Acting Scared

[miztadax]

I am the proud owner of 2 well behaved rotties, both 1.5 years old. My female over the past 3 months has been acting nervous around some strangers. Prior to this she would go up to anyone and lick them without backing away even when they are petting her. Now adays she will occasionally go up to strangers to sniff them and then back away when they try to pet her.

We take them both to the dog park on a weekly basis for socialization with other people and dogs, which there are no problems at all. They play with other dogs and greet people appropriately except for the occasional backing away with our female. Do you all have any experience with this and if so, could you please offer any advise to help correct this so that she is back to the lovable affectionate dog to everyone that she used to be. Please, only positive or helpful comments.

[Weily4Life]

There is a wonderful Sticky in the Puppy Development forum, by Poohbearsmom, called Critical Periods of Canine Development.

This portion may be of some help:

Second Fear Impact Period 6 to 14 Months

This period is otherwise known as Teenage Flakiness! In large breeds this period could extend longer since it is tied to sexual maturity. Incidents may occur more than once. This is a fear of new situations and is handled with the utmost patience. The dog is encouraged to work it out on his own. If anything, it is better to ignore the whole situation than to reinforce the fear by praising the dog or petting him while he is afraid. When you "reassure" a dog with pets and "it's okay, fella", you are telling him it is okay to be frightened and you are creating a potential problem.