My puppy nearly 5 months months has decided he is scared of one of the kids teddy bears (quite a big bear).  I have spent the evening with the bear lying on the floor with puppy's favorite treats by it.  He is now interested / brave enough to go and get the food he is still acting very wary of it.  Should i just carry on ignoring the backing off and praising when he aproaches it, or is the a better way to deal with this?

Why do you want the dog to like the teddy bear?

Generally, don't force the bear on the dog. Don't make a fuss over the dog's fear and yes, treats would have the tendency for the dog to associate good things with the bear.

In general, while working with the dog, do things that will increase it's confidence in other areas. Obedience training or learning a new trick will give it a sense of accomplishment and confidence I think. If the dog is not tending toward aggressiveness, sometimes a game of tug where you let the dog win gives it confidence I think. Be sure to socialize the dog a lot, taking it with you places to meet new people and friendly dogs, never overwhelming or forcing anything on the dog, making sure that they're all positive experiences...again treats help with association of fun. When on walks, take it up to unusual looking things, letting it investigate....that sort of thing. Five or six months is generally one of a puppy's fear periods too, so just ride through it, but do try to habituate the dog to a variety of new things. If the dog is sensative which it sounds like it must be, be gentle but firm but emphasise on the positive and when the dog is doing a no no, try removing it from the area or whatever and then right away praising it for stopping the no  no. That sort of thing.

Good luck. I'm sure others will have some good ideas for you.

Carrie

I would also ask why it is important for the dog to like the teddy bear.  Best not to make a big deal about it.  I personally wouldn't draw his attention to it with food.  Ignore him when he backs off and ignore him when he approaches.  Alternatively, ask the teddy to leave the room :D
Sally

I was going to say that and I'm a novice, so I'm glad I have been doing the right thing!  If Millie is scared by something, lets say the ironing board or the hoover,I'd leave it out somewhere, where she can comfortably get passed it without the fear of having to go too close, but she still has to walk past it everyday, and I make no acknowledgment to its presence whatsoever.  Then to her it becomes a totally normal thing that should be there and holds no threat.  She will quite happily dance around the (switched off) hoover if its in the middle of the room when she's playing, whereas on her first day(s), because its a Henry and a weird shape (with eyes!), low down and the hose stretches halfway across the UK she wondered what on earth it was, but now its just that 'red thing' that's always in the way :-)  (until we switch it on, muhahahahahhahahaaaaaaaaa). Actually I exaggerate, she's not even bothered about hoovering really.  She likes to come up and investigate, probably because we've always ignored her when we're using it. Doesn't work with the remote controlled 4x4 truck though lol.   But I would suggest just setting the bear down in the corner of a main room and leaving it there for a week or so without anyone 'playing with it' (if your kids could bear that!)

When my Afghan was a puppy it was imperative that she got used to the hairdryer so every time someone in the house washed their hair I would insist that she was in the same room as them when they were drying it.  When she had her first bath I turned the hair dryer on and she didn't bat an eyelid until I pointed it at her.  She then went absolutely crazy and ran round the house like a lunatic and was dry by the time I caught her.  I never bothered with the hairdryer after that but she still has a mad half hour after her bath and dries of really quickly. :)
Sally

We had the hairdryer problem in our house! Barking, growling and running back and forth, refusing to come near it.  I too gave up after two attempts :-D

When I purchased my electric dremel tool to file their nails which is so much nicer than clipping, I had to accustom the dogs to it. It's far too scary at first....noisy, vibrating etc. So, I put it on the floor, not plugged in and when they went to look at it, I tossed treats to them. Then I plugged it in in the same room as they were in. And if they showed the slightest curiosity about it, I again tossed treats. This was one day. The next day if they took one step closer, I gave treats and talked cheerfully to them. By the 3rd day I could hold them on my lap and hold the dremel in my hand. They got treats. The 4th day I managed to get a few nails. First after one nail for about 2 seconds, I'd stop the tool and give a treat. Then it was one paw done and a treat. So within about 4 or 5 days I was able to do all of their nails, treating after each paw. Now, they still don't love it, but go along with it without fear, with the exception of my boy Chi, Jose. He's a little bit of a Ma ma's boy still and really doesn't dig this stuff. Little girl Chi jumps into my lap when I ask, "Ok, who's going to go first?" LOL. It sure makes their nails short, blunt and smooth. But you can only hold the tool on a nail for about 2 or 3 seconds at a time or it will burn and hurt them. It takes a while longer to do  but I do it once or twice a week so it's no big deal all at once.

Carrie

We have a similar thing with the vacuum cleaner! Jumps around barking at it, trying to bite it but then jerking away, play-bowing, running around it - it's like semi-scared/fascinated/excited...very funny to watch!

Henrietta, I think you're doing the right thing although I think I would agree that it might be better to leave it somewhere she has to go past it (but can do so at a comfortable distance) so that she desensitises to it.
Hsin-Yi

Thank you all so much for your replies.

In answer to the question why to i want the puppy to like the teddy bear, after bath time every night, my daughter always brings it down and we sit on the sofa and have a bedtime story. We have always done this with puppy in the room (more often than not puppy would join us on the sofa too for a cuddle).  I don't want to have to say to my little girl that she can't bring down the teddy.

Yes i agree it is probably due to "fear period" as he has always been fine with it in the past.

just don't make a big deal of the fact that he doesn't like it and just carry on an usual.  The bear will not hurt him or do anything to you so I would just ignore his reactions for now and he will soon see that if you don't make a deal, he doesn't have to.