Hi,

Edie and I got back from spending Christmas with my Mum a couple of days ago, and Edie's fearfulness has gotten so much worse since we came home.

Ever since we've had her (she's 17 weeks now), she's been nervous and flighty, but we'd settled into a routine of working slowly through the issues. But now she reacts to every tiny noise outside or flitting shadow against the window. She shakes, and growls, and tenses all her muscles. I've had to start keeping the TV on and the curtains drawn just to give her a break from the constant vigilance.

Also, she just won't leave the house at all. She's always hated walking on the street, but now she cries and shakes and jumps up at me or the door before we even get a step outside. She won't even go into the yard, where she used to love to play. I don't know what to do, I'm scared anything I try will make her worse.

My Mum thinks she just needs a few days to "get settled back in", but I'm convinced there's something seriously wrong. I want to schedule a home visit from a behaviourist to see if I'm causing the problems somehow, or at least to help me know how to help Edie. Should I? Does anyone else think I'm overreacting?

Poor baby girl I can only speak from my experience.
Honey used to react to noises etc, she's a lot better with that now tho. Honey is fear aggressive to strangers and dogs. I wish I would have seeked advice/help earlier.
There is a lot of useful info on this site that can help you and a lot of nice ladies that can offer advice.
Also, a home visit from a behaviouralist will not be a bad thing at this stage! Ask your vet for a referral (for a positive reinforcement trainer only) and you should be able to claim it back on pet insurance too.



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Something must be scaring her. I hope you can find an answer. I have never had a dog that scared of so many things. The only one I did have, was a Fox Terrier , we rescued her when she was 7 months old, and if you raised your voice or moved your hand to fast, she would cower down, we figured she must have been beaten. With a lot of love and patience, it took about a year for her to stop being afraid of us and start trusting us.

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Ike born Aug 15 2012

I would call in the behavioralist. It's not healthy for her to live in constant fear. Maybe the trainer can help you pinpoint what the problem is, or at least give you some pointers on how to help her overcome her fears. Good luck, I hope it works out.

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I encourage finding a behavioralist. I got one to do home visits and I learned a lot about my dog that I feel I never would have known about by just doing my own research.

I would call right away I have 2 puppies that are going to doggy daycare because I was told by the trainer that puppies brains are pretty much developed by 16 wks the more stuff you can expose them to when young the easier it will be when they're grown
Don't lose hope though I have 2 adults that weren't exposed nearly enough as puppies and they've gotten better with classes and daycare
Good luck



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I agree with the others, a behaviorist sounds like a GREAT idea. As Rach said though, make sure they do positive reinforcement as anything negative at this state would make things worse. It just sounds like she needs to build confidence. It very well may not be anything you've done; as even the first few weeks of her life before you had her play a huge role in their adult personalities. Here's one of my favorite sources of info on Canine Development which will explain better how things are from her eyes. Good luck!!

Stages Canine Dev.

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Can you show a video of how she's acting? There is a lack of trust here. You need to show her that you're not going to let anything happen to her. You need to constantly reassure her & love on her & comfort her & talk to her, talk to her, talk to her softly. Something has scared her & made her feel alone. Closing the curtains & turning the TV up is just covering up the issue & not helping her to adjust, get used to the differences in life. Try getting down to her level, playing with her & lots of talking to her. A behavorist sounds like a good idea if you don't know what else to do.

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