Yeah, but what I was scared of was, howcome Ally gets a ghost period?

She hasn´t had any bad experiences...

Not every dog get them, so why her? Was it something I did, the breed, the training???? I don´t know.

I have seen and heard of other dogs suffering from it, but they can all say: "its because......"

Im not sure how it happens Amts. Maybe others on here might be able to help.

Maybe there is no answer...

Thanks anyway Carole. It was nice of you to tell me what to do though :smt058

indie went through one of those for about a month when she was about 6 months old. She was all jittery on walks constantly lookin behind her like she was being followed, tryin to attack cars, barking at things like wheelbarrows and being scared in garden.
Was really bizarre, but shes chilled more now.

So you just pretended nothing was wrong and carried on Jenny or did you do something?

It just dissapeared on day?

How old is Indie now? Is she full grown mentally?

This is known as the Secondary Fear Imprint Period which occurs at any time between the ages of 6-14 months. The dog may show fear or fright at all sorts of things, even objects with which it is familiar and which have not previously caused any problems. You should ignore the behaviour. Do not fuss and reassure the dog as this will make it think that there really is something to be scared of. By exhibiting calm behaviour you will show the dog that the object/noise/event is not frightening.

This fear reaction is not abnormal and is not connected to anything that you may, or may not, have done. It will disappear in a matter of days usually if you do nothing to reinforce it and the dog will be back to normal.

Thanks Shadowboxer

But theres something i dont understand ( :smt017 )

"..between the ages of 6-14 months"

Ally´s 13 months. So we just made it?? She is, what I would call, a late developed dog mentally. Could be it??

"..It will disappear in a matter of days"

But this has been going on for more than days now.
Weeks actually :smt090
Should I just hope it goes away, and continue with with I´m doing so far? I´m ignoring and incisting to keep on training, playing or whatever...

"..This fear reaction is not abnormal and is not connected to anything that you may, or may not, have done"
This really helped a lot. Thanks you so much :smt058

at first i tried to comfort her, but in end i ignored her when she did it and carried on. or distracted her with a toy. She was jus weird for a good month, no matter where she was. It slowly wore off, didnt jus disappear one day. But the hairs on her back were like constantly up on a walk shes 8 months old now

Hi amts,

There is a theory that this "secondary fear' behaviour may be caused by growth spurts in conjunction with adolescent hormone surges which lead to temporary calcium deficiency. This would seem to fit with your dog as, being a medium-large breed, she would still be growing at 13 months.

You say that it has been going on for weeks. Has it been continuous or cyclical? That is, have you noticed a period of fearful behaviour followed by a period of normal behaviour, and then it starts again? If so this could be linked to growth spurts as mentioned.

Whatever the pattern is the behaviour will pass. Remember that dogs are expert in picking up on our body language & emotions, so if this is stressing you she will know it. Just carry on with your normal routine: training, exercise, play. Do not force her to confront her fears but, equally, do not console & baby her when she displays concern. Talk to her in a cheerful manner so that she knows that you are not in the least concerned about the 'monsters' that she worries about.

As with anything relating to health and behaviour I would suggest that if Ally's behaviour is causing you extreme concern, or if it is causing Ally to become severely stressed, that you should consult a vet or a professional trainer/behaviour consultant.

Best wishes ... SB

Edited to add: If you search Google for "second fear imprint period" you will find quite a lot of information which should help to reassure you that this is quite normal.

Dizzy has started this recently.....we just try distraction...she is 14 months old btw and any kind of shadow or light patterns on the wall will start her off