[my-jrt]

hi all.
very saddened to report that our little guy suddenly is not himself.

in the house as well as outside (even more-so), he is spooked by everything.
everyday things that he has seen since coming home with us suddenly seem to scare / spook him.
the ceiling fan, the flower pot hanging, cars passing by, a tree, everything.
my heart is broken.
what could have happened? what should i do without having to go to a vet / medication route.
this has only been going on for a week but its so frustrating it feels like a life time. it started ALL OF THE SUDDEN, when he started barking at the ceiling fan the other day...

 

[Abbylynn]

How old is he? Eddee started doing this at around his approximate 10 month - year old Birthday ... especially the ceiling fans! He was going through a fear stage. This may be all it is? If it is severe I would call my vet.

 

[RedGermanPinscher]

How old is he? Eddee started doing this at around his approximate 10 month - year old Birthday ... especially the ceiling fans! He was going through a fear stage. This may be all it is? If it is severe I would call my vet.

I agree depending on his age, it could be a fear stage. But a call to the vet for sudden behavioral changes is always a good idea.

 

[my-jrt]

pretty spot on as far as the age. he's 9 months / almost 10...
thanks for chiming in. i did a quick check on what you mentioned and am surprised to see that these fear stages actually something that might be the cause.
will keep reading around and looking forward to more thoughts from other members.
do you have any tips on how to handle the situation - things that you might have done to help him overcome.

 

[my-jrt]

thanks for the feedback !
still just reading around a bit.
Fear Stage!!??
i hadn't ever,until now, heard of such a thing ....

 

[Abbylynn]

If it is really bad ... I would put in a call to the vet anyways just to see what they say. I know sudden behavioral changes can also be a thyroid issue.

Eddee started barking at the ceiling light and the fans and the stove and the dishwasher ... any reflective surface for about three days straight ... not much I could do . I tried to redirect him with a treat when he was NOT barking at the object. I lost a bit of sleep. The worst one was the light fixture right above my bed where we sleep! :/ It seemed to take a good week before he only barked every now and then at that light ... and there are two of them in our bedroom! Lol!

It has been three months and he barked at it the other night before we went to sleep?

 

[hanksimon]

This may help. At first, very young puppies bond to their littermates, parents, owners. Then, they go through a fear stage, supposedly so they won't bond, in the wild, with predators, prey, or other animals. I'm not of the purpose of the second fear stage, but paraphrasing Temple Grandin, fear may be triggered by strange shapes and motions. In addition, bright shimmering or blinking surfaces (that look like motion) may trigger alarm.

Personally, I believe it's due to a temporary improvement in vision. My dog seemed to have sharper vision at that age, so was more alert, until he got used to the various objects.

My suggestion is to see what happens when you turn off the ceiling fan, if he barks at it, Or if you can turn off the lights when he barks at other objects, especially if they're reflective.... And, it may help if you can let him go up to objects to sniff them....

 

[Cotonlove]

My pup is 9 months old and has started doing this too. Our son brought over a utility trailer and parked it in our yard to load some firewood. Our pup noticed it and barked at it like crazy for three days. Finally after the third day she went up to it and "made friends" with it and started licking it! Go figure! LOL She barked at our ceiling fan too for a couple days. She stopped doing that too. I think there is something to be said about the above post and their vision. I notice when the lighting is dim she tends to startle more often....like she won't even recognize us if we come into a room unless we talk to her. I wonder how long these fear stages last. Hers isn't causing any major problems but I do feel sorry for her!

 

[Pawzk9]

This may help. At first, very young puppies bond to their littermates, parents, owners. Then, they go through a fear stage, supposedly so they won't bond, in the wild, with predators, prey, or other animals. I'm not of the purpose of the second fear stage, but paraphrasing Temple Grandin, fear may be triggered by strange shapes and motions. In addition, bright shimmering or blinking surfaces (that look like motion) may trigger alarm.

Personally, I believe it's due to a temporary improvement in vision. My dog seemed to have sharper vision at that age, so was more alert, until he got used to the various objects.

My suggestion is to see what happens when you turn off the ceiling fan, if he barks at it, Or if you can turn off the lights when he barks at other objects, especially if they're reflective.... And, it may help if you can let him go up to objects to sniff them....

Actually, when Alice was about 9-10 months old, she started barking if the car was parked somewhere new, if the trash bin was out at the street, at things she'd seen all her life. Suzanne Clothier mentioned that is when their far vision comes in. So the improvement in vision thing might be right on. I don't know anyone who is a better observer of dogs than Ms. Clothier.

 

[my-jrt]

hi folks ....
been meaning to chime in with an update but life gets in the way.
im VERY happy to say that Tuffy is doing MUCH better! i would dare to say that hes 99.999999% back to normal.
the only thing that doesnt let me say hes 100% is that ive noticed hes still a little leery of cars and still a little bit over-reactive to some sounds.

with that said - he is doing great! and is much much better. also - whose to say that he simply has become a little more cautious of those things i mentioned above. (??who knows??)

I do want to say though that we were keeping a close eye on him and during that time when he was acting that way - we noticed that he was not eating well. Seemed to not be interested in his food all the sudden. To the point where it seemed he was just eating / nibbling enough to maintain. energy was very low and was sleeping alot.

i stopped by a local petshop and had a look around to see if i saw something else that i might want to try but didnt see anything. what i did buy though was a few CANS of dog/puppy food to mix in to his regular food and he's been eating it all up. the change in him (for the better) was almost immediate. he's been eating good ever since and within a weeks time or so almost completely stopped exhibiting that weird, spooked behavior.

aside from changing his food, another thing i did was to be sure not to enable the behavior by simply acting normal and proceeding calmly past whatever was causing him to be scared / spooked at the moment and not giving it any recognition at all.
So Tuffys back! eating great! and back to his brave little self : )
thanks all the for the feedback and support, as always!

 

[winniec777]

Actually, when Alice was about 9-10 months old, she started barking if the car was parked somewhere new, if the trash bin was out at the street, at things she'd seen all her life. Suzanne Clothier mentioned that is when their far vision comes in.

I wish I had known that 6 years ago when Poca was that age. It makes so much sense.