I've had my dog since he was a young puppy (6 weeks old). I trained him mainly and he is a great learner, but that's not what i'm worried about. I have never hit my dog, and i always train with praising rather than scolding. But lately, whenever i try to train him, or show off his tricks (which he used to love doing and have fun while doing it) his tail goes between his legs, his eyes go wide and he lays down, looking up at me like he just got into trouble. I have no idea why he is acting like this. I've felt him over, applying pressure to different parts of his body and he doesn't seem to be in pain. Nothing bad has happened he just seems to be scared all of a sudden. Please help me get him over this. Even when you play with him, now the slightest loud noise will turn him off playing and he will act like he's in trouble. Any suggestions?
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Could something have happened in your absence that traumatized him?
How old is he? If he's still a puppy, you may be able to blame a fear imprint period. The first occurs between 8 and 11 weeks of age, and the second can happen between 6 and 14 months of age. During this time, anything that frightens him can traumatize him. Like, stuff that he could normally shake off can leave a lasting negative impact, and he may be generally more hesitant and timid.
Might there be something different about the environment, or about yourself? It's unlikely, but sometimes even seemingly insignificant changes can make a difference. Maybe you're using a new perfume, maybe he can smell some form of wildlife in the distance, I dunno.
As for how to fix this, hm.. To start with, I'd take a big step back from doing stuff with him. Give him at least a few days to relax. Exercise him, yeah, but avoid doing anything that might make him nervous. Take a break from training and active playing, and don't show off his tricks. If he's getting himself worked up, you want to allow these hormones to dissipate, so just take a break from everything for a few days. Then, slowly start doing stuff again. Whatever you do, do it slowly, at his pace. He might've been a fast-paced extrovert before, but for whatever reason, he's not like that now, so take baby steps that he can manage.
Actively recondition him to associate these suddenly scary stimuli with good things. For instance, loud noises. Desensitize him to those, and make them good things. Basically, start by playing noises at a very low volume that he can tolerate, and make good things happen, like giving him lots of tiny, delicious treats (liver, steak, chicken, hot dog, cheese, etc.). When he's totally comfortable with that volume, turn it up ever-so-slightly. Eventually, you can do it at a loud volume and he'll be fine with it. You just need to make sure you're taking very small, manageable steps, and that you are not increasing the difficulty until the current step is mastered. You can read more about desensitizing and counter-conditioning on these pages, if you want:
http://www.mastiffonlinecommunity.net/vi…
http://www.clickertrainusa.com/dcc.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/how-to-h…
http://www.clickertraining.com/node/2327
Do you use clicker training with him? If not, you should consider taking it up. That way, it'll be a lot simpler to mark specific improvements. Is he holding his tail an inch higher? Click and treat. Are his ears perked slightly? Click and treat. So on and so forth. It's like in this article:
http://www.positivedogs.com/articles/ove…
I know he's not all reactive like that dog, but the concept of encouraging every tiny improvement to shape confidence is the same. And if you're not familiar with clicker training, try browsing here:
http://www.clickertraining.com/dogtraini…
(If he's super-sensitive to sounds right now, though, you may not be able to use an actual clicker. You may have to use something with a softer sound, like a clicky pen.)
Oh, and you should take him to the vet. He doesn't have to have hurt something to be suffering from something. Sudden inexplicable changes in temperament can often be explained by something health-related, so you should ask your vet to run a tick titer and a six-panel blood test.
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- Someones been yelling at this dog.
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