Dog acts afraid of me, why?

[ak moose]

I got a question about my dog’s behavior. Since I have gotten him at 8 weeks, I sometimes notice that he will act scared of me. When I wake up in the morning, or come out of a room, and I know he hasn’t gotten into anything, but has only been lying there in his spot be the door, he will sit up and act scared. A couple of times he actually cowered backwards once he saw me. I cannot figure this out. Now he is one year old. Even now, every so often, when he gets up from lying in his spot, he will sit there and look at me with an almost scared look about him. Other times he will get up and come over to me little nub tail wagging away all happy. I play with him all the time. I take him out for walks all the time. I am not harsh with discipline at all. Since I have had him, he hasn’t been through anything traumatic when he was a puppy to cause something like this.

When I did have him at 8 weeks until about 14 weeks. He did have a lot of crate time. I had him in the crate sometimes 14 hours before I could get home. Then it was play, potty, back in the crate so I could sleep, then back in the crate for another 14 until I got some days off. per chance, would this have something to do with it? I haven’t used a crate with him in months now. His temperament so far is very nice. Non aggressive around other dogs, non aggressive around kids. Does great at the vets office. Any input would be appreciated as to this odd behavior.

[scooterjohansen]

He is looking for reassurance from you that all is ok. Remember you are the protector.
When he gets up praise him. He sounds like he might be a bit on the weak side. His emotional development is ongoing so the more praise and reasurance that everything is ok will reduce this behavour. Best of luck.

[Judi W]

A simple and friendly "hi, how ya doin" should take care of it, but it should be immediate as you walk in with no delay.

[RottiMomCT]

How old is he?

I'm with Judi on this one - just say "Hi buddy!" or something along those lines, in a happy voice as soon as you see him.

[ak moose]

Thanks for the replies. When I first noticed this from him, I did as you allready said to do. I would be positive with words, call his name when i first saw him. Also, when I first noticed this, I would be positive with him when out on walks or even playing.

RottiMom, he is 1 year old as of well, today :)

Its pretty routine now that when I see him, I will call his name, say hey buddy to him, something along that line I think I will keep a log of what he does for a few weeks, so I can track when this happens. see if theres a pattern or something with him. Again, thanks for the advice.

[spidey]

If you've scolded him in the past for things he did while he was out of your sight, he may think that you are unpredictably angry with him (usually when people think their dogs "look guilty" because they "know they did something wrong", it's simply because they make a habit of scolding the dog after the fact, so the dog associates the scolding with the owner's appearance rather than whatever the scolding is for). I agree to just make a point of greeting the dog in a friendly manner when you see him.

[ak moose]

No scolding at all. Which is why this caught me by suprise when he first started to show this behavior. I knew it would do me no good to go backwards with this behavior he showed.

Now when I do come home from work, its been roughly 14 hours since I have seen him, he has always been very happy to see me. not once has he shown any type this scared behavior.

[spidey]

Good to know you're not scolding him. How much socialization is he getting with you working so much? I think you might be on to something by wondering if this might have to do with him having a hard time with being isolated for so long. Can you get a dogwalker to come and take him out a couple of times a day while you're at work? The things that are happening in his life now will be with him for the rest of his life, and a lack of proper socialization can be a HUGE problem down the road.

[ak moose]

I dont work 5 days a week. I work a 3 on, 3 off, 4 on, 4 off schedule. my days off, I have him with me. When I am at work, Its just him alone, as I am single. So there is little socialization during that time.

There was a flyer on my mailbox for these 2 12 year old girls that lived in the area looking for basic work like wash your car, mow your lawn etc... Maybe they could come by and take him for a walk. thanks for the idea. I will see if they are interested.

[gomer9855]

I wouldn't suggest 12 year old girls. At 1 year your boy will be pretty strong and a child will have little/no control over him if he decides to take off after a squirrel or something. And a 12 year old is a child, not an adult. A dog is an adult responsability, even if only for a short walk.

[ak moose]

It doesnt matter. they closed up shop, back to school for them. I got some other avenues I can look at to address these afternoon walks. I didnt think about that, thanks Gomer for the insight about the girls.