Heart and the Parade
Since Heart  is 4 months old and finished with all of her puppy shots, I feel now is the time to really start exposing her to "planes, trains and automobiles" so to speak.
We have a traintrack by the house and the other day we sat in the car and "experienced" the loud train noises up close and personal! She did great. A little nervous at first, then she just laid down and every once in a while popped her head up to watch. We took her to an outdoor cafe to eat...(we ate, not Heart ). and she experienced a motorcycle. We took her to another outdoor cafe by a lake and she experienced DUCKS swimming right by her nose.
Both ventures were very successful!!! Heart got an AAAA+++++++!!!!!!!
Today the parade,we sat on the curb and watched...... big matching high school bands  ....fire engines with sirens.. little Moohla Shrine cars..horses  (sorry, no horse emoticon)....loud motors...loud horns...cheerleaders  ... ..crowds.....kids petting, adults petting----walking through the crowds...again.....She did great!!!! 
Any other suggestions for future outings will be appreciated!!!!!! |
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That sounds like a fun time. 
Just keep an eye on her for going into her "afraid of everything" stage. You will know - she will go from this brave puppy to a more wimpy one. When she is in this time you need to be more careful - as things that scare her during this time can turn into lasting phobias. But, for now, it sounds like you are doing great. I made a special effort to get Chewie out walking in town, as we live in the country and the exposures he needed just aren't here. The roaring harleys and big trucks really surprised him, and now he just ignores them totally. We also live near a train track and witnessed a train from the safety of the car.  Dog shows, training classes, the dog park, play dates at friend's homes all help too. |
| Is there a special time when the fear stage comes??? How will I know?
As I said, so far she has been very "forgiving" to any strange noises, things, etc.. Just to be clear...she is suspicious of a new thing i.e. a bench, a planter, .....but then I take her up and let her smell and she is fine. With the train the loud noise was more a curious look...like"what is THAT?" and after a few cars went by, she seemed fine. I certainly don't want to imprint a fear in her...she is such a lovely, again, forgiving dog. oHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! |
| I have noticed it starting at 5-6 months, and lasts a month or 2. It can vary - some dogs never seem bothered, and some get quite sensitive. Thankfully it is just a phase and passes. |
| That's great! Fozzie didn't go through a fear stage; just curiosity. The only thing I've noticed he is fearful of....ANNIE |
| That is so wonderful that you are getting her used to all those noises and things. Sounds like she is doing great! |
| Sounds like you are doing all the right things with heart. And sounds like she is having fun too! My puppy did go through a sort of fear period at about 4 or 5 months. So we just took it slow. I took him all around with me and if he showed fear I distracted him with treats or a sit or something else. I've been told it is not good to "force" them to do something they show fear of...let them apporach at their own pace. I'd go slow with the dog parks too...make sure the other dogs are not too rough and keep an eye on her at all times... |
| Thanks for the advice Ashley---
I really don't go to dog parks so that isn't an issue. My problem will be to recognize fear ----I mean is hesitation--- fear??? Cuz she does hesitate if she approaches something that is new. But that's when I talk softly, saying "OH...It's OK...come on" ...and then she follows me and smells and she seems OK with it. I assume if she was really fearful of something, she would not follow me...(I hope) and then, of course, I would know not to push her. However, if I give into her fear.....wouldn't that give her reason to fear it more???? Example--- Let's say Heart is really afraid of...planters...she won't go by them, gets behind me when we pass one....If I "allow" this...won't she continue to be afraid of planters????? How do I get her over a real fear? Sorry...maybe I should know this...but I don't.... |
| I would do just as you described, Val.
It is great that you and Heart have a good working relationship. If she were scared, and she didn't trust you, then things would be that much more difficult. |
sheepieshake wrote: Is there a special time when the fear stage comes??? How will I know?
From the reading I've done in behavior books, the most common and impressionable time frame for this to happen seems to be from 16-20 weeks. The fears they learn during this time stay with them for life. I'm sure it varies some with individual dogs, but that gives you a good estimate. |
| How fun to learn all the new things! One thing I have learned that my gal Miley keys into how I feel about things. I would get nervous about how she would react to the dogs in the neighborhood which she sensed and it can feed into the Mileys reaction. If I have its a "Its no big deal" attitude Miley usually does too.
Becky and Miley |
Quote: One thing I have learned that my gal Miley keys into how I feel about things.
You're right about that Becky........they say that the leash is like an umbilical cord that runs emotion from person to the dog. 
There are times that I get nervous about a situation and almost "feel" her tensing up. |
I took Gabriel to Petsmart last night and just walked around for about 20 minutes. He did great, there was a puppy class going on he thought he should be in  and lots of people whom he thought were there just to tell him how cute he is . Although he does tend to get pretty excited he actually stayed fairly calm (for him) so it was a pleasant experience for both of us. Maybe Heart would enjoy doing that. |
Quote: Maybe Heart would enjoy doing that.
I will do that.......sounds like a great adventure......Thanks |
sheepieshake wrote: Is there a special time when the fear stage comes??? How will I know?
As I said, so far she has been very "forgiving" to any strange noises, things, etc.. Just to be clear...she is suspicious of a new thing i.e. a bench, a planter, .....but then I take her up and let her smell and she is fine. With the train the loud noise was more a curious look...like"what is THAT?" and after a few cars went by, she seemed fine. I certainly don't want to imprint a fear in her...she is such a lovely, again, forgiving dog. oHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Val, you are doing great with Heart ! You are right about their fear stage, it's called Fear Imprint period/ Fearful period or the "I'm afraid of Everything" Stage.
