# Nervous 8 month pup



## mmtt94 (3 mo ago)

Hi everyone!
I have an 8 month old cockapoo puppy and struggling at the moment so looking for some advice from fellow cockapoo owners!
He’s 8 months old and a typical pup, he was socialised and met a number of different people when he was younger but since we have been able to walk him he’s got so nervous. He was in the park daily from being able to go out and would see dogs everyday which he was ok with but then we had a few incidents where off lead dogs would come and hound him which really scared him. He’s now completely terrified of dogs and it’s becoming an issue when trying to enjoy walks with him. It doesn’t matter if the dog ignores him or bothers him, anytime he sees a dog/walks past one his tail is down and he pulls to get away. We’ve worked with a behaviourist and have the tools to help but I just feel like his confidence around dogs is not getting any better at all. I can get him to disengage and focus on me when around dogs but his nervousness doesn’t seem to be improving. For example on a walk today he almost bolted into the bushes due to a dog being close by (the dog wasn’t bothering/in his personal space at all). 
I do walk him with a friends dog weekly and he loves it, no nervousness or issues around her and they play happily off lead - he’s like a totally different dog!
I just wanted to see if anyone else had any issues like this with their pup? Some say he may outgrow it but I’d rather try and help him now before he gets older. 

Thanks!


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## 2ndhandgal (Aug 29, 2011)

You need to try and avoid things where he is going to get scared and build his confidence that dogs are going to hassle him so I would go mostly to places where other dogs are on lead. The ideal scenario is another dog on the lead and ignoring him and him on a long line so he can go near if he wants to but also move away. Doing this with his friend would help too s9 he can see them coping.


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