Out of absolutely nowhere, my 7.5-month old Eskie puppy has started showing signs of reactivity toward certain people (if they turn a corner quickly or are really loud and boisterous) and "scary" objects (a rattling ladder a contractor was setting up). He has also been reacting anxiously to random noises at home (shifting or rolling in an office chair). This began basically just this past week and seemed worse today.
He has gone through phases of being scared of random things like trash cans and got over that, so I’m hoping this is just a teenage fear period that will pass. We have taken him everywhere with us (stores, festivals, farmers’ markets, drive-thrus, dog parks, other people’s houses, and on road/weekend trips) to socialize him since day one. He has yet to experience anything truly scary (dogs and people have been nothing but nice to him), so this feels out of nowhere.
To those who have "baked a puppy from scratch" before: Is this likely just another temporary fear period? What should we do about it?
Our previous Eskie was VERY reactive and required a lifetime of counterconditioning and strict boundaries (we couldn’t take him anywhere really), but he had been abused in his former household and we had adopted him long after his prime socialization window had closed. We were really hoping a puppy we raised would turn out differently! (I know, Eskies are known for being a little neurospicy…but we got our current puppy when he was ~14 weeks old and basically a blank slate.)
I may just treat it like it's permanent even if it may not be and just start counterconditioning. But happy to hear any tips from those who have been there.
submitted by /u/CorgisOnTheMoon
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