Genetics??

[shay19]

So after that whole ordeal with my mom she went off on me about Aida not being trained, taken care of, etc.

Well I started thinking about Aida and one thing that really stood out to me is her fear of new places. She's gotten better about Petsmart now, but before she'd lay on the rug at the door and seriously wouldn't move for 20 minutes.

Now I'm trying to figure out if this is something I messed up on when she was younger or if it could possibly be bad genes?

When she was younger she'd hang out at the gas station I worked at (worked for my mom and she didn't mind) we'd go to Petsmart, went to lots of parks, etc.

She's almost 1 1/2 years old so I don't know if there's another fear stage around this time.

Oh and I've got to add when she goes into Petsmart now (she no longer lays on the rug) she walks VERY close to the shelves and as close to the ground as she can get without crawling.

I know to make the experience fun and positive but any other tips??

[loverocksalot]

I doubt you messed something up when she was younger and doubt it is genes. Like us some dogs just have anxiety about things. Rocky does not behave in Petsmart. I dont take him much but he spends alot of time close to ground crawling trying to get all the smells in. I dont even care to take him there. And yes they do develop new stages and fears as they age. Every time I go in Petsmart, there is some idiotic thing happening. Birds Squaking, kids running around. Dogs yelping at each other. The list goes on. I feel stressed Rocky senses it, everything in there over priced. If Rocky was fearful in there I could live with out going.

[maryellen]

a weak nerved dog is a weak nerved dog,it boils down to genetics. yes nature vs nuture is also involved, however a weak nerved dog will always be weak nerved. just as a solid nerved dog will be solid in any situation irregardless of training ..

[loverocksalot]

But it (fear) can develop later though right? Is fear genetics? Like Rocky was never afraid of anything at about two he started being afraid of things like thunder and some noises. Today he is so freaked by this wind he wants to go out but he does not laying in his bed whining.
Can be a part of poor training habits, but negative style training. Like how Rocky became collar grabbing fearful at a young age with an a hole trainer who used choking to get the behavior he wanted.

[maryellen]

some fear doesnt show totally until the dog starts to mature, it is possible the fear was always there and once a super loud thunder sound set it off. or he is just a little sound sensitive to certain noises.some dogs will have a fear later on in life, due to a tramatic incident. rufus never used to be afraid of thunder. sonny was always afraid of thunder. a few years before sonny died the roles reversed, rufus became afraid of thunder and sonny for some reason stopped being afraid of thunder.. rufus as he has gotten older doesnt like the wind either. the collar grabbing fear is due to what the trainer did, some dogs can be fearful of that while others wont. it just depends on the dog it self ..

[loverocksalot]

He is better with the collar thing now. He has gotten over many of the fears using rewards. I give him treats when a big thunder comes and he calms down. Wind I know what happened. Door blew open once while I was not home made baby gate crash. Came home to find door open. Thoughts I had that someone broke in and that he might be gone. Found him hiding in the back of the house trembling. From that day on he would not go near a baby gate. And I do not believe in the not comforting them when they are afraid. I believe in that if you comfort them they could learn that good things happen when the bad noises come. Has worked for me.

[maryellen]

rufus had a baby gate fall on him as a puppy during one of his fear stages, so that just reinforced him that baby gates were evil. sometimes if something happens during a fear stage that is really traumatic it will stay with the dog .
with the thunder, one time we had a super bad thunderstorm, the whole house shook the entire time of the storm, that was just too much for rufus, especially since the last lightning strike hit so close to the house i felt the electricity go thru me, that was a bad bad storm and it affected him ever since then. sonny however with that storm did the opposite and wasnt afraid of thunderstorms after that.. weird..

[loverocksalot]

Im afraid of thunderstorms too so Rocky and I can hang out in the hall together.