It last from about 8 weeks to 3 months and they appear terrified over things that they took in stride before. Try not to or very carefully introduce loud voices or traumatic events to her. When you see her move forward that's always great and you need to encourage that behavior. She may be trying to sniff at something without moving her legs but leaning forward (may seem hesitation) so you can step forward to that object and encourage her to come to you. You can use her favorite treats too and if she is hungry enough she will come - Hunger overcomes fear!  It sounds you are doing everything right so you shouldn't worry about her at all (I know easier said then done).
Make sure not to pet her when she gets really scared of something (she is trying to run away, crying, etc.) just ignore that behavior as if it didn't even happen. Don't say anything, don't even look at her. This way she will be like "Oh, Mommy isn't scared so why am I freaking out  ?"
Just stay calm and she will stay calm as well, just as you said it they feel your energy through the leash it is like an umbilical cord. Even without it they feel your energy. You are both doing great especially little ! |
| Prof. Bondi--
I was hoping you would come in on this with some great comments.... Since Heart is about 20 weeks old, can I assume, I "missed" this imprint fear stage??? I really didn't take her out in public from the time she came to me at 8 weeks until 13 weeks because she did not have all her shots--vet told me, since I am rather anal (and hyper) about my furkids, he did not want me to take the chance that Heart would end up catching something from another dog..I think his quote was............. "We certainly don't need Heart getting sick and having to hospitalized and then you would be camping out on the front lawn in order to be close to her all the time....NO WAY...so don't take her anywhere until all her shots are done!!!!" (This guy has been my vet for about 22 years...he knows me so well.....................
(sorry, I digress) Anyway.....so her fear imprint period is over??????????? I'm home free????? GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks |
Lol, Val, I think I would do the same thing if my boys would be in the hospital. I have worked for a vet back in Hungary, so now I tell every vet my boys are seen by that I would like to be there, see surgeries, etc. When we got Boni neutered this didn't work, as the "surgery room was too small".  So, I know exactly how you feel.
Okay, so little is 4 months old now. You are not totally free, I'm sorry...you still need to watch her, especially her body language and other dogs as well. If you take her for a walk and you see dogs approaching you (on or off leash) and they are pulling their owners, lunging, ears up, tails up, hackles up, etc. then go a different way. The reason I tell you this is because Boni was 4 months old when he was attacked by two goldendoodles, who were actually our friends dogs. They knew him since he was a 2 months old and played with him off leash. What I didn't know that these two dogs were "leash aggressive", which means they are great dogs off leash but on leash they are crazy.
Lumpi was fine but for Boni at this age it was a trauma. I didn't know that until we actually moved to the city where there are so many more dogs than in a little town. He doesn't mind dogs passing by, but he gets scared when dogs stop by. He is fine off leash but I suppose when he is on leash and a dog stops by, he thinks they're going to attack him. I have to work really hard to teach him, that not all dogs are mean and that he is safe with me. So, you are mostly done with this fear stage but BIG SCARY things can leave a bad memory in her mind. Do you socialize her with other dogs? |
| Me and my husband, Dino, took Heart to get some ice cream last week. While we were waiting in line a really nice lady came up with her golden--he was older (face greying)..she said Lookie, (whatever his name was)...lookie at that cute puppy...her dog began sniffing Heart's head and then started to growl and lunged...Heart ducked, I pulled her away,began walking away...and this lady was apologizing,,,,,"I'm sorry, I don't know what has gotten into him."........uggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! I was so mad at myself...I know better....I really do!!!!!!!!!!! Heart seemed OK, though. She didn't cry or yelp...NO contact...thank goodness!!!!
Heart plays all the time with Coz and Pearl my other dogs--I also am in puppy classes where there are 2 golden puppies and they play off lead part of the time. Her last puppy class is next Monday, and then we are going to a different puppy class for more solicalization and play time and maybe even a little training.... Only kidding, she knows how to sit, down, wait....the stays are hard right now..she sits, pops up...sits, pops up.... She is walking on lead very nicely, not much pulling after a couple of steps, she gets so excited... |
| This is why I don't like people stopping by us, thinking their dog is so nice and calm and and as they say, their dog loves other dogs; then for some reason out of the blue that dog doesn't like my dogs! People don't realize that dogs are pretty much like us in this case. They don't like every dog! They may like Pearl but they don't like Heart . Or it can be the other way round. Do you know what I mean? This is one of the cons of dog parks.
Also, you never know if other people can control their dogs. They are very strong! A 60 Lbs dog is as strong as a 180 Lbs person! So, when I'm walking the boys - Lumpi is 90 Lbs + Boni is 67 Lbs = 157 Lbs (which is already more then what I weight) times 3 = 471 Lbs!!! For this reason, a lot of time I don't stop when we see other dogs, or when we are queuing I try to block them with my body. You can pick the people and the dogs you want your dogs to socialize with, if you don't like a dog you can make up silly excuses why you don't want your dog to meet that dog, etc. If you feel your dog might be in danger (by a dog or a person) you can take her away from the situation, you can do anything! Their life is in your hand! I am glad she wasn't hurt though. That would have been awful! I love puppy classes! They do get excited so quick. You are doing a great job with her, it is really nice to see that! Just keep up the good work! |
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