Sherlock Bones Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Over a few weeks I've noticed that Cassie has developed this wierd fear... from 7 weeks old she's been extremely well socialised, mainly because for the first 6 months of her life she was with me 24/7 and that meant towns, cities, parks, everything you can think of. There are very few situations she hasn't seen or experienced. Sudden noises however (like a lorry going over a drain) have always concerned her but as that doesn't happen to often I've never worried. Now though, she's started being worried about shops - yes honestly. Where i live there are hundreds of shops, corner shops, parades of shops, the lot. Because of Meg's fear aggression all the dogs are mainly walked on the street so we pass lots of shops all the time... yet now she seems to have a problem with them! Mainly it appears to be people in shops, or "things" in shops. Today we walked, just the two of us, to the local parade to the pet shop. She freaked at the restaurant where a waiter walked past the window then at the 2nd hand furniture shop where stacks of furniture was at the front window, then she nearly lost the plot at the bell going in the pet shop (admittedly we don't go in the pet shop usually, we walk past when it's closed). I had to drag her in. Once in, she was fine, had a sniff around, but her ears were back and she was clearly nervous. She was also concerned by a passing lorry that made a noise, but didn't bat an eyelid at buses going past that did the same. I'm sure her eyesight is fine, she doesn't miss a trick... so what's going on? Should I just act like normal, i don't react to her when she freaks (she pulls to get away) I just carry on walking and encourage her to walk on. Am i feeding her fear by continuing to walk past the shops (though I can't avoid them to be honest round here), or am I missing something obvious that she is worried about? Any ideas? Wierd isn't it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K9Fran Posted January 3, 2007 Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 Maybe she's feeling a bit 'rushed' and needs to take her own time/make her own decisions - if somebody dragged me onto a roller coaster I'd feel like my opinions weren't being valued, and I'd probably put up and shut up, but it wouldn't make me like the roller coaster any more....... However, sit me next to Anthony Head, and I MIGHT change my mind........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherlock Bones Posted January 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 3, 2007 LOL.. no it's more than that... we're just walking, normal pace, past normal shops. And the waiter wasn't, unfortunately, Anthony Head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlmckay Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 It is strange isn't it? It's almost like she's gone through one of her developmental fear stages, but we both know she's too old for that - isn't she? My first thought was sight and then I wondered if it isn't just some anxiety brought on by something really, really tiny that's got worked out of all proportion. Do you have a steady, non-freaking canine walking companion you can take with you past the shops? Some canine tutoring may have more of an effect on her... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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