# Scaredy cat.



## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

Carson is kind of a wuss.  I'm not sure if it's just a phase. When we go on walks he get's scared of everything. From cars parked on the side of the road to kids playing basketball across the street. Also any other dogs we encounter he is very, VERY submissive with. Tail between the legs and on his belly crawling up to them. My plan is to walk him more and to ignore those things that scare him...maybe he'll realize that since i'm not making a big deal of it neither should he. I have never encountered this before and would appreciate any ideas.


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Carsonsdaddy said:


> Carson is kind of a wuss.  I'm not sure if it's just a phase. When we go on walks he get's scared of everything. From cars parked on the side of the road to kids playing basketball across the street. Also any other dogs we encounter he is very, VERY submissive with. Tail between the legs and on his belly crawling up to them. My plan is to walk him more and to ignore those things that scare him...maybe he'll realize that since i'm not making a big deal of it neither should he. I have never encountered this before and would appreciate any ideas.


Awww.....thats GREAT to hear. Loved your story. Thank You


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

thanks, Rick....(in a very sarcastic voice).


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## njb (Oct 5, 2006)

He is young--cut him some slack. I personanlly would not feed into his fear, but move him a little at a time towards what he is afraid of. 

confession--when I first got Julie she was afraid to cross the street--we got a few inches further each day until I got sick of it--and carried her across...never been an issue again...silly dogs...


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## Carsonsdaddy (Nov 1, 2006)

njb said:


> He is young--cut him some slack. I personanlly would not feed into his fear, but move him a little at a time towards what he is afraid of.
> 
> confession--when I first got Julie she was afraid to cross the street--we got a few inches further each day until I got sick of it--and carried her across...never been an issue again...silly dogs...


That's kinda what I thought but wanted to run it by you guys and see if it was normal/common or not. Thanks.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

It's fairly common. I just ignore it


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## RickGibbs (Dec 16, 2005)

Carsonsdaddy said:


> Carson is kind of a wuss.  I'm not sure if it's just a phase. When we go on walks he get's scared of everything. From cars parked on the side of the road to kids playing basketball across the street. Also any other dogs we encounter he is very, VERY submissive with. Tail between the legs and on his belly crawling up to them. My plan is to walk him more and to ignore those things that scare him...maybe he'll realize that since i'm not making a big deal of it neither should he. I have never encountered this before and would appreciate any ideas.


Actually, Samson used to get apprehensive about anything different on our evening walks. Garbage cans out on the side walk. Someone had a pile of bark dumped on their driveway....stuff like that. If it was new to him, he was worried about it......


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## Rocky (Dec 28, 2006)

I am happy you started this thread because Rocky is very much a scaredy cat. He is 14 1/2 weeks old and when we are at his obedience classes he is the only one not playing and the only one running away from all the dogs. Anytime a dog comes near him he runs and hides.
I am not sure what I should do about that?
I would have never known he was like that until we started going to these classes. At home he shows no fear. Since it is about 20 degrees here there is no one out on walks either, so I have not had many encounters. I do notice when someone new comes to the house he is timid to let them pet him, but once they get to pet him once, he is all over it!
Any help? Or is this normal? And if it is normal at what point should I be worried?
Thanks


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## Buffy & Abby's Mom (Nov 27, 2005)

RickGibbs said:


> Actually, Samson used to get apprehensive about anything different on our evening walks. Garbage cans out on the side walk. Someone had a pile of bark dumped on their driveway....stuff like that. If it was new to him, he was worried about it......


That's how my two are, especially Buffy. Anything new is cause for concern. And if Buffy gets real scared over something, she doesn't forget it for weeks and won't go to that area. For example, we came upon a hunter a couple months ago unexpectedly and it scared her. I couldn't get her to go near that area for a couple weeks. Brave they are not!


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## Lil_Sandy (Oct 31, 2006)

Sandy is the same. She is very cautious of everything except people that acknowledge her and other dogs. If while we are on a walk a stranger acknowledges her she just goes crazy with excitement. If there is another dog in sight she tries with all her might to get to them. When she does encounter them she is very submissive. She stopped dead in her tracks the other night and started shaking with fear. It was a trash can out for morning pickup.


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## LaurJen (Aug 10, 2006)

Carsonsdaddy said:


> Carson is kind of a wuss.  I'm not sure if it's just a phase. When we go on walks he get's scared of everything. From cars parked on the side of the road to kids playing basketball across the street. Also any other dogs we encounter he is very, VERY submissive with. Tail between the legs and on his belly crawling up to them. My plan is to walk him more and to ignore those things that scare him...maybe he'll realize that since i'm not making a big deal of it neither should he. I have never encountered this before and would appreciate any ideas.



Yes, take him out more  Aim for a variety of different situations... along busy streets, shopping centers, to the park, etc. Augie was never a big scaredy cat, but I wanted to make sure he was comfortable going everywhere. Just act confident, don't coddle him, and he should get over it.


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## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

KayCee is my scaredy cat, but isn't as bad as described above. Of course she is 7 and "been around the block" more than a fes times. But if we bring something in and put it down and she stands back and stretches her neck and sniffs, won't get near it. Honey rushes to investigate.

Buck was never scared of a thing in his life until he started having depth perception trouble and night vision trouble. Now things scare him...uncept when on a leash of all things. i think he feels safe. One night he went out to do business and just barely got off the patio. Suddenly he jumped back with a yelp and came running to me shaking like a leaf. My first thing was snake--he wa hit in the face by a rattlensnake in our back yard 7 years ago. I got him him in and took the flash light out and the only thin I found was a twig. I think he stepped on it and his nose was down to the growun and it slightly popped him on the nose. That happened once when we were walking and you would have thought he had been hit with a ball bat. But in his case it is vision that is casuing him to be fearful ---he will be 12 next week.


