New Fears??

[Karen P]

I have read through some of the posts regarding fear phases of puppies.  Chewie is 9 months old and is now starting to show fear of new things.  Whenever we go outside after dark to go potty he is barking and growling at what appears to be nothing??  I have been telling him to stop and that it is OK.  But he does not respond.  Now he is going crazy when he hears fireworks outside too.  I am not sure if I am doing the right thing but telling him to stop barking?  He has never been afraid of anything before, so this is all new.  Is this something that he is going to outgrow and the less attention I give the behavior the better?  I do not want to make things worse but reacting incorrectly. Thanks for any input!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Oh the Zoombies ~~ I remember this well, Jack. And Spud, the Giant Santa and the little silly goose dressed up on the curb.

I needed a laugh today.

[Holly Doodle]

Holly also went through this around 9 months. She was suddenly scared of everything outside at night, any loud noise, and her reflection in glass. We would just tell her "Don't be silly, it's ok" and not make a big deal out of it. She's 13 months and she's outgrown most of it now. We had fireworks outside our backdoor the other night and she watched them with us curiously, until the grand finally when she got a little jumpy. I agree with Karen that exposure is important to desensitize them. I'm sure he'll outgrow it, just don't comfort him or make a big deal of it.

[Karen P]

Thanks again everyione for your wonderful advice!! I am going to try and work with him at night and see if it helps. He heard some bottle rocks during the day and he did not respond at all. It seems to be just at night. Hopefully he outgrows this soon!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Our Fudge gets afraid when I sneeze. Tonight, Vern got the stainless steel dish out of his crate and took off like a bat out of hell with his treasure and then he dropped it on our tile floor and about had a heart attack. He ran over to me and I started laughing. I try to ignore them.

[Karen P]

LOL silly doodle