Cass C Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 So we realized yesterday that Lily is afraid of drinking glasses. For the longest time we couldn't figure out what she was growling at, but last night she actually attempted to bite a drinking glass as my DH was lifting it to take a drink. Out of curiosity we set it on the ground and she bolted away from it and started barking. We can officially say we have begun desensitizing our dog to plain old cups...It was funny at the time, but it made me wonder are other people's dogs afraid of weird things like drinking glasses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurelin Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 My younger papillon is afraid of fire/matches/candles. But that strikes me as a sensible fear. Hank spooks randomly every now and then. Things like a light in some landscaping or a sprinkler head. He does not like statues at all. Nikki, my old sheltie (RIP), had some weird fears. Like farting noises and bubblegum and tongues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Molly is afraid of plastic grocery bags - just the white ones, not the colored ones. IDEK, but they're apparently terrifying. We've had good luck desensitizing her to them, but for a while it was freaking ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosikins Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Hula hoops, yoga balls, and anything that buzzes/vibrates (cell phone, activity tracker wrist band, children's toys, etc.) The silent alarm on my wristband went off this morning (so much more relaxing than a blaring alarm in the morning) and she was snuggled against me. I've never seen her leap off the bed and scramble into her crate faster. She hates that band... ETA: Plastic grocery bags left on the counter are the devil himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket's mom Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 My English Shepherd is afraid of all sorts of bells and buzzer noises- but not all of them. School bells, elevator bings, the wrong answer buzzer on game shows are all scary. But he doesn’t care one bit about the buzzer in a hockey or basketball game. The microwave or oven timer is just fine. I also thought for awhile that he was afraid of bread bags. Then I realized getting out the bread often happens before using the toaster oven, which does make a low buzzing sound when it cycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 When we first got Gibbs, he was very, very interested in everything. And a lot of things made his 'danger, danger' side come out. Anything he isn't expecting is grounds for a little sidling, a little eyeballing, as he walks a wide circle around the out of place thing. We were walking in a park a year or so ago, left the paved path to take off on a path through the woods. Rounded a corner and there was a park bench. Gibbs stopped so hard he slid a bit, backed up to me, and growled. I taught him a 'check it out' cue, to go sniff something and see for himself. Now when I say it, he immediately relaxes. He's trusting me to not send him towards something that will kill him. Truly, the check it out cue is one of the best things I've done for any of my dogs. He's never refused it, and it makes taking him out and about much easier. Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosikins Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 @urge to herd - You posted something about the "check it out" command/cue right after I joined the boards last year and we immediately started using it on Callie. It's a life saver - she also knows that we won't send her off to her doom so she relaxes when we ask her "what is it? go see" and usually at least approaches the scary thing often coming close enough to sniff. It prevents so many barking fits and dead stops in inconvenient places. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riika Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Duke get startled very easily and barks or growls, but doesn't have any one thing he is scared of. We were at Coastal a month or so ago, and he was in a down while I looked at the seed selection. Suddenly, he got up, whirled around, and started growling ferociously. My first reaction was, "Be quite! We're in a store." He didn't stop. When I looked to see what set him off, I just started laughing. It was PVC frame dressed in a bee keeper's suit. And there was a fan going so the fabric was moving a little. I coaxed him to come over, and he is just terrified. Eventually he did it and tried sniffing the "man's" feet and seemed very confused why there weren't any. Al of us just busted up. @urge to herd-Duke does that very frequently. Come around a corner and he'll get startled and bark or growl depending on what it is and if it is moving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chene Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 I woke up one night to Aed growling very angrily at a black guy in a neon shirt at the bus stop out the window. Never seen heard him make that sound before or since, and I couldn't convince him that it was okay. I'm not sure if it was something the guy did or just because he was very dark, and we don't see many dark-skinned people here. That's the only thing I could think of, the window was shut and everything.He is also just terrified of the smoke alarm (and the range hood fan thing, which he associates with the alarm), but that's fair. It's adorable though, he doesn't bark or anything, just makes himself very very small and crawls to me on his belly