6 month old puppy reactive to everything

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Tonton24
Posts: 3
Joined: 27 Jan 2025, 18:57
First Name: Andi

6 month old puppy reactive to everything

Post by Tonton24 »

Hi everyone,

I have been reading the forum for a while now and it’s my first time posting.

My partner and I recently brought little Tony into our lives and for the most part he has been an absolute dream. He is so affectionate and was relatively easy to train - though seems to have developed selective hearing as he’s gotten older, but I understand this is a breed thing.

The only thing that we have been worried about is that once he gets outside he will literally bark at, and sometimes go for, anyone (dog or human) and it makes walking him or taking him anywhere an absolute nightmare.

There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason as to who sets him off, and he did seem to calm down and would only bark at the odd person on a walk, but since he hit 6 months it feels like it’s getting worse.

From a human perspective, he has met with all of our friends and family on several occasions. Both in the house, and out on walks, cafes, pubs etc. so we have tried to expose him as much as possible.

He does settle after a while at these places but we put that down to him tiring himself out.

He was the last to be picked out of his litter and we collected him at 3 months, so I worry he wasn’t socialised before we got him. Another theory is that he is scared of humans as every time he came into contact with one during his prime socialisation time they had taken one of his siblings.

On the dog side, we have socialised him with a handful of dogs who we know and are well behaved, and he also attends daycare 3 times a week where they also train him and he gets to spend time with other dogs.

He seems to be very well behaved on walks with the older dogs and at daycare (they are constantly taking pictures of him and broadcasting him around!).

My question is, is this him just going through an adolescent fear phase or should we get ahead of the problem and take him to a behaviourist.

He has already seen one, but the advice was just to give him treats when he sees a trigger. We have been doing that but it doesn’t seem to be helping/ only works if we have treats.

I’d also be keen to get your thoughts on getting him castrated. My worry is that the barking is coming from fear/ nerves and that neutering will cause him to become more fearful.

Any advice/ experience would be much appreciated as it’s really putting a strain on things! ~x( ~x(
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zeta1454
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Re: 6 month old puppy reactive to everything

Post by zeta1454 »

Hi Andi - sometimes it can be difficult to identify the exact reason why a puppy / dog is reacting in a certain way and that does make it more awkward to resolve the issue. However you have alreafy picked up on a few things which could well be behind the barking and reactivity on walks.

If Tony did not have positive experiences/ socialisation before you adopted him at 3 months of age then this will mean that he has missed out on a crucial time for de-sensitising him to new people / dogs etc. 6 months is also the age at which many dogs even well socialised pups do experience a second ‘fear period’ where not only can training seem to be forgotten but many things including meeting people / dogs can trigger barking or anxiety related behaviour.

Dogs of all ages can be more likely to bark or be overly reactive when on lead knowing that they cannot escape / run away from whatever is spooking them if they need to. While a puppy is going through a fear period this can be even more the case and really barking is the only way a dog has of indicating it is not comfortable with a situation if it is unable to get away.

Mini schnauzers are well known to be a vocal breed and this is often something you cannot completely train out of them but you may find that by continuing to work on the distraction / reward training you should be able to reduce or eliminate this on walks. You do need to let Tony see the ‘trigger’ (dog or human) and then quickly draw his focus to you for the treat /reward. You can either get him to sit or stand still looking at you and reward for doing so quietly or scatter a few treats close to you on the ground and let him sniff them out. The more times you repeat this, the more likely it is that he will learn that focusing on you when he feels unconfident in a situation is going to get him something better than barking. This is not a quick process though depending how anxious he is and you may need to continue for weeks / months before seeing a permanent change. Personally I do not mind continuing to reward a dog for focusing on me on walks - if it is getting the result of the dog not barking or lunging or whatever then that is fine. No-one would expect to stop getting paid for doing a job once they have learned how to do it and, although it is not quite the same with a dog, I don’t begrudge rewarding good behaviour at any age :)

I definitely would not consider having Tony castrated either at all or certainly before he is fully physically and emotionally mature as you are right to think that doing so when he is going through a phase of being fearful could make things worse.

Really he is still very young and it sounds as though he is getting a lot of positive input from you and your partner and at daycare so I am sure it will work out just fine as he matures. This first year in a dog’s life is always a challenge for the puppy and his family as they get to learn about each other including what is expected (of the dog) and what is hoped for ( by the humans) but with love and care you will get there :)

Here are a few links which have a bit more information:

https://happydogsforever.co.uk/puppy-fear-phases/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/gb/blog ... -male-dogs

https://www.veterinary-practice.com/art ... rs-in-dogs
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Pip - Darksprite Too Darn Hot
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Tonton24
Posts: 3
Joined: 27 Jan 2025, 18:57
First Name: Andi

Re: 6 month old puppy reactive to everything

Post by Tonton24 »

Hi Leigh,

Thanks so much for your response, it's super helpful and good to hear you say we're doing the right things.

We'll keep up with all of the training and positive reinforcement!

He had a half day walk with a new daycare today (who are a much more convenient alternative to his current place) that we were very nervous for given he's been acting out so much recently. Interestingly, he was good as gold and apparently didn't bark or growl once which has honestly been such a surprise!

Do you think this is because he is with older dogs that he is learning from or do you think he's sensing our anxiety and maybe we're the ones who are the problem...?

He even gave the dog walker a cuddle (which is a minor miracle given we can count on 1 hand the number of people he has allowed to touch him!) :O
Tonton24
Posts: 3
Joined: 27 Jan 2025, 18:57
First Name: Andi

Re: 6 month old puppy reactive to everything

Post by Tonton24 »

Image

Here he is with his new pals :o3
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zeta1454
Moderator
Posts: 5185
Joined: 19 May 2011, 16:58
First Name: Leigh
Dog #1: Magic
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 20 Apr 2010
Dog #2: Trilby
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 15 Mar 2012
Dog #3: Pip
Born: 21 Feb 2014
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Location: North Yorkshire
Contact:

Re: 6 month old puppy reactive to everything

Post by zeta1454 »

Love the photo ❤️

It does sound really positive that Tony has taken well to the dog walker and his new daycare :)

Being with older dogs that are relaxed and calm is always good for young dogs/puppies as they will pick up cues for how to behave from them and possibly feel safer around them too.

It is also true that puppies and dogs pick up on the emotions of their humans and, if you have been feeling stressed and on edge when taking Tony out for walks he will have sensed this. I wouldn’t necessarily say that you are ‘the problem’ but your anxiety may well add to Tony’s adolescent edginess and could make his reactivity greater than if you were relaxed about taking him out. It can be hard to bury your natural worries and act as though you are confident your dog will be just fine on a walk when you know he has been quite the opposite in the past but it is worth trying to do stay upbeat when you are out and about with him.

While I was writing this I remembered a situation many years ago when my partner and I were on holiday in Cornwall and wanted to go on a ‘white water’ boat trip which was a small boat going out round the rougher sea area and rocks where there were a lot of seabirds. We asked if we could take our mini schnauzer, Maisie, on the boat and they said ‘As long as she doesn’t bark’.My partner blithely said - ‘Oh no she doesn’t bark’ while I nearly had heart failure knowing full well that she did on many occasions. However, there was not a sound from Maisie through the whole trip and my partner’s optimism was rewarded :)

Anyway, it is good news that Tony got on well with the dog walker and hopefully the positives from this and the new daycare with the older dogs will help boost your confidence too.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Pip - Darksprite Too Darn Hot
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


https://www.facebook.com/people/Darkspr ... 526061248/
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