Kingdom of Pets

Posted by cnuckols1
Mar 5, 2009

My puppy gets really scared if he hears another dog barking. My question is how to deal with him when he gets scared like this. I don't want to coddle him and I don't want to ignore him.

Just last night the neighbors dog started barking and my puppy inside our home heard him and would start whining and crying until someone was totally paying him attention. It was almost like he wanted to be held because he didn't seem to be content if you were just near him. It took several minutes after the dog stopped barking before he calmed down and resumed play as normal.

So any suggestions on how to approach this? Thanks

Posted by LetsPlay
Mar 6, 2009

Hi there,

it is really important NOT to comfort your dog when he is scared.
Dogs look at us to get their clues. If you are worried about him when he is scared he will be even more scared. If you talk to him in a comforting way he thinks that there must be something really scary, because you reinforce it.

Just act normally, ignore his whining, get a toy if you don't want to ignore him completely, have a happy, bouncy voice, encourage him to play, sing a song, do whatever it takes to make your dog realize that there is nothing to be worried about.
Most of all be confident and show your dog how to be confident.

Let us know how you get on

Posted by MaxHollyNoah
Mar 7, 2009

Hi cnuckols1,

Totally ignoring him is VERY important. Keep doing your things as if nothing happened. Keep on cooking, folding laundry, reading, watching TV... Don't even look at your puppy. It might be good for you to move around the house, then your puppy will just keep following you and he will soon forget about whining.

This is just hearing other dog's barking from outside so your puppy really should get used to it, otherwise, what would he do if the dog barks right in front of him? He would panic!

It is important to let your puppy familiarize to any usual noises/sounds, not only other dogs' barking, but also ambulance sirenes, vacuum cleaner noises, wind whistles, thunders, etc.

I would also recommend you let your puppy socialize with other dogs and people of all kinds.

Good luck

Puppy afraid of bigger dogs barking