skittish dog

Question
3 year old lab mix. Is scared of noises, shadows - her own and reflections on the ceiling. She is home alone during the day, free run of the house...no problems. She walks on weekends, big yard evenings. Lot's of affection from adults daily.Very good with kids, other dogs. Hate seeing her suffer from being so scared.

Answer
Hi Nancie,

Thanks for writing. Sorry to hear of your troubles. Fearful or skittish dogs are a complex case. Things like diet, how you communicate with her, how you train her, and how you handle the situations in which she is scared all can make a difference. It's a complex task with no easy "do this" solution.

You can get good information about cautious dogs from the right book. I have a list of How's Bentley Approved books about solving behavior problems on my web site. Please visit http://howsbentley.com Mouse over the "Home" category on the nav bar, then mouse over "All Resources" to see a list of resources. Thanks for writing and good luck!

Alan J Turner
Germantown Dog Training