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## Dixie's Mom (Oct 23, 2006)

Dixie is very timid too, but I try not to reinforce fearful behavior. When I can, I try to slowly desensitize her to things. I also know we need to get her out more. Right now, I find that giving her enough exercise and playtime is all I can keep up with! 
A couple of months ago I took her to Petco. A little tiny pug came up to us. It was very happy and friendly and just wanted to say hi. It was kind of embarrassing that Dixie was just standing there shaking! She's so silly.


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## Ninde'Gold (Oct 21, 2006)

Don't feel bad... Tucker's afraid of everything too.

The measuring tape...the laundry basket, the vacuum, the babygate, dinner plates...forks... pretty much anything that moves at him too quickly...


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## ty823 (Feb 7, 2006)

I like to play pranks on Lucy. I'll let her out in the yard and while shes sniffing around, not paying attention to me, I'll go hide in the bushes and start shaking them around. She'll look up and then sprint to the back door, whining to be let in. I know I'm prob. adding to her anxiety, but its too funny 
When she figures out that its just me, I always get a big smooch.


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## LaurJen (Aug 10, 2006)

ty823 said:


> I like to play pranks on Lucy. I'll let her out in the yard and while shes sniffing around, not paying attention to me, I'll go hide in the bushes and start shaking them around. She'll look up and then sprint to the back door, whining to be let in. I know I'm prob. adding to her anxiety, but its too funny
> When she figures out that its just me, I always get a big smooch.


I'm thinking you didn't have any younger brothers to tease when you were little


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## Rocky (Dec 28, 2006)

We had our 5th class of puppy classes yesterday. Rocky actually sat in front of me the whole time and not under my chair (lol). He actually let the trainer come over and pet him without running away. He would go up to other dogs and smell them, but as soon as they would turn to him, he would run away. But, we are making progress!!! He still didn't want to play with any of them, but the fact that he isn't always hiding, is a huge accomplishment!!!
We went to the pet store afterwards and he let one of the workers pet him and he did some tricks for her and she gave him a treat. Again a big accomplishment, because he will not take any treats from the trainers at puppy class (I guess I taught him well....don't take food from strangers-lol...j/k).
I just wanted to post that it does get better. We just need to be consistent.


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

I'm very depressed to read this thread- what is happening to our breed? This is NOT normal, or acceptable, in a Golden Retriever. I'm not knocking anyone's dogs, but the fact this is so common (as even I myself stated above) is, frankly, a terrible shame, and quite depressing. This is every bit as incorrect, and most likely genetic, as would be aggressive behavior.

I complain because Starlite is a bit wary of screaming children- but he is not at ALL nervous in public. A crowded show hall or an obedience class would never make him nervous. He adores other dogs, and he greets them with big wags and a smile and a playbow. He was isolated and unsocialized until he was four months old.

I have genuine concern about the temperaments and fear issues that seem to be popping up in this breed. This is behavior that would expect, but be annoyed by in a Saluki. In a Golden, it is beyond disturbing, especially considering I know all of you provide a loving, active, and happy environment for your puppers!


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## AtticusJordie (Aug 15, 2006)

Interesting comment AquaClara......

Our two are not timid at all. If anything, Atticus is just the opposite. Anything new is just something to be sniffed, licked, eyeballed, toyed with or whatever. Jordie is similar (although he's not a purebred); he shows interest in new things, too, althought not as much as Atticus...

SJ


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## AquaClaraCanines (Mar 5, 2006)

Atticus has the correct temperament for the breed! As does my baby Keira. Starlite is close, and has a bit of a real excuse for being slightly wary of screaming kids. However, if he doesn't quickly get over it with some socialization, I would never consider breeding him. I am NOT saying your shy dogs are bad dogs or anything- don't take it that way- it's just something to consider for anyone who has an interest in breeding Goldens.


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## Dixie's Mom (Oct 23, 2006)

In Dixie's case I am pretty sure it's because she hasn't been socialized and out in different situations enough. It's something we're working and we're happy to be seeing improvements in several areas. 

If I were able to go back and do things differently, I would have gotten a young puppy. Dixie was 4 months when we got her and had only been to the vet a couple of times. She was only with the breeders family and their 3 family dogs once all the other puppies had gone. Maybe she was the last to go because she is more timid in personality?? If things had been different though, we wouldn't have gotten _*her*_! 

It's been a lot of fun and very rewarding to see her get over things that used to scare her. Our vet told me that what you put into your dog (time, training, experience, exercise) will be what you will get out. I keep that in mind everyday. I don't know about others' "scaredys" but I'll admit that this is the issue with mine.


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## Molly's Mom (Jan 1, 2007)

The past 2 nights, Molly and I encountered a group of 5 dogs being walked together. The first night they stayed on their side of the street and we stayed on ours. There was just some "hello" barking. Last night we wound up face to face on the same side of the street. Molly seemed a bit timid at first. Three of the dogs were huskies and the other 2 seemed to be large mixed breeds.

I've seen this group before and the dogs are always leashed and under control. We all decided to let them meet. There was much sniffing and tail wagging and Molly did rather well with the group of strangers. We walked along with them for a couple of houses, then turned around and came home without incident. I was rather proud of her because it was our first encounter with a large group. She did well.


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