as fast as he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess's Girl Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 oh i could write a novel on strange things my dogs are scared of. Tess's major things: tiny humans (children), bouncing basketballs, and disembodied voices, like if we are out in the field and someone is on their balcony talking and she can't figure out where the voice is coming from, but strangely enough she doesn't mind if I'm playing something on the computer or on my tv. As for the random things that bother her: countless. Crow thing is the kitchen. ONCE the smoke alarm went off when I was cooking and that's all it took. Every time I'm cooking in the kitchen he hates it. It actually took me a bit to figure out what exactly was upsetting him so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 My Gael went through a phase at about 6 months where she decided she was terrified of plastic grocery bags, too. But since we use them for a lot of things around the house, my solution was to just tie one around her neck. She pinged around the room for a few minutes but then decided it wasn't worth the bother. By the way, I do not recommend that as a desensitization technique. I was just annoyed and busy, and I figured it would work because she hadn't been afraid of those bags the day before ... ~ Gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cass C Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 I love all the stories! I'm glad to know my dogs aren't the only ones who are afraid of completely random things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aschlemm Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Oh I love this topic! One of my Borders was afraid of men in cowboy hats and trenchcoats. Another was absolutely terrified of hot air balloons. Both my current dogs hate the smoke detectors and the carbon monoxide detector (which I can't blame them for. ) They also hate the flyswatter and the swiffer. If they hear a buzzing insect in the house, they run and hide since they know I hate bugs and I will run and get the flyswatter or swiffer and then bounce off the furniture trying to kill the bug. Logan hates any sort of loud bangs when he is at my Mom's house. Ziva hates it when someone is chewing gum and they make a popping noise. My first Border hated people in costumes. I have a funny picture of him glaring at the Easter bunny! Ziva is terrified of animal hides. I think this phobia is very odd. I go to a Native American pow wow and she will sniff (very cautiously) rabbit hides but show her a buffalo hide and she is ready to run. Last time I took her one vendor had wolf hides hung around his stand. Ziva went nuts. Whined, cried, wanted picked up (she's 27 pounds) she was so distraught that I'll never take her again. One old Indian women said she can sense how they died and the fear they had. My other Border couldn't care less about hides but I work at a Vet's office and if he sees the Cremation service people picking up the bodies he'll hide in the smallest area he can fit in. He is so frantic that I don't take him on days they pick up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beach BCs Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Texas is afraid of office products...stapler, 3 hole punch, and binders...but only at home. I took him to work for months, where I use all these things. Zero reaction. He's also afraid of the windshield wipers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B Point Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Great stories. Tio has his quirks. The word "bug" will send him into a frantic spazz-out of "get it off me..!" Trying to swat a mosquito is flirting with getting a good nip thinking you've just caught it..... If I want him out of the kitchen like a rocket I pull out a knife...butter knife will do. Old people freak him out. Lovely for living in rural Japan where 65% of the population is 70+... Mop or vacuum cleaner comes out......He's gone...!! Broom...totally loves it. Crazy dog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway61 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 My boy goes ballistic over the vacuum. Don't know why, he's never been terrorized by it but he is terrified of it. Bikes, joggers, children are no problem. But skateboards, scooters and big bouncy balls send him in a rage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Brooms. And joey has gotten afraid of going out the front door. Back door is fine. Zeke won't go out the back door if it's dark. I have to take him out front. Tommy goes crazy at the weed eater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 This morning I think Gael was afraid of her breakfast bowl. Seriously, I put their food down and suddenly noticed that Gael was standing back from her bowl giving it worried ears. I tried to call her to it, tried putting it in a different part of the floor - she just walked a big, uncertain circle around it. Then I tried letting one of the other dogs have a taste, figuring jealousy would do the trick - she just made her ears look even more worried and backed away.Now I'm worried. Was she sick? Was something horribly wrong? She is so food driven she nearly takes fingers off when given cookies, so it's wholly unnatural for her to refuse a meal. But FINALLY I dumped her food into a plain little plastic bowl ... and she ate that just fine.She's going to be 6 years old in July. She's eaten out of this bowl since she was 10 weeks old. I swear this dog talks to fairies and pixies ....~ Gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highway61 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 And joey has gotten afraid of going out the front door. Back door is fine. Lol! Are most Border Collies nuts? Mine is. I take him to two gated, open fields in my neighborhood for off leash and for unknown reasons to me he will only come to me at one of the two exits. The other exit he paces side to side at about 40' from me as if he's taunting me. Really, he looks to have this smirk as if to say "we'll go when I'm ready". Yet when I head over to the other exit on the opposite side of the open field he just naturally comes to me so I can hitch his leash on, don't even have to call him. And probably just a co-incident but both fields have north and south exits and the one he always comes to is the south. Guess he's just a southbound hound When I explained this to the trainer at "growly dog class" she seemed determined to figure it out, asking me questions. She thought she might be on to something when she asked "which gate do you park the car at?" I told her no car, we walk to both fields every time and that's about the time she gave up. Not important but I do wish I could get inside that head of his occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjones Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 If I wanted to play badminton, I had to put Annie inside, it scared her to death, along with the fly swatter and rumble strips on the road. When Wisp was younger snow falling off the metal roof made her bark and run in the other direction, now it doesn't bother her. Floss was scared to chew on bones, everyone else like them, but bringing them out for everyone would set her shaking and running for another room. She also didn't like flies, she would leave the room if one came in. If a dog barks on TV Quinn gets a scared look on his face because he's not sure where its coming from, same goes for playing videos on my computer and a dog barks, so I turn the sound off. Annie and Belle were both scared of thunder. Belle would just curl up in a corner and shake, Annie I had to put in a crate with a towl over it and the enitre crate would vibrate because she shook so hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CptJack Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 I need to add 'Men in motorcycle helmets' to Molly's list, but I'm not sure if that counts as STRANGE. I found her freak out pretty predictable,but it was definitely a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 My first BC, Samantha, was a little timid. One day, I came home with a rhinestone tiara on my head, quite by accident. Sammi rushed to greet me, as usual, but went into 'danger, danger, DANGER! There's something ON YOUR HEAD!' It took a few minutes to calm her down. I will never forget the look on her face. Ruth and SuperGibbs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Not really a fear, but one time I set the fire alarm off trying to bake some pepperoni. The alarm was one of those really obnoxious ones that besides just high-pitched beeping, also featured a woman's voice yelling "FIRE! FIRE!" in between the beeps. Kieran bolted straight to the front door and gave me this "Well, you heard her. Are you coming?" look. I thought it was funny that he thought he needed to get out and not go to his crate in the other room, which he would usually do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbc1963 Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 One day, I came home with a rhinestone tiara on my head, quite by accident... As every woman does, from time to time. Buddy hated the chirp my old phone made when it was running out of battery life. But one of the worst days was after I'd had him about 5 weeks. He had been in and out of my office hundreds of times. But suddenly, that day, he looked up and noticed the LIGHT FIXTURE in the ceiling, and started growling and barking at it as if it was the devil himself. He barked and fixated for five hours that day and the next morning when we woke up, he started again. My trainer had no advice for me when I called him. Finally, after my patience was completely shot, I just dragged Buddy out of the room and yelled "NO!" as loud as I could. I had to scold maybe twice more, and he never barked at the light again. (I figured out later that the 3 bulbs and shades of the fixture probably looked to the dog like a staring pair of eyes and a mouth. Buddy HATED to be stared at in the beginning; direct eye contact was very aggressive, in his opinion. That light could stare like no one's business!) We had an old dog when I was a kid who heard the smoke alarm, connected it to my mother's frying sausage, and would run and hide ever after when my mother got out the frying pan. Likewise, my mother would WHACK a jar with a stuck lid, upside down on the counter. If my mother picked up the mayonnaise, the dog would hide under the bed. She was really good at chain-of-reaction logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted May 13, 2015 Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 Joey got scared of whirling dust in the sunlight. Once it was a plastic bag blown by the wind. My old dog Tay completely freaked out when she saw and smelled a sheepskin rug. Those big black flies do it every time. And my swatting flies or wasps really upsets the dogs, too. A lot of the time they will forget all about it and the next time they don't react. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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