Hi, we have a 2 year old Golden Retriever, male, neutered.  On the whole he is a fantastic dog with no problems but from around 18 months of age he has become increasingly anxious and nervous around certain situations.  He was a happy, confident puppy, well socialised and confident around traffic, walking near main roads etc...now he is super-vigilant when out on the lead, hates street furniture, bins blowing in the wind, scared to death of a rubbish skip on the pavement, scared of a hiker with walking poles and even scared of a pair of new window blinds at a friend's house.  He isn't scared of fireworks at all (well, wasn't last bonfire night and new year's eve) but may be this year!  He is well socialised with other dogs, has plenty of exercise on and off the lead, has good recall.  Does not suffer separation anxiety, has the run of the house when left alone, sleeps alone downstairs, never destroyed or chewed anything.  It is getting to the stage now where it is dangerous to walk him near traffic in case a car with a noisy exhaust comes past as he tries to bolt and run off.  Had Goldens for 20 years almost so not new to dog ownership.  Please help, any advice welcome.

Have you had his eyesight checked?  I would get a full vet check done, including a thorough physical manipulation and bloods if possible.  He could be experiencing his second fear period but 18 months is a little late for that to kick in.

Primarily though I would be questioning if there's anything causing him pain, as this is present in many (possibly the majority of) cases of onset of fear/anxiety issues, and getting that eyesight assessed.  And no, 18 months is not too young for there to be pain!

Thank you.  I have an appointment at the vets early next month.  He doesn't appear to be in any pain and is in excellent health but I will have him checked.  Thank you for your reply.

Spooky Nikita, his eye sight was my first thought !
I would get him checked by your vet to rule out any health issue.

I would take him along to a BVA eye clinic so that he gets seen by an eye specialist who will have the equipment to check his eyes properly - and not a regular vet who may not know what they're looking for...

There's a group on FB called 'BVA testing' or something, with a list of upcoming dates posted.

There is also a list of clinic dates on the BVA site if you Google Canine Health tests https://www.bva.co.uk/Canine-Health-Schemes/Eye-scheme/ Eye Scheme

https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/March%202018%20Eye%20testing%20clinics(1).pdf[url=][/url] March dates

https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/April%202018%20Eye%20testing%20clinics(1).pdf[url=][/url] April dates

There is also a list of clinic dates on the BVA site if you Google Canine Health tests https://www.bva.co.uk/Canine-Health-Schemes/Eye-scheme/ Eye Scheme

https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/March%202018%20Eye%20testing%20clinics(1).pdf March dates

https://www.bva.co.uk/uploadedFiles/Content/Canine_Health_Schemes/April%202018%20Eye%20testing%20clinics(1).pdf April dates

Thank you, I will look into it.