I've recently posted about Buster's change in behaviour and his first (and only) leg-cocking. He has become much less impulsive/exitable and generally better behaved :)
However, he has become afraid of the livingroom, or being left alone in the livingroom :( This is where he has slept, since he left the confines of the kitchen when young.

It's been going on a few days, but I've only just realised he's frightened. It started with me & OH coming back in from the garden to find Buster sat in the porch panting and restless, i thought he was ill but after getting him envolved in a game he settled down & went to sleep for the night. The next day I realised that a controller for the PS3 had probably freaked him as he slinked off to the porch panting again after the controler was left on the side, vibrated and fell to the floor with a bang (by the way fireworks don't bother him).
He has been following me into the garden (I smoke in the garden) , ususally there's no shifting him the sofa at night but as soon as I get off, he does too, I had thought he was just getting very affectionate so I had been making a fuss of him, now I realise that he's been frightened and following me for reasurance so my 'fuss' has been making him worse :(

Since I realised this (yesterday evening) I have not been letting him out in the garden with me when I go out and if he does follow me around looking for reasurance I am ignoring him. He got a bit skittish with the stong wind last night (while he was out having a wee), but me saying firmly 'leave it' seemed to relax him a bit.

When he came back in from his walk this morning he started to get a bit frightened (panting, restless) so as I dried him down I made a game of it, which seemed to work well and since then he's stayed in the livingroom by himself :)

He's 17 months old now, from what I've read the second fear imprint period is most common in males and coincides with the onset of adolescence. I'm sure Buster is just entering adolescence (but I think I'm luckily going to miss any pushy behaviour :) ).
I think, just from ignoring the fearfullness/trying to re-direct his attention where I can is allready haveing a good effect (in only 24 hours), but has anyone got any tips? Anybody experienced this thierselfs?
Oh, he's fine out on his walk, even when encountering new things like the broken unbrella that was flapping around us on our walk today!

Yet more progress so soon :)
I let Buster follow me in to the garden just now as he was due a 'loo' break, when he had 'been' I opened the door & told him 'in' in a firm, but up-beat tone. He trotted on into the livingroom by himself while I stayed outside, not 100% relaxed about it, but yesterday he would refuse to go in wihtout me atall.

Isn't it amazing how a slight shift in our behaviour can have such an effect on our dogs!!! - As in me stoping the 'coddling' (which was intended as affection) and giving clear direction instead.

He's now laid on my feet as I sit at the computer in the kitchen, instead of being sprawled out on the sofa though. I think I'll see if I can settle him in the livingroom.

Hi mastifflover not much advise for you realy as i find i can do things instictively and find it harder to put into word what to do, but i agree you are doing the right thing the more you molly coddle him the more he will think there is something to be scared of you need to be firm confident and fair as you are already doing he will soon grow through this.
but be aware this is the time when bull breeds can become fear agressive.
i am not suggesting this will happen with you as you know and read alot about dog behaviour but if you react in the wrong way when they meet another dog on a walk you can have major problems.
if you do meet a dog and Buster barks or growls dont react in a suprised way but talk confidently and just say oh dont be sill get on with it (or something like that) dont try to avoid the situation but meet if head on.
im sure you know all this anyway but i have a bitch that came with agression problems and it is my belife that it was the result of the previous owner handling the situation wrong.

Thanks benson :)
Thankfully Buster is fine outside, but I still appreciate your advice :) He saw a few dogs today while out & he had his usual reaction, a sort of look to him that says 'ohh they look like good fun, let me go see :) ', (he stays on a long-line though), a 'walk on' from me and he carried on with his sniffing the grass mission.

I'm now giving him a stuffed kong when I leave the house (as he's also started to get stressed with being on his own full stop :( ). We're making progress allready, albeit only a little, but that is a good sign :)

I have a 22month old that had a fit when I opened the kitchen cupboard!!
I found when we went on holiday Jake slept anywhere on the boat, Whistler cried all night and we had to put up a crate and partially covered it before he settled.
Could he be seeing something, have you changed how you shut the curtains/blinds? Is he spooking himself with something you have hung outside?
If he is very "aware" have you changed anything in the lounge a new Chrissie gift somewhere? Just a guess. When I moved the biscuit tin in the kitchen cupboard Whistler settled again!!

Thanks Whistler,
The first thing I did was have a scan around the livingroom for new things. The only difference is the clutter on the dining table, the kids have a terrible habbit of leaving games sprawled out on it, so Buster is used to that changing daily and doesn't seemed bothered with that. Nothing new outside either.

He seems like his normal self so far today, we'll see what the rest of the day brings  :)

So far it appears that the seperation anxiety/fear on being alone in the livingroom has vanished but has now been replaced by a flat-blank refusal to come back in from his walk - & not out of fear!!! Arghhhhhhh.
more in my blog on this subject.