A story to help with your understanding of puppy fear periods: Eighteen-week-old Louis, a Westie puppy, was very relaxed behind a gate that divided his area and the living room where I sat with his human mom. He quietly played without crying or pawing to get to us. Even when we walked outside for a moment, there was not a peep from him. I was told he also went readily into his crate for naps and showed no real fears of anything he saw out in the big world during one of his puppy socialization outings. “What a well-adjusted little boy,” I thought.
Then, as we continued our conversation, I pulled out a hollee roller and dropped it over the gate for him to play with. That is when I saw the fear response shown in the video. He barked and backed away from it, not quite sure what to make of that round green foreign object.
His was not the kind of fear that sent him running out of the room with his tail between his legs. It was a mild, conflicted response. He was curious but a little worried about it at the same time.
New things can sometimes cause that kind of reaction in puppies. It often is a normal developmental response that can be part of a fear period.
I remember a few instances with my Dawson. One time we were in a park and came across a large sewer pipe. Dawson began barking, backing up, moving forward, then barking and moving back again. He had a 15-feet leash on at the time. I let the leash out so that he had space to move away while I went up to it to investigate. Rather quickly he came over and began investigating it too. Moments later he was running around, exploring it. Another time he came into my living room and had the same reaction to a package of toilet paper on the floor. I walked over, touched it and talked to it while he watched. Again, quickly, he came over to see it up close and then moved on to go play with a toy.
Another time I was outside with a client’s puppy, who, until that day went up to every person and new object with curiosity. We were walking on the sidewalk when a woman came out with a vacuum cleaner. Suddenly the puppy’s tail tucked and she kept wanting to move away. We stayed at a distance where she could relax, and I got on the ground with her. We played and looked at the woman and her vacuum. Within a couple minutes, the puppy’s loose muscles and movement toward the woman told me she was ok with everything. We got up and walked past without any more issues.
In the video, you will see how Louis went from fear to curiosity when I went into the space and played with it with him, to his choosing it as his new favorite toy (at least during my visit). That all happened within a matter of about 10 minutes.
Note that if your puppy exhibits a much deeper fear response such as shaking, hiding behind something, moving away with a tucked tail, growling, lunging, redirected fighting or biting, this is a much more serious problem. Please seek the help of a trained professional who uses positive approaches.
What are puppy fear periods?
In their groundbreaking research, Drs. John Paul Scott and John L Fuller found that puppies at about five weeks of age demonstrate a strong fear response to novel stimuli and loud noises. Puppies over come those responses through gradual introductions that, if shown to be non-harmful, they come to accept as normal part of their lives. (The research findings were published in a book, Genetics and the Social Behavior of Dogs.) I may write more about the book later.
Most people think of the first fear period from about eight to ten or eleven weeks old, around the time when they bring their companion home. In nature, this is a time when puppies are starting to explore their world outside the den. This is the time when their mother teaches them what is and is not dangerous to their survival. During this time, it is important to avoid exposing your puppy to traumatic experiences.
The second fear period occurs between six and fourteen months of age, and can be much more pronounced. It is believed to be tied to a dog’s growth spurts and sexual maturity, which means a larger dog may go through this later than a smaller dog. It may seem ‘out of nowhere’ that your curious, adventurous puppy suddenly shows reactions like cowering behind or under a barrier, snapping or lunging at unknown people or dogs, excessively panting, whining or barking.
Often you do not need to do much to help your dog through puppy fear periods. Still, your response can impact lasting behavior effects.
Tips for helping puppies with normal fears/conflicts
Remain calm. This isn’t a time to become overly dramatic and frantic over your puppy’s response. Instead, take deep breaths if needed, have a relaxed tone in your voice. Depending on your puppy and the environment, you may want to go up to the scary thing and investigate it on your own, stay at a distance and do something with your puppy that your puppy enjoys, or allow your puppy to investigate it on his/her own without your guidance. I’ve found a lot of times that it helps for me to be involved with the process but every puppy and every situation is different.
Do not force interactions. Never restrain your puppy or force your puppy to interact with whatever it is he/she is afraid of. Flooding is a behavior modification strategy in which the learner is exposed to an aversive stimulus without a means of escape. It can greatly increase the animal’s level of anxiety and stress; and can have long term implications.
Socialize your puppy. Remember though that socialization is not simply about exposing your puppy to everything. It is about being intentional to create experiences that teach your puppy to feel at least neutral if not positive, and definitely safe. Give your puppy daily new exposures to a variety of sights, sounds, surfaces and smells.
Do not expose your puppy to trauma and high anxiety provoking events. This is a time when these events can have greater, longer lasting impacts.
