ourwully Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I am posting this just to add information to this topic. Juno became fearful of almost everything about 6 months ago. I couldn't pinpoint the exact date but it was around the time of fireworks night and also around the time Juno had a one week visit to my mother's. My mother loves Juno and spoils her continually so I don't think that was a problem. Anyway she was about 18 months old and she became afraid of any banging noises, even if I could hardly hear them and she would hide when she knew we were going for walks out the front of the house. Training became very difficult because her attention was always being interupted. At the time I asked for some advice on this forum and I tried some of the suggestions but basically I just kept doing what I could and kept things positive. A little over a month ago I was getting pretty desperate and resigning myself to having a dog that was inherently fearful. It was then that I decided to try Rescue Remedy and started to think about vitamin B supplements. As it turns out, I couldn't quite figure out how to give Juno the Rescue Remedy on a consistent basis so I never really got started on that course. During this time Juno seemed to improve quickly on her own. Now after about a month all her fears seem to be gone. They are building new homes in our area so there are bangs and noises all the time but now all she does is look up and move on. Even the lawn mower or my motorcycle do not bother her now. In summary, the whole situation lasted about 5 months. During this time I kept positive, persisted with the training and tried to distract her with treats when she would be afraid but I really think that she was in a fear period and only time solved the problem. I am a beginner at all this so this is just my observation and my thoughts. I may be off base completely. It would be interesting to compile more first hand information re fear periods. For example, how long do they usually last, at what ages do the occur, and even do they exist at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 I'm curious about what Vit. B supplements you used, and what the reasoning for it is. It's something I haven't heard of. Tansy developed fear based dog reactivity at about the same point in her life, possibly a little earlier. I have no idea what the trigger was. She'll be 4 in a couple weeks and it's something we still struggle and continue to work with, so they don't always grow out of it. Rescue Remedy can be added to a dog's drinking water or just given directly into the dog's mouth by dropper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfisher7151 Posted November 22, 2015 Report Share Posted November 22, 2015 Interesting, I'm glad I'm not crazy! Right around 18 months Keeper hit a fear period pretty out of the blue. Nothing too terrible, he just got a lot spookier than before. Especially around whirring objects like loud ventilation systems found in indoor arenas or around food trucks. Very bizarre. We're still working on it now at 20 months. He didn't really show any fear periods through his puppyhood, this was the first one I ever really saw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ourwully Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 I don't know a lot about the vitamin B supplements. I am working with a trainer and she said that some of her clients had used it but it had taken up to 6 months to work. Given this time frame it would be pretty hard to evaluate. Perhaps someone else on the forum can shed some light on this. Kingfisher - before Juno hit her fear period I was smuggly thinking to myself that all these people on the forum have neurotic dogs and then right out of the blue it began. But like I said it went away as strangely as it came. Hope Keeper's fears go away soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gloria Atwater Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 My girl Gael went through a period sometime after her first birthday that I would consider a fear period. (She's 6 now.) I don't remember when it started or even when it began to fade, but I just noticed one day that she was being reactive and fearful to random strangers around us. She'd scramble backwards and glare, hit the end of her leash to dodge around me and even growl if she felt cornered. It was entirely random. Sometimes she'd be fine with people, then someone else would freak her out. No pattern or trigger that I could figure out.The worst was when we were at a big sheepdog trial sitting among the crowd and a woman seated immediately ahead of us turned in her chair and reached back to begin petting Gael. There was a lot of ambient noise in there, between the announcer and people talking, but I could *feel* the growl vibrating in Gael and the whale-eyes were plain to see. Unfortunately, though, the people around me had wedged their chairs so that the only way for me to get out would have been to climb over the back of my chair, and I wasn't about to get that dramatic. So, I just gently but firmly hugged Gael's head against my hip and petted her until the woman turned away.Annnnd some while later, several months, the fearfulness just went away. Gael remains easily spooked by sudden things, but she's no longer fearful or growly. She just had to grow out of it and time worked the cure.Glad your Juno is doing so much better! ~ Gloria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 23, 2015 Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 Ourwully, can you please be more specific about what B supplements your trainer suggested? There are quite a few B vitamins, so I'm trying to figure out if it was one specific one or a B complex. AFAIK, B complex and B 12 are both used to increase energy. Pantothenic acid can be used for treating pain. B 6 has diuretic qualities. Not sure offhand about the others, but I've never heard about any being used in dogs for fear. Just did a quick search using B vitamins and anxiety as keywords. Got a couple hits. One was vague. Another cites a Japanese study saying low B 6 and iron have been linked to panic attacks in humans. Then there was one questionable source that said someone's anxiety increased when adding B vitamins. If you can give me something more specific, I'd like to look into it, maybe ask the holistic vet. But I'd like to have more to go on if possible. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ourwully Posted November 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2015 It was regular B12 off the shelf, 125mg per day . I don't see my trainer til next week, but I will ask her for more information. As I recall she wasn't very specific about it except that one of her clients had had some success with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSW Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 At 18 months (1 month ago) Star has decided she does not like to go for walks at anytime and does not even like to go from the house to the car if it is dark. The fenced backyard was a challenge for awhile too. She now gets high reward treats for going outside. She will, when coming in, go right to where the treats are and I make a big happy fuss when I give her one of the high value treats. Now she will go out if I am standing at the door where she can see me or if I go outside with her and thow the ball, but it is not for very long time periods. Winter is coming to North Dakota, so I am trying to look on the bright side of her not going on walks, but I do miss them. I bought some Rescue Remedy and it helped some in getting her to go outside in the backyard as she had a few house accidents becuase she would not go outside for a long enough period to take care of business. If it had not worked, I was going to take her to the vet, but since she has improved some, I don't use it much now and never went to the vet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted November 25, 2015 Report Share Posted November 25, 2015 Please do let us know what the trainer has to say about B 12. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ourwully Posted December 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2015 Hi GentleLake I spoke to my trainer yesterday but unfortunately she was unable to shed much light on the vitamin b thing. Sorry Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted December 9, 2015 Report Share Posted December 9, 2015 Thanks, Bill. I'll ask around and see if I can learn anything about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.