What is your puppy afraid of?

[Jess and Pippin]

Had the funniest experience with Pippin the other day.  I wanted to purchase a raincoat for him (needed when you live on the wetcoast of Canada, cuz it really helps cut down the drying time in the am when I'm trying to get out the door for work after our am walk!!).  Anyway, I had to take Pippin's measurements (neck, chest width and girth, and length from shoulder blades to tail root).  No problem, right?  Wrong!!  Pippin took one look at my cloth tape measure and fled!  I was holding it in my hands across the room and he fled!  Here I was thinking that measuring Kylie (maltese and very nervous) was going to be the challenge, but she absolutely loved the attention.  Pippin, our confident, not afraid of anything, was a huge chicken!  Fortunately, we had lots of turkey in the frig (Canadian thanksgiving weekend), and a big prize as far as goofball Pip is concerned, so after lots or attempts, I finally got the measurements.  So, I was wondering if anyone else had a funny, what is your puppy afraid of?? story to share?

[Anne G.]

That's so funny how they get skittish about the weirdest things. My pup Murphy is afraid of cats because one jumped her once. Lately when we are on our walks we are passing a lot of halloween decorations on people's lawns, and she's afraid of all the black cats even though they are stuffed or painted. Also there was a big frawn from a palm tree in the street and she freaked out when she saw that too. Come on Murphy, toughen up!! :-)

[Amber (with Maggie)]

My puppy is terribly afraid of flash bulbs on cameras! If someone takes a photo of her with the flash on she runs and hides! (I haven't been able to cure her of this yet.)

Loud noises from toys also scare her, but after the initial fear, those are her favorite toys to play with. I find that once she overcomes her fear, it's almost like she is proud of it and challenges herself with it continually. (She used to be very scared of jumping on and off of the bed, and I had to pick her up each time. Now she does it just to do and does a little happy dance/wiggle after each jump.)

[Rhonda, Marabelle & Jeriki]

ahwwww so cute

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Barley Barker is afraid of noises when he can't identify the source. This includes the sounds of crickets, katydid, and bullfrogs. Walking by a pond is a nightmare for him. We live in a rural area so this is sometimes a problem. Barley is also afraid of the woods. I have no idea why. I took him to an historical park that included both a large field and woods. When I tried to go on the path, Barley backed up and started to whine. This happened at another place, but I forget the circumstances.

[Becka]

I was walking Sadie yesterday and we started down a side street we usually take, and about halfway down the block was an odd sight: a person in some kind of canvas lawn chair that they'd apparently outfitted with wheels, wheeling slowly down the sidewalk (propelling himself forward with his legs, it looked like). Sadie started to growl and bark as soon as she noticed this--much more so than she ever has. I decided we should just back up and take an alternate route. For at least a block and a half she kept looking behind to make sure it wasn't following us, and every time I told her to sit (to change her focus) she insisted on sitting facing backward. She is completely used to cyclists, and she's met people in wheelchairs, but I think she could tell that there was something stranger going on here.

[Anne G.]

Hmm, not sure I'd trust that person either! :-)

[Becka]

I know, right? Smart puppy!

[Heather Martinez]

Teddy was afraid of my folding step stool. The first time I got it out, he saw it and was fine, but it made a loud sound when I opened it and he ran away and was afraid to come back in the kitchen! I got him to approach it with treats, but he's still wary of it, even months later! Other funny things that scared him include bags of grass  clippings and cut flowers on the ground. Each time I got him to approach the object and he wasn't afraid of it after a bit. The flowers were funniest because he had seen many flowers growing, but apparently flowers on the ground freaked him out.

[Julie Kaartinen]

This morning it was the squirrel at the back patio door!  I have a squirrel that comes to the back patio every morning for peanuts.  Kaija (9 wks old) saw it, went over to the window to check things out, and started a soft growl.  The squirrel suddenly turned towards the door, and Kaija let out a yelp and ran to hide under my husband's legs with her tail tucked between her legs.  Too funny!! 

[Kerri B. & Zoey]

Silly doodles!  Friday night Zoey was out back and I was sitting in the family room with the french door open.  I heard this loud scratching sound and thought it might be Zoey (she has a new fascination with the fence and I caught her nawing on it the other day).  As I got up to go to the door she starting barking, so I figured it wasn't her.  I looked out and saw nothing and told her "QUIET".  I went and sat back down, and heard the noise again, and Zoey started barking again.  I went to go bring her inside and as soon as I opened the screen she bolted inside and I saw a cat scaling the back fence.  I shut the screen and told her to calm down, as I went back over to the couch to sit down she ran up the screen again then turned and bolted towards me and literally jumped up into my lap.  LOL...she sat there in my lap for a half hour...and she never does this.  LOL...poor thing was all freaked out.

[Anne G.]

At least I know now that my doodle isn't the only one afraid of cats! :-)

[Joanna, Zoe & Bender]

HAHAHAA! Such cute stories!!  

Zoe is afraid of large dogs barking. We have a Great Dane neighbor and every time he barks and all our windows are open she gets startled and sits VERY VERY still.  She is also afraid of the squirrels in our backyard.  They scale the fences and the trees around our yard and our neighboring yards, whenever she sees one she will sit VERY VERY still and stare.  Eventually she will come running to me!