hi all - appreciate any help that anyone can give me on this as it is really starting to worry me
my 2 .5 year old lab has suddenly become very scared - he has never shown any aggression just sits there and shakes and his heart is racing
he is afraid of the fireworks but this behaviour started in the summer and its got to the stage now where he will not even go out for a walk with my husband in the evenings.
he has recently also stopped jumping in the back of the car and we have to lift him in - he is showing no pain anywhere and is jumping around and playing ok when he does go out - im not sure if any of this is related but it is all worrying me
I know the fireworks are not helping at the moment but this behaviour is also now happening during the day when its light
he has always been a fun loving lively dog with plenty of playfullness but at the moment he has become very introvert
has anyone else encoutered anything similar  ?

It does sound like he is in pain. Have you taken him to the vet to be checked over? Even if you have, take him back to the vet and get his back checked, it can be easyish to miss. Shaking and/or shivering is a sign of pain.

thanks but he only shakes when he appears to be scared - i have tried rubbing his back and legs etc and he has not shown any sign of pain ?
problem is since he had his glands in his bum done when he was about 1 year old he has becme petrified of the vet and will not let him anywhere near him - if i take him to the vet he will have to be sedated  - apparently this is a nervous reaction the vet has said ! 
i may call them tommorrow though
its

Yes a visit to the vet is the first step to make sure there is nothing physical wrong with him. Is he eating and drinking well and what food do you feed him ?

Can you explain when the fear started and how you and your husband reacted to it as it is key to seeing how he is now like he is :) Have you also got any children and if he is outside what is  around him eg neighbours , other dogs etc

Is this your first Lab or dog as well :) Oh yes where did you get him from as this also may have a major factor on why he is doing this :)

Lucy
xx

to be honest i dont remember any one instance when it started - he is a good boy and well socalised with other dogs - if anything too freindly and has never shown any agression to anyone or another dog apart from the vet !!
last year with the fireworks we probably over petted him which i have now discovered is not the thing to do so we now ignore him and try and keep him in the tv room with the tv turned up which so far he has been ok - when we are out walking him he just bolts so have been keeping him on the lead - he just pulls so hard as he wants to get back to the car or go home.
he is fed on James well beloved or occasionaly eukenuba - again he used to gulp his food down and now sometimes will leave it or not eat it all then other days will gulp it down again -  other food and treats he gets very excited for !!! (typical lab !!)
we do not have any children and we got him at 7 weeks old from a repitable breader who trains labs for field trials - he was registered with the kennel club and all his dogs he had were kept outside in very good condition and vey freindly.

Yes a big mistake if you have shown affection when he has been spooked :)

I think you may need to go back to basics with him as think he has lost all sense of what he thinks is right.

Also another bit of info how long is he no his own during the day and how often is he walked and how much is off lead ?

Lucy
xx

This has happened to my Cocker but not so severe, Dicksy is actually fine in the house around the garden, fireworks don't bother him neither does any other noise we know of, get him out the house to go for a walk! No chance, the poor dog commando crawls up the road as though I've beaten the life out of him, shakes, whines and bascially we've given up taking him!  He's so happy indoors/garden we leave him indoors/garden ensuring he gets plenty of exercise with his beloved ball!  We don't stress him out anymore and neither do we get stressed by trying to make him do something he so didn't want to do, we used to make him go for a daily walk and the poor soul was just getting worse mentally.  I now offer him a walk every evening when my lab comes back from his walk and the odd time he will go around the block happily but more often than not he refuses.  He will only go out in the dark too! 

He was vet checked at the time this started and nothing apparent was wrong with him.  He was vet checked 3-4 weeks ago as he had wet spot and I reiteraed my earlier query about his behaviour and again nothing wrong physically.  I had no choice to visit the vet twice in the day and even though it's around the corner we had to go in the car and he hid in the footwell!

Hope you get it sorted very soon x