Hi All,

We have been in Akits for 18 Years now have bred many champions in the breed, and have this fantastic puppy , male 10 months old has been to dog training since a baby , has won the Top Dog award and Top Puppy at Xmas at 4 months old , went to manchester champ show , and won best Puppy dog , has won a Best Puppy In Show , and Best Puppy Dog At Welks , and we have noticed that he is not being him self when out for a walk he would rather walk on the other side of the road from people , does not like people coming up to him , and at Birmingham we have to withdraw him from the class as he would not let the judge near him , went into the ring fine ran around the ring fine, set him up and the judge came up to him and he just wasnt having any of it ! have been reading aLLOT ABOUT THIS FEAR STADGE ALLOT A PUPPIES GO THROUGH ! just wondering what we should do , have never had a dog do this before , dont no weather to pull him from the ring for a bit and let him a have a rest from the showing , and just just keep working with him at home ,he has been to dog training for a while so we are going to try him at the next one , just wondering if anyone knows of anything we can give him to help him through this stadge ,

thanks

Chloe

Only thing I can say is I had a lovely bouncy confident Beardie pup who had a bad scare with a man at 11 months and he's never got over it and he's 4 now. If I could turn the clock back I wouldn't put him in the same situation again at that age. He's fine with men he knew before his fright and with most women but he'll never be the dog he was meant to be. Great with other dogs and a dream to live with not as he was meant to be

Anne

Hi Chloe23,

Personally I would give him a break from the stress - I own a much more sensitive breed which is naturally inclined to be over cautious (feart :D ) - some need to be persevered with to get over it while others benefit from the opportunity to live without added pressures for a while.  I know your own breed is generally one of a stronger and more stable temperament and the fact that this is an otherwise unexplained change in his character would suggest, IMO, that he's probably going through a hormonal change that is causing him to feel a little insecure.  Secondary fear stages are common in lots of breeds - you're lucky to have not come across it before ;)

The fact that he's already done so well he has nothing to prove for the moment.  I'd give him a few months of gentle but non-confrontational socialising among people and in environments he's comfortable with.  I'm sure he'll regain his self confidence more easily if you do.  Good luck and best wishes, Teri :) 

Thanks Teri we really hope that he does come out of it ,thats the plan anyway to keep out of the ring for a few months , and hopefully he will overcome his ''fear'' of peolpe.
But the thing is we can not think for the life of us what has happened for him to have a fear of people, carnt think of anything that would have scared him like someone being to hard on him theres nothing that comes to mind ?
we are thinking that it could be a hormonal change too,

Thanks for help anyway :)

Chloe

Personally I think it's easy to forget that young males are going through hormonal changes just like bitches of the same age - but of course it's not as obvious :rolleyes: typical guys, like to be different and difficult ;)

You could try giving him some Rescue Remedy and/or Scullcap & Valerian tablets.  Another useful product is Vallerian Compund but it smells foul so can be tricky to administer although it is effective on it's own in a lot of cases.  These work as a calming influence for some but not all dogs - so not cast iron guarantees.

Having said that, I'd maybe have them in my kitchen and give him some say an hour or two before going to a familiar club with people and dogs he completely used to  - I'd still not do the show thing for a minimum of say 12 weeks and even then just guage his reactions and take him from a stroll round rather than put him into his class if he seems wound up at all.   Will keep my fingers crossed for you!  Teri :) 

yeah we have used that, but does not seem to work , you can get it from ''Dorwest Hearbs'' maybe try what you said , leave him in the kitchen before going to training , we are going to try him at just some companion shows , just walk him around, but no showing ! let him get the feel of so many peoplebeing around him ,

Chloe

OOps Chloe,  :D  I meant leave the remedies in the kitchen so you could have them hand to administer before taking him out - not leave him in the kitchen :D   I know, it's late, I probably didn't make it very clear <LOL>

Walking him round companion shows, agricultural shows, even just things like car boot sales and taking him out to country pubs, beer gardens (GREAT excuse) - he'll be seeing lots of things but not too close and not being forced to be handled.

Regards, Teri :)

Just one question - how did he manage to win Best Puppy & Best Dog at 4 months old???

KC Rules do not allow dogs under 6 calendar months to be shown??

I think it was at the training class's contest, not a proper show, deaks.
:)

he won the Top Dog and Top Puppy at Traning , they have match nights all year round and then a final at Xmas , and he won both , adult and puppy,

Chloe