My 4-month puppy is terrified of people, even my own dad. Why?

It's not normal for a 4 month old to be scared or aggressive. I would recommend getting an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist (this person is a vet, not just a layperson) if at all possible -- your vet may have recommendations for someone nearby. It sounds like he could have been scared by the tackling incident, but it's still atypical for such a young dog to be aggressive. It would be like your 2 year old threatening to beat you up --- it's just not how their brains work at that age. The behaviorist can assess him and likely give you a pile of exercises to do at home and some medications. In the mean time, or if you can't take him to a behaviorist, avoid anything that makes him scared and hand feed him all his food as "treats" throughout the day as rewards for interacting with the family.

Hello, poor Fiddle! He seems to be very scared by other dogs. I think the best way to approach this is by introducing him to dogs that are not overtly playful and pushy in a neutral environment. That is, you may meet with a dog you know is calm and low energy in a park just to have the other dog be around Fiddle to see if he tolerates this. Obviously, avoid any situation which makes Fiddle scared or nervous and don't encourage his fearful behavior with any rewards such as talking to him, carrying him, or petting him as this may equivocally teach him that it is ok to be afraid of other pets. Ultimately, if you're having a really hard time with Fiddle, you may need to have him evaluated by a behaviorist as it is never too late to work with them on improving a behavior. Hope this helps.

Poor pup! It sounds like your dog is a fearful girl in general - this can be due to genetics, lack of early socialization, negative early experiences in life, or some combination of all three. Many fearful dogs are afraid of loud noises, and are often more fearful of men because they are physically larger and have louder, deeper voices than women. Generally speaking, a treatment plan for this type of problem would involve managing your dog so that she isn't put in stressful or scary situations as much as possible, as well as working with her to help associate good things (like treats!) with men, noises, and other things that frighten her. Depending on how severe her anxiety is, medication may also be helpful. I would suggest making an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist who can evaluate her in person - he/she can put together a detailed plan to help you work on this problem, and can also prescribe anti-anxiety medication for her if needed. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org

Hello. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I recently raised a litter of puppies from a dog I adopted, & at about the same age, 1 of the puppies became very shy & scared. If you picked her up, she would sometimes scream like she was being murdered. With extra attention, over the next 4 weeks, she became much calmer & less anxious. She was never as assured as her litter mates, and all I can hope is she continues to mature & do well. All animals have different personalities, & at this young age, you cannot say how one will turn out. Give him as much of your attention as possible, & when it comes time to place him ( if you decide to ), it might be best to find someone with some experience raising dogs ( not a first-time dog owner ), & is possibly willing to put a little extra time in to train & socialize this pup. Take care.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your question. Something may have scared Harlow. It may have been a voice of someone, how tall someone was, etc. that scared her. I would recommend socialization classes with a dog trainer and see if this helps. A lot of times, puppies will grow out of this fear as they become more socialized at dog parks and in training classes. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

The best place to get Lana used to new people and dogs in a controlled environment is at a dog obedience class, There will be an instructor to observe her interactions and help her work out her behavior issues, building confidence as the classes progress. (By the way, I have your National Dog . . . the Finnish Spitz!)

At 12 weeks, I highly doubt that Cortes has developed a severe dislike or fear of any particular person since my assumption is that you were his first owner. He may just be a fearful puppy that is going to require a lot more work and patience than the average dog. The other possibility is that there is a physical problem that is causing him discomfort whenever you try to contact him. If he is in some sort of pain for some reason, he may even be anticipating the contact and reacting to it beforehand. GSDs are one of the most dramatic breeds and are much more likely to act like that and do things like that than your average mutt. If you are able to rule out that there is no physical issues for sure, than I think you should consider contacting a trainer right away. Most trainers will work with you as long as your pup is at the very least Rabies vaccinated. I would stay away from puppy classes for the time being, instead using a one-on-one trainer to help you out. In terms of things you can do at home, Cortes needs to be continually rewarded for the behaviors and actions that you desire most. In a case like this, you have to take baby steps. By this, I mean if he even starts to make steps in your direction without a negative reaction, he should be rewarded with praise and treats. A bigger reward should be given for even great accomplishments. I think teaching the touch command in this particular instance would be a great idea. This will allow you to communicate with and play a game with Cortes without actually having so touch him physically. The idea of the game is to have your dog touch his nose to your hand or to an object of your choosing. There should be many different tutorials and videos all over the internet that will show you how best to teach a dog this effectively. I know it's hard and it sounds like Cortes might be harder than others, but don't give up just yet! It's all very new for the both of you. Hope this helps!