Building Confidence in pup?

[mabr]

Need some help with my 6 month springer. I got him at 11 weeks and he was a dynamo, he took a flying superman from 6 steps up off stairway and it didn't faze him, ran head long across the frozen lakes and took a spill head first into a hole i drilled and after i pulled him out about scared the cr-- out of me I thought I had wonder dog not afraid of anything.

Well lately he is having issues with being afraid of some things. I took him down to our permanent dock tonight and he wouldn't come out on it. I pulled him out and praised him then let him go to shore and he did come back out about 2 ft but he wasn't comfortable at all with it. He also has Issues with the four wheeler (Getting better) but runs to the house when I start it up. I dont dare introduce him to gun fire right now at all afraid ill make him gun shy.

I read a little bit on this online and it seams they go through a phase around his age but im worried. Call it macho or whatever but i want a confident dog. I dont remember this phase with my last dog. Is there anything i can do to build his confidence?

As a side note, he is doing good with all his other training, Gets birdy as all get out with dead pigeons, retrieves great, working on the give command but over all I'm very happy with him. He hasn't had a ton of people and dog interaction but enough that he shouldn't have issues with socialization.

[Todd Caswell]

The most important thing I can say is don't ever make a big deal out of it, don't force or drag him down the dock, ignore it. Feed off of his strenghts, if he loves to retrieve, get up on the dock and start twirling a bummper, make a game out of it, toss the bumper, if he retrieves it try to get him to get on the dock with you, by twirling another bumper, if he fails walk away and try again NOT making a big deal out of it. Treat each different situation the same and you will be fine

[Pherris]

I would not worry. My lab was very timid about docks when she first encountered them. I noticed that she was kind of ok on docks that have minimal space between the boards but very hesitant if the space between them had more space. The first time I took her on a dock she refused to even step on it so I just left her on the shore and proceeded to fish off the end. I kept an eye and she would try it out but after a few steps out she would go back to shore. This went on for about 30 minutes until she finally made it to the end but the just curled up on my feet. After a couple days she would see me fishing off the dock and come running down and start out on the dock but would soon realize she was on the dock and hightail it back to shore. It was kind of funny to watch. It took a week or so of doing this daily until she seemed to not mind docks but I could tell she was not 100% confident. I got her dummy and did some very short marks with her starting out tossing it about 1/2 way out the dock and each time throwing it a bit. After a few try's I started to alternate the marks between throwing some on the dock and some on land. After a few times of doing this she did not seem to notice the difference between land and the dock. Thought I had the problem taken care of but noticed unless she was doing a retrieve she was still timid. I really did not worry about it because she would come on it if called and to get in the boat. A few days later she was outside and I was watching her from the window and she just walked out on the dock and looked around and decided to go for a swim. After that docks were never an issue again. So long story short I think it is just something new to the pup that they will get in their own time. Sound like you got a nice pup. Good luck.

[JONOV]

My family got a used Golden Retriever that was going to go into a shelter. When we went to get him from the family that was giving him up, we were told that "He's afraid of water." Now, a 6yo golden retriever that didn't like to swim seemed weird to us. That June, at the family cabin, it proved to be true in that he didn't seem to want to walk into the lake or retrieve from the lake. Eventually the whole family including other dogs was out in the lake swimming/wading, leaving Ralph alone on the beach. He got over his fear of water pretty darn quick. Unless the dog's been conditioned to fear it, I wouldn't worry about it. Pretty soon he'll see you and the family on and off the dock and will realize its not big deal.

[nofishfisherman]

I also wouldn't worry about it. My dog is an incredibly confident dog and he was also timid around docks around that age as well. He got over it quickly and it didn't require much effort on my part other than being patient and praising him when he would make progress.

Even the most confident dog will occasionally be timid around new things that they don't fully understand. Since your dog is only 6 months its still encountering a lot of things for the first time so there is a lot of new stuff to figure out. Each time he is timid around something it will take them a little time to get comfortable with the new thing and it might take some praise and patience on your end. Just don't force the dog to go near something its unsure about, let him figure it out in his time.

As the dog gets older this stuff will happen less and less. Since your dog is young it could also be a phase where he's just figuring our more about the world around him and that it does contain potential dangers. When they are really young they don't seem to realize what danger is, they are to focused on playing and acting like goofballs to realize what danger is.

[LABS4ME]

My family got a used Golden Retriever

Sometimes used is the best way to go... as long as they are not burning oil and the tread is decent! HA

Good Luck!

Ken

[springerspeed]

Not to worry about it. Like others have said, don't force the issue. It is a new thing for him.

Take his favorite retrieving buck there and put it 1/4 down the dock and encourage him to come and get it. Gradually increase the distance until it is at the end. Soon you will be able to chuck that thing out in the water and he will figure out that the fastest way to get it is to go 400MPH down the dock and take a head long leap for it.

They all are wary of docks. At least all of mine have been. I think it is due to them being elevated off the water. Similar to putting them on a table, they are not comfortable off the ground like that. That is my theory anyway.

[BLACKJACK]

My current 1.5 year old pup is kind a scardy cat, we can be walking along and all of sudden she'll see something new and strange and shes ready to run behind me, so me and the old dog go up and check it out, encouraging her to come too. She checks it out and on we go. All dogs are different, this one just needs more encouragement.

You mentioned she doens't like the 4 wheeler, just start it up, let it idle, go about your normal activities. As the dog gets more comfortable, work around it, start and stop it, they will get used to it.

You mentioned gun noise, now that you recognize that the dog is more sensitive than most, make sure you introduce the dog correctly.

Good luck!!!

[Rick]

The best thing to do is to keep your energy positive, calm and confidant around these things with your springer during this phase. Do not get upset. He will learn from you that they are ok.

Do not pamper, drag, comfort, punish or reward the dog for the cautious behavior, it's normal for a puppy.

You CAN reward him when he steps on the dock or is showing a desirable behavior.

Keep introducing him to a wide range of new things and keep up the positive interactions with things he's cautious about. Like Todd said earlier, do things he likes close to those things and keep gradually getting closer to it or further on it.

It's the same concept as introducing a dog to gunfire. Keep a positive association with it.