar quirks as they did as pups, less drastic, but they're trained now, and have many more experiences, and to the untrained eye they might seem fine, but I know them, and their quirks and how to manage them. Both were socialized adequately. Although dog #2's history prior to 6 months is unknown. 

My third dog, as a puppy, never once showed any type of fear behavior, and now as an adult, the same. She actually had less socialization than the first 2 due to the time of year (winter) and lack of park-type socialization scenarios with people, dogs, etc

My 4th pup, now 7 months, so far, no fearful behaviors, he has not been socialized a TON, but hopefully people will come out of hibernation soon to make that easier. 

So what I'm getting at, is.. are these "fear stages" just a glimpse of the pups future temperament? Are my expieriences just a fluke?

So tell me, did your pup go through a fear stage, and if so, as an adult, did they totally outgrow their fearful behaviors, or have you just learned how to manage them?


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Onyx went thru so many flakey stages & has fear aggression. But at 3 and mature, she is not as reactive as she was. I blame her genetics for her issues. 
Karlo has never gone thru a fear stage. He'll be a year old tomorrow
He has shown a bit of insecurity by jumping up on me at the vet~ after he had surgery on his mouth, the next time we went in for weight chk, he balked going inside and jumped up on me. 
At the SchH club once, while doing obedience at 7-8 mos. he jumped on me again...I see that as a sign of insecurity due to immaturity, but not a "fear stage"
I believe fear stages are a sign of the future personality/temperament, but first heats can also cause weird behavior.


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## DianaB (Jan 3, 2007)

I believe there are a couple of traditional ages where dogs may show more fear. I think it is 6-9 months and again just at 12 months. A dog might bark, cower, hide behind you to show this fear. Those things, even if small can shape a dog's future. My friend's white GSD is showing separation anxiety after she had a smoke alarm go off (low battery, not a fire) when she was not home. Now the dog is afraid of beeps and they have to condition it. They can be so fragile.


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## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

I've had 5 puppies and gotten 2 adult dogs and have never had a fear stage. I did have one of my dogs that I got as a puppy who had fear aggression from the very beginning; he was one of my first dogs and didn't recognize it at the time I got him. He never got over it, but I was readily able to manage it.

I've had an awful lot of fosters through here of various ages and they fell into three catagories of fear: just plain shy and timid personality, fearful from lack of socialization and/or abuse and neglect, and fear aggressive most likely born that way. 

The first type is helped with socialization, but never really become a confident outgoing dog. The second type is totally helped with socialization and can definitely become a confident outgoing dog. The third type is somewhat helped by socialization, but will never get over the fear aggression